Neha Patil (Editor)

Coral Harbour

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Country
  
Canada

Region
  
Kivalliq Region

Time zone
  
EST (UTC-5)

Area
  
137.9 km²

Population
  
891 (2016)

Number of airports
  
1

Territory
  
Nunavut

Electoral district
  
Aivilik

Canadian Postal code
  
X0C 0C0

Elevation
  
64 m

Local time
  
Monday 1:49 AM

Coral Harbour

Weather
  
-31°C, Wind NW at 5 km/h, 68% Humidity

Coral harbour sar hd


Coral Harbour (Inuktitut: Salliq/Salliit, Syllabics: ᓴᓪᓕᖅ/ᓴᓪᓖᑦ), is a small Inuit community that is located on Southampton Island, Kivalliq Region, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Its name is derived from the fossilized coral that can be found around the waters of the community which is situated at the head of South Bay. The name of the settlement in Inuktitut is Salliq, sometimes used to refer to all of Southampton Island. The plural Salliit, means large flat island(s) in front of the mainland.

Contents

Map of Coral Harbour, NU, Canada

Northern canada day 4 coral harbour le nord canadien jour 4 coral harbour


History

The Sadlermiut ("inhabitants of Salliq") whose name is derived from Salliq previously occupied the area. The Sadlermiut are thought to be the last vestige of the Tuniit. The Tuniit, a pre-Inuit culture, officially went ethnically and culturally extinct in 1902-03 when a Western illness killed all of the Sallirmiut in a matter of weeks. However, others believe that the Sadlermiut were in fact descendants of the Thule, whose geographically isolated culture would have developed idiosyncratically from the mainland Thule culture. A third theory indicates that the Sadlermiut did not necessarily belong to either group, but because of intermarriage, their roots may have in fact been part of both Dorset and Thule cultures.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the area was repopulated by Aivilingmiut, whose name was to be later adapted for the Aivilik electoral district, from the Repulse Bay and Chesterfield Inlet areas, influenced to do so by whaler Capt. George Comer and others. Baffin Islanders arrived 25 years later. John Ell, who as a young child travelled with his mother Shoofly on Comer's schooners, eventually became the most famous of Southampton Island's re-settled population.

Demographics

At the 2016 census the population was 891, an increase of 6.8% from the 2011 census. Coral Harbour is the only Nunavut community that does not observe daylight saving time, remaining on Eastern Standard Time year-round.

Transportation

The only way to reach this community is by plane at Coral Harbour Airport or by water (such as the resupply barges that come from Churchill, Manitoba, every summer) and the main transportation on the island itself (nearly the same size as Switzerland) is by snowmobile and dog sleigh in the winter and all-terrain vehicle in the summer. Despite the harsh climate there is plentiful wildlife around the island. Among some of the species found there are walruses, polar bears, barren-ground caribou, ringed seals, gyrfalcons, and (rarely) peregrine falcons.

Notable residents

  • James Arvaluk, Nunavut's first Minister of Education and current member of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut for Tununiq, representing Pond Inlet. Arvaluk had previously been elected in Nanulik representing the hamlets of Chesterfield Inlet and Coral Harbour. Prior to 1 April 1999 division of the Northwest Territories he served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories for the Aivilik (now split between Rankin Inlet North, Akulliq and Nanulik) electoral district.
  • Tagak Curley, founder and first president Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (Inuit Tapirisat of Canada). Curley is currently a member of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut for Rankin Inlet North. Prior to division he represented Keewatin South and Aivilik and also stood as the Liberal candidate in the 1979 election for the Nunatsiaq (now Nunavut) riding.
  • Patterk Netser, former member of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut for Nanulik.
  • Pudlo Pudlat, notable artist who was born on Baffin Island but lived in the Coral Harbour area until the age of six.
  • Manitok Thompson, former member of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut for Rankin Inlet South/Whale Cove, and prior to division, of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories for Aivilik. She was Nunavut's first female cabinet minister.
  • Climate

    Throughout December 2010 and early January 2011, Nunavut, northern Quebec and western Greenland set many high temperature records. In Coral Harbour, a high of 3.3 °C (37.9 °F) in mid-December broke the old record of 1.7 °C (35.1 °F) set in 1963. The daily minimum temperature on 6 January 2011, was about 30 °C (54 °F) warmer than normal. The unusual warmth was due largely to an unseasonal area of high pressure over Greenland, and very negative values of the Arctic oscillation and North Atlantic oscillation. Mostly in the 21st century, the conditions have combined to produce an Arctic dipole anomaly that brings warm air to the Arctic regions and cold air to the continents.

    References

    Coral Harbour Wikipedia