Sirmilik-Nationalpark

The Sirmilik National Park (English Sirmilik National Park of Canada, French Parc national du Canada Sirmilik ) includes the Bylot Island and parts of northern Baffin Island and is approximately 22,200 square kilometers is the third largest of the more than 40 national parks in Canada. His Inuktitut name meaning "place of glaciers ". The legal requirements for the creation of the national park were taken in 1999 and enshrined in the Canadian National Park Ordinance of 19 February 2001, having previously been in 1965 at the Bylot Island, a bird sanctuary was built.

• 4.1 birds
• 4.2 fish and marine mammals
• 4.3 land mammals

Geography

Geographically Sirmilik National Park is divided into three parts

• The Bylot Island,
• The northeast of Borden Peninsula
• And south of Pond Inlet area located between Oliver Sound and Paquet Bay.

Bylot Island

On the northeast flank of the Bylot Island, the ocean currents of the Baffin Bay and the Lancastersundes meet together and cause the formation of a long-drawn, polynya, a " place where flows can not freeze the sea, even in the harshest winters " tricuspid. This polynya (Lancaster Sound polynya ) extends from Lancaster Sound to the north and east coast of Bylot Island in Baffin Bay and to the north on the east coast of Devon Island along. It is the most important reason that the approximately 11,000 square kilometers Bylot Island, with its towering cliffs at Cape Hay in the north- west on Lancaster Sound and around the Cape Graham Moore in the southeast at the junction of Pond Inlet in Baffin Bay a paradise for birds and already as a bird sanctuary, which also includes the sea at 3,200 meters radius, was the best-known region of the National Park.

The up to 2,100 meters high mountainous Massif Central Island Bylot, which forms a part of the Arctic Cordillera, is nearly half covered with an ice cap, some flow down from the more than 500 mostly still unnamed glaciers to the sea, partly in the lowlands of the island, the lowlands, forming and dine countless waters in summer. Across the island runs from the southeast to the northwest, the mountain range in the Byam Martin Mountains. Among them is also the highest mountain peak on the island, the central Malik Mountain 2,100 meters. The coasts of the island, especially in the southeast, are predominantly characterized by steep, picket -like ascending rocks and seaward moving glaciers, but there are also flatter and crisscrossed by many glacial streams, coastlines, so portions of the northeast coast, the north-western tip and by the presence of hoodoos known southwestern coastal region.

Borden Peninsula

The Borden Peninsula is a vast plateau with a maximum elevation of about 1,380 meters; they do is indented by broad river valleys and has a bird colony on the Baillarge Bay.

Oliver Sound

The Oliver Sound in the south of Pond Inlet is a long, narrow fjord, the high cliffs and reaching up to the Paquet Bay ice and glacier region of up to 1,650 meters above sea level surrounded.

Climatic conditions

In the north of Baffin Island polar maritime climate prevails, what long means cold winters and short, cool summers. The spring does not end until mid-June, and the warmest time of the end of July, beginning of August, with average maximum temperatures of 10 ° C. The month of January as the coldest month has an average maximum temperatures of about -30 ° C. Rainfall is relatively abundant, which has a positive effect on the flora.

History

By evaluating many archaeological excavations can be settlement to prove, by members of the Dorset culture and the Thule culture as well as by their successors, the Inuit of the area of the National Park, more than 4,000 years. In the 17th century William Baffin and Robert Bylot penetrated to Lancaster Sound. There is also evidence that the Eclipse Sound was driven in 1820 by Europeans, first by William Edward Parry, one of the newer explorer of the Arctic. However, Scottish and American whalers should probably be shown up here before him; at any rate they were during the 19th century and early 20th century in the surrounding waters often hunting.

1906 Bylot Island was declared by Captain Joseph Bernier Elzéar become a part of Canadian territory. After 1910 was on the Button Point near Cape Graham Moore for a few years a trading post, whose relics can still be seen. Colonized this area is no longer today.

Fauna

The polynya on the northeast flank of the Bylot Island offers arctic birds and marine mammals special dietary wealth and so can the national park, but especially the Bylot Island, are the spring and summer home to a stable and rich Seevogelwelt; for certain types were as much the largest breeding colonies of the earth. If one includes the still taking place during the spring, but especially in June migration of many land birds with one, then the National Park stands out as one of the most diverse bird paradises on earth. The bird sanctuary of Bylot Island more than 50 species of birds were observed in total, of which at least 30 species breed here.

Birds

The flat country with its Tundra in the southwest of the island home of the summer many species of songbirds, shorebirds and waterfowl ( estimated number: more than half a million ). Nest here than 100,000 Greater Snow Geese ( Chen caerulescens atlanticus ); this is the biggest snow goose colony at all with around one third of the world population. The typical arctic bird species Ruddy Turnstone and White-rumped beach runners come here, and at least three usually based in Europe bird species have been observed here: Sand Plover, Red Knot and wheatear.

The number of nesting on the Palisades cliffs Dickschnabellummen is estimated at about 320,000 and the kittiwake to over 50,000. Among the many occurring species also include guillemots, northern petrels, King Eider next ordinary eiders, glaucous gulls, ivory gulls, terns, skuas and little auks from the huge colonies of Lancaster Sound.

Fish and marine mammals

During the ice melt, the area of open water spreads out more and algae and zooplankton provides an ideal breeding ground. This benefits a variety of fish species, as well as the numerous occurring polar cod and Arctic char. There arise in this way rich feeding grounds - not only for birds, but also for various seal species, such as the bearded seal and ringed seal, which in turn serve many polar bears as a preferred food; it is estimated that about 150 polar bears stay on the island during the summer. In these waters also the belonging to the Gründel whales narwhal is located. During the late summer, more than half of all the world's narwhals to Koluktoo Bay is on the verge of Eclipse Sound. In addition, in these waters, other marine mammals occur, but relatively rare: the beluga, bowhead of, the humpback whale and the walrus.

Land mammals

On land mammals caribou, Arctic foxes, Arctic wolves, squirrels and arctic hares are found in the National Park.

Flora

The heavily glaciated regions of the National Park have limited space for plant growth. On moraines, lateral moraines, and other glacial Eskern reasons, however, have evolved over time soil particles, so that not only lichens and mosses, but colonize vascular plants in sheltered, facing the sun, the ice-free zones could. Thus arose cushion plants from stem Losem campion and various rock crushing plants. Widely used also grass, cotton grass, Arctic poppy and white avens occur and low shrub species such as dwarf birch, willow plants and heather plants.

Due to sufficient rainfall thrives almost the entire Arctic flora in the lowlands as well as generally in the vicinity of wetlands, water pools and lakes.

Tourist Information

Access to the National Park carried out in the east of Pond Inlet, where there is also the official Office of Parks Canada is. To the west of the National Park of Arctic Bay is reachable. For tours on skis or by snowmobile is recommended time between mid-April and mid-June, for boating and walking tours, the time between the end of July to late August.