Country Canada | ||
River mouth Bay of Gods Mercy, Nunavut
0 m (0 ft) | ||
The Boas is a river on Southampton Island in Nunavut, Canada. The river rises at 64°49′58″N 084°23′34″W and its mouth is located at the Bay of Gods Mercy. Proceeding inland, the river becomes braided and is about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) wide.
Contents
It is named after anthropologist Franz Boas.
Flora
There are rich sedge meadows in the river's 2 mi (3.2 km)-wide delta area.
Fauna
Bearded seal, bowhead whale, harbor seal, narwhal, polar bear, ringed seal, walrus, and white whale frequent the area.
Boas River and associated wetlands is a Canadian Important Bird Area, site #NU022 (63.75°N 85.66°W / 63.75; -85.66 (Bird Area #NU022 (Boas River))). The elevation varies from 0 m (0 ft) to 60 m (200 ft) above sea level. The IBA is 5,402 km2 (2,086 sq mi) in size. The Harry Gibbons Migratory Bird Sanctuary encompasses one third of the IBA's western portion.
This is a notable breeding area for the lesser snow goose. Other bird species include: American golden plover, Arctic loon, Atlantic brant, Canada goose, herring gull, jaegers, king eider, Lapland longspur, oldsqaw, red phalarope, red-throated loon, Ross's goose, tundra swan, sandhill crane, semipalmated plover, semipalmated sandpiper, and white-rumped sandpiper.
History
The area was populated by Sadlermiut until the early 20th century when they were wiped out by an epidemic.