Location Northern Canada Region Qikiqtaaluk Area 1,250 km² | Nunavut Nunavut Population Uninhabited Province Québec | |
Archipelago Canadian Arctic Archipelago
Ungava Bay Archipelago Total islands 100 (Plover Islands and Payne Islands combined) | ||
The uninhabited Payne Islands are an archipelago, members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and the Ungava Bay Archipelago, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. They are located in Payne Bay, a waterway in western Ungava Bay, just east of the Arnaud River (formerly the Payne River) and the community of Kangirsuk on Quebec's Ungava Peninsula.
Contents
Map of Payne Islands, Rivi%C3%A8re-Koksoak, QC, Canada
Note: The Atlas of Canada does not recognise this appellation; presumably the Payne Islands are the islets of Nanuk, Agvik, and Akunok.
Geography
The islands have a hard granitic gneiss and a thin layer of soil. Their perimeter measures approximately 3 km (1.9 mi).
Flora
Their habitat includes lichen, moss, sedges, and low woody shrubs.
Fauna
Combined with the Plover Islands, the Payne Islands are a Canadian Important Bird Area (#NU027). Notable bird species include the common eider and colonial waterbirds/seabirds.
The Payne Islands are a part of the Ungava Bay Archipelagoes, a Key Migratory Terrestrial Bird Site (NU Site 51).