Marble Island

Template: Infobox Island / Maintenance / image missing template: Infobox Island / Maintenance / area missing

Marble Iceland is an uninhabited island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, in the region in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut, Canada. During the heyday of seafaring, the island was estimated as a harbor for the winter at a residence in the Arctic Ocean.

Geography

Marble Iceland is located in the north of Canada in the western Hudson Bay. The nearest inhabited place is Rankin Inlet, 42 km WNW located on the island.

The island is eleven kilometers from west to east and is up to three kilometers wide. It reaches heights of over 90 meters in the center.

Geology

The island consists of a sedimentary rock called greywacke and is interspersed with quartzite. The quartzite gives the island its white, marble-like character.

Flora and Fauna

Marble Iceland is above the tree line and consists entirely of rock. There is only a low level of plant life, which consists primarily of lichens and mosses. Therefore, the number of animals occurring mainly on the polar bears, the Arctic fox, the polar hare and lemmings is limited. The island is visited by a large number of birds, including ducks, birds of prey and unidentified ' little brown birds '. Near the island there are large numbers of marine mammals, including several species of whales and seals. Because of the large number of marine animals Marble Iceland is a traditional summer hunting grounds of the Inuit.

History

An expedition in search of the Northwest Passage under the leadership of James Knight of the Hudson's Bay Company failed when it ran aground on the island. Despite the help of the local Inuit all expedition members died in 1722 from malnutrition and disease, especially scurvy. Her remains were discovered in 1769 by Samuel Hearne.

Between 1870 and 1887 Marble Iceland was very popular with whalers, but until 1890 the whaling has been completely abandoned, as near only a few whales could be found, and the ice conditions were difficult and unpredictable. The whaling ship Orray Taft sank near before it was abandoned by the crew. On the island there are several graves of seamen of the ship. This fact contributed substantially to the nickname of the Island - Deadman's Iceland (Island of the Dead) - at.

Today the island is a sacred site of the Inuit. You expect from visitors that this crawl to the coast, otherwise they will die exactly one year later.