LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Nunavut
built 202 days ago
Nunavut is the largest and newest of the territories of Canada; it was separated officially from the vast Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999. The capital of Nunavut is Iqaluit (formerly Frobisher Bay) on Baffin Island in the east. Other major communities include Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay. Nunavut ... includes Ellesmere Island in the north and the east of Victoria Island in the west.
Source:
The capital of Nunavut is Iqaluit (formerly Frobisher Bay) on Baffin Island in the east. Other major communities include Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay. Nunavut ... includes Ellesmere Island in the north and the east of Victoria Island in the west. Nunavut is both the least populated and the largest of the provinces and territorities of Canada. It has a population of only about 29,300 (Nunavummiut, sg. Nunavummiuq) spread over an area the size of Western Europe. If Nunavut were a sovereign nation, it would be the least densely populated in the world: nearby Greenland, for example, has almost the same area and twice the population.
Source:
Nunavut has four official languages: English, French, Inuinnaqtun, and Inuktitut. In 2001, only 26 percent of the territory's residents claimed English as their native language. Inuktitut was the first language for 70 percent of the population. Inuit communities are often a mixture of people from different cultural and linguistic areas, but most have characteristic dialects. Inuktitut uses a syllabic alphabet originally developed for the Cree by Anglican missionaries and modified for the Inuit in the 19th century. Most Inuit children learn Inuktitut as their mother tongue.
Source:
Permafrost is one reason why Nunavut has a cold environment. Found everywhere in Nunavut, permafrost is permanently frozen ground that maintains a temperature at or below the freezing point for at least two years. Permafrost developed long ago when an extremely cold climate caused the ground to freeze to great depths. During the summer, a thin layer of the surface known as the active layer may thaw, although the temperature of the ground beneath the active layer remains below freezing. Permafrost sometimes reaches depths of more than 500 meters (1,600 feet). Some scientists believe that global temperatures are increasing, resulting in warmer and longer summers.
Source:
The separation of Nunavut from the Northwest Territories began with a 1992 territorial referendum in which the electorate approved the move as part of the largest native land-claim settlement in Canadian history. The process concluded with the establishment of the new territory on Apr. 1, 1999. Nunavut has an elected 19-member assembly, which will assume all governing powers by 2009. Members of the assembly are elected on a nonpartisan basis. Paul Okalik, an Inuit, was elected by the assembly as Nunavut's first premier; he was reelected in 2004. The territory sends one senator and one representative to the national parliament.
Source:
Nunavut is a vast tundra, wide seas and small, friendly communities. It's a land that offers breathtaking vistas and an unhampered view of wildlife, where caribou follow ancestral trails and polar bears patrol the sea-ice. In Nunavut, adventure takes on a thrilling new dimension, set against some of the most powerful scenery on Earth. Come North, for the journey of a lifetime.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Nunavut