Baffin Island

城市概覽

History It was named by English colonists after English explorer William Baffin. Historians believe it is likely that Pre-Columbian Norse explorers from Greenland and Iceland knew of the island. They believe it is the site of Helluland, referred to in the Icelandic sagas. Baffin Island has been inhabited for over 3,000 years by ancestors of the Inuit, who have lived on the island for the last thousand years. In late 985 or 986, Bjarni Herjólfsson, sailing from Iceland to Viking settlements in Greenland, was blown off course and sighted land southwest of Greenland. Bjarni appears to be the first European to see Baffin Island, and the first European to see North America beyond Greenland. About 15 years later that the Norse Greenlanders, led by Leif Erikson, a son of Erik the Red, started exploring new areas around the year 1000. Baffin Island is thought to be Helluland, and the archaeological site at Tanfield Valley is thought to have been a trading post.

Wildlife Baffin Island has both year-round and summer visitor wildlife. On land, examples of year-round wildlife are barren-ground caribou, polar bear, Arctic fox, Arctic hare, lemming and Arctic wolf. Barren-ground caribou herds migrate in a limited range from northern Baffin Island down to the southern part in winter, even to the Frobisher Bay peninsula, next to Resolution Island, then migrating back north in the summer. Arctic hares are found throughout Baffin Island. Their fur is pure white in winter and moults to a scruffy dark grey in summer. Lemmings are also found throughout the island and are a major food source for Arctic foxes, Arctic wolves and the snowy owl. Polar bears can be found all along the coast of Baffin Island but are most prevalent where the sea ice takes the form of pack ice, where their major food sources—ringed seals (jar seal) and bearded seals—live. Arctic foxes can usually be found where polar bears venture on the fast ice close to land in their search for seals. Arctic foxes are s

如何抵達

1 Iqaluit Airport (YFB IATA). Scheduled passenger services from Ottawa, Rankin Inlet, and smaller communities throughout eastern Nunavut. Services from Yellowknife and Winnipeg connect via Rankin Inlet. (updated Sep 2025)

當地交通

In the smaller communities (less than 3,000), ATVs and trucks are used during the short summer (when there is no snow). In the winter, snowmobiles are the main way of getting around. Dog sleds are also used but owning and maintaining a dog team can be a very costly endeavour. Getting to and from the different communities can only be done by air; there are no roads linking the different population centres in the territory.

必看景點

Home to Auyuittuq National Park, which features remarkable arctic scenery, midnight sun in the summer, hiking trails, and wildlife. Inuit carvings/art are available. You can take guided dog sled tours, and sleep in an igloo. The Northern Lights can often be seen, though it depends on both season and weather. Perhaps surprisingly, the display is generally better on the southern end of the island rather than further north, because the south is on the oval where the lights are most intense. The capital, Iqaluit, has a few buildings of interest: the territorial legislature, a museum, and an igloo-shaped Anglican Church.

體驗活動

Guided excursions around the island and Arctic expeditions further afield organized by outfitters (there are several in Iqaluit) are the principal way of seeing Nunavut's truly great outdoors. Summer activities include trekking, and boat and fishing tours in Frobisher Bay. In the winter months, dog-sledding journeys are an excellent way to get out and explore the landscape. The Itijjagiaq Trail, part of the Trans Canada Trail system, runs 177 km from Iqaluit and Kimmirut. It does not connect to other parts of the Trans Canada Trail. One branch heads north for several kilometres, while the other begins with a navigable water trail about 25 km across Frobisher Bay to the Katannilik Territorial Park on Meta Incognita Peninsula.