Quttinirpaaq National Park

Quttinirpaaq National Park

Parks Directory of the United States / Canadian National Parks

Address: PO Box 278
Iqaluit, NU X0A0H0
Phone: 867-975-4673;
Fax: 867-975-4674;
Web: www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nu/quttinirpaaq
Size: 37,775 sq. km.
Established: 1988. Name was officially changed from Ellesmere Island to Quttinirpaaq and status was elevated from national park reserve to full-fledged national park in 1999.
Location: Park is situated on the north end of Ellesmere Island, the most northerly island of the Canadian Arctic archipelago. It covers half of the island that is north of Greely Fiord, and a third of the island's northern coastline, which is only 720 km from the North Pole. Park is accessible by plane through Resolute Bay (NWT), the second most northerly community in Canada. First Air offers jet services to Resolute Bay from Iqaluit or Ottawa. From Resolute Bay, charter services are offered to and from the park (a four-hour flight) by Kenn Borek Air. Make reservations well in advance for travel during the summer months.
Facilities: Limited.
Activities: Camping, hiking, fishing, dog sledding. Ward Hunt Island, along the park's northern coast, is the launching point for North Pole expeditions (usually in March or April).
Special Features: Canada's northernmost and second-largest national park protects some of the most remote, fragile, and rugged land in North America with natural features that include high mountains, deeply cut plateaus, polar desert, and arctic tundra. Icefields up to 900 meters (3,000 ft.) thick cloak the mountains in the northern portion of the park. This ice is a remnant of the last continental glaciation that covered most of North America 10,000 years ago. Several "nunataks" (peaks protruding through the icecap) stand more than 2,500 meters (8,250 ft.) above sea level. The peak of the nunatak, Mount Barbeau, at 2,616 meters (8,633 ft.) is the highest mountain in eastern North America. Quttinirpaaq National Park is also one of the driest areas of the northern hemisphere, with an annual precipitation of only 6 centimeters (2.5 in.).

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See other parks in Nunavut.