Labrador-Ungava

Labrador-Ungava (lăb`rədôr'-əngā`və, –əngäv`ə), peninsular region of E Canada, c.550,000 sq mi (1,424,500 sq km), bounded on the W by Hudson Bay, on the N by Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay, on the E by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the S by the St. Lawrence River. It is very sparsely populated. The western four fifths of the peninsula belongs to Nouveau Québec (Ungava) and Saguenay counties of Québec prov. The eastern fifth, called simply Labrador, is part of Newfoundland and Labrador prov.

The northern part of the region is a cold, barren tundra; the southern part is covered by coniferous forests. Geologically part of the Canadian Shield, the glaciated peninsula has many lakes and streams. There are vast and largely untapped mineral, hydroelectric, and timber resources on the peninsula. Since the mid-1950s the region's development has been aided by the construction of new ports and railheads at Sept-Îles and Port Cartier on the St. Lawrence River, which provide outlets for iron ore mines in the interior. Asbestos, titanium, and copper are also mined, and there are nickel and cobalt deposits under development.

Inuit communities have lived along the coastline for centuries. The region south of Ungava Bay, originally a possession of the Hudson's Bay Company, was made a part of the Northwest Territories in 1869, and later (1895) became a separate district. In 1912 it was added to Quebec, but in 1927 the eastern coast was awarded to Newfoundland, then a separate dominion not part of Canada, by the British Privy Council. Although Canada accepted the decision, Quebec has never officially recognized it. Many coastal communities remain relatively isolated, accessible only by water or air.