Editing Belcher Islands

{{Short description|Island group in Nunavut, Canada}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox islands
| name = Belcher Islands
| image_name = Belcherislands.jpg
| image_caption = Landsat satellite photo of Belcher Islands
| image_size =
| pushpin_map = Canada Nunavut#Canada
| native_name = ᓴᓪᓚᔪᒐᐃᑦ<br />Sanikiluaq
| native_name_link = Inuit languages
| nickname =
| location = [[Hudson Bay]]
| coordinates = {{coord|56|11|N|79|15|W|region:CA-NU_type:isle_scale:2000000|notes=<ref name=OABXN>{{Cite cgndb|OABXN|Belcher Islands |accessdate=25 April 2025}}</ref>|display=inline,title}}
| archipelago = Belcher Islands Archipelago
| total_islands = 1,500
| major_islands = [[Flaherty Island]], [[Kugong Island]], [[Tukarak Island]], [[Innetalling Island]]
| area_km2 = 2896
| area_footnotes = <ref name=EB/>
| highest_mount =
| elevation_m =
| country = Canada
| country_admin_divisions_title = [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Territory]]
| country_admin_divisions = [[Nunavut]]
| country_admin_divisions_title_1 = [[Regions of Nunavut|Region]]
| country_admin_divisions_1 = [[Qikiqtaaluk Region|Qikiqtaaluk]]
| country_admin_divisions_title_2 =
| country_admin_divisions_2 =
| country_capital_city =
| country_largest_city =
| country_largest_city_population =
| country_leader_title =
| country_leader_name =
| population = 1,010 <!-- 2021 census population of Sanikiluaq -->
| population_as_of = 2021
| density_km2 = {{sigfig|1010/2896|2}}
| ethnic_groups = [[Inuit]]
| additional_info =
}}

The '''Belcher Islands''' ({{langx|iu|ᓴᓪᓚᔪᒐᐃᑦ|Sanikiluaq}})<ref>Issenman, Betty. ''Sinews of Survival: The living legacy of Inuit clothing''. UBC Press, 1997. pp252-254</ref> are an [[archipelago]] in the southeast part of [[Hudson Bay]] near the centre of the [[Nastapoka arc]]. The Belcher Islands are spread out over almost {{cvt|13000|km2}}.<ref name=EB/> Administratively, they belong to the [[Qikiqtaaluk Region]] of [[Nunavut]], Canada.<ref name=OABXN/>

The hamlet of [[Sanikiluaq]], where the majority of the inhabitants of the Belcher Islands live, is on the north coast of [[Flaherty Island]] and is the southernmost in Nunavut. Along with Flaherty Island, the other large islands are [[Kugong Island]], [[Tukarak Island]], and [[Innetalling Island]].<ref name="mil">{{cite web|url=http://pollux.nss.nima.mil/NAV_PUBS/SD/Pub146/146sec15.pdf|title=Section 15, Chart Information|publisher=pollux.nss.nima.mil|page=322|access-date=2009-08-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041119041011/http://pollux.nss.nima.mil/NAV_PUBS/SD/Pub146/146sec15.pdf|archive-date=2004-11-19}}</ref> Other main islands in the 1,500-island archipelago are [[Moore Island (Belcher Islands)|Moore Island]], Wiegand Island, Split Island, Snape Island, and Mavor Island, while island groups include the Sleeper Islands, King George Islands, and Bakers Dozen Islands.<ref name="Johnson1998">{{cite book|last=Johnson|first=Martha|title=Lore: Capturing Traditional Environmental Knowledge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oeuiv0DyFQcC&pg=PA71|access-date=17 November 2012|date=1 June 1998|publisher=DIANE Publishing|isbn=978-0-7881-7046-1|pages=71–}}</ref>

==History==
The archaeological evidence present on the islands indicates that they were inhabited by the [[Dorset culture]] between 500 BCE and 1000 CE. Centuries later, from 1200 to 1500, the [[Thule people]] made their presence on the islands.<ref name="Sanikiluaq">{{cite web |title=History of Sanikiluaq – Past and Present |url=http://www.sanikiluaq.ca/i18n/english/history.html |website=Welcome to Sanikiluaq |publisher=Hamlet of Sanikiluaq |access-date=29 June 2022}}</ref>

The first European to encounter the islands was English sea explorer [[Henry Hudson]], the namesake of [[Hudson Bay]], who sighted the islands in 1610.<ref name=EB>{{cite web |title=Belcher Islands |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Belcher-Islands |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |publisher=Britannica |access-date=29 June 2022}}</ref> In 1670, the islands and the entirety of [[Hudson Bay drainage basin]] were designated by the English king, [[Charles II of England|Charles II]], as [[Rupert's Land]], managed by the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] (HBC). The islands are likely named after Captain James Belcher, an HBC employee in the early 18th-century,<ref name=HBC>{{cite web |title=Hudson's Bay Company: Belcher Islands |url=https://pam.minisisinc.com/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/PAM_AUTHORITY/AUTH_DESC_DET_REP/SISN%202032?sessionsearch |website=pam.minisisinc.com |publisher=Archives of Manitoba - Keystone Archives Descriptive Database |access-date=2025-04-25}}</ref> or after [[Royal Navy]] Admiral Sir [[Edward Belcher]] (1799–1877).<ref name=EB/>

In the early 19th century, [[reindeer|caribou]] herds which lived on the islands disappeared. In an alternative effort to find warm clothing, the inhabitants of the islands sought the [[Down feather|down]] of [[Eider|eider duck]]s, seaducks who nest on the island.<ref name="Sanikiluaq" /> In 1870, Rupert's Land was ceded to the [[Northwest Territories]].

Before 1914, English-speaking cartographers knew very little about the Belcher Islands, which they showed on maps as specks, much smaller than their true extent. In that year a map showing them, drawn by George Weetaltuk,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic36-2-214.pdf |title=George Weetaltuk (ca. 1862–1956) |access-date=2009-01-15 |archive-date=2011-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524151209/http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic36-2-214.pdf }}</ref> came into the hands of [[Robert Flaherty]], and cartographers began to represent them more accurately.<ref>{{cite book|last=Harvey|first=P.D.A.|title=The History of Topographical Maps|date=1980|publisher=Thames and Hudson|isbn=0-500-24105 8|pages=34–35}}</ref>

Circa 1933, the Hudson's Bay Company opened a fur trade post, which served as an outpost of the [[Kuujjuarapik|Great Whale River post]] until 1935, when it became a full post.<ref name=HBC/> In 1941, a religious movement led by Charley Ouyerack, Peter Sala, and his sister Mina caused the death by blows or [[Hypothermia|exposure]] of nine persons, an occurrence that came to be known as the Belcher Island Murders.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.adn.com/alaska-life/we-alaskans/2017/03/26/at-the-end-of-the-world-tells-a-shocking-tale-of-murder-in-the-arctic/|title='At the End of the World' tells a shocking tale of murder in the Arctic|date=March 26, 2017|website=Anchorage Daily News|language=en-US|access-date=2017-12-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://jmortonmusings.blogspot.com/2014/03/when-god-and-satan-battled-in-barren.html|title=Morton's Musings: When 'God' and 'Satan' battled in a barren land; the Belcher Islands Murders|last=Morton|first=James C.|date=2014-03-30|website=Morton's Musings|access-date=2017-12-03}}</ref> In 1948, the HBC closed its Belcher Islands post.<ref name=HBC/>

In 1963, the HBC opened a Northern Store on the Belcher Islands, which was named Sanikiluaq from 1978 on. HBC divested the Northern Stores department in 1987 to [[The North West Company]], which still operates a Northern Store at Sanikiluaq.<ref name=HBC/><ref>{{cite web |title=Northern/NorthMart Locator |url=https://www.northmart.ca/our-stores/locator |website=www.northmart.ca |publisher=North West Company |access-date=2025-04-25}}</ref>

In 1999, when Nunavut was separated from Northwest Territories, the Belcher Islands were included within Nunavut, along with most islands in Hudson Bay.

==Geology==
[[File:Sanikiluaq rocks -d.jpg|thumb|Folded Proterozoic [[Dolomite (rock)|dolomite]]s in the Belcher (Sanikiluaq) Islands]]
[[File:Sanikiluaq rocks.jpg|thumb|Thin-bedded Proterozoic sedimentary rocks near [[Sanikiluaq, Nunavut|Sanikiluaq hamlet]]. These rocks are about 2 billion years old. The width of the bottom of the photo is about 5 metres.]]

=== General geology ===
The geologic units of the Belcher Group, which forms the Belcher Islands, were deposited during the [[Paleoproterozoic]]. Combined with other Paleoproterozoic units that occur along the edge of the [[Superior craton|Superior Craton]], the Belcher Group forms part of the [[Circum-Superior Belt]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baragar |first1=W.R.A. |last2=Scoates |first2=R.F.J. |chapter=The Circum-Superior Belt: A Proterozoic Plate Margin?|date=1981|title=Developments in Precambrian Geology|pages=297–330|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=978-0-444-41910-1 |doi=10.1016/s0166-2635(08)70017-3}}</ref>

From youngest to oldest, the Belcher Group is composed of:<ref name=":0">{{Cite report|last=Jackson|first=G D|date=1960|title=Belcher Islands, Northwest Territories 33m, 34d, and E|doi=10.4095/101205|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite report|last=Jackson|first=G D|date=2013|title=Geology, Belcher Islands, Nunavut|doi=10.4095/292434|doi-access=free}}</ref>

* Loaf Formation ([[molasse]])
* Omarolluk Formation ([[flysch]])
* Flaherty Formation ([[flood basalt]])
* Kipalu Formation ([[Banded iron formation|iron formation]])
* Mukpollo Formation ([[sandstone]])
* Rowatt Formation ([[Shallow water marine environment|shallow water carbonate]])
* Laddie Formation (deep marine [[Red beds|red bed]])
* Costello Formation (carbonate slope deposit)
* Mavor Formation ([[stromatolite]] [[Reef|reef complex]])
* Tukarak Formation ([[Shallow water marine environment|shallow water carbonate]])
* Fairweather Formation ([[Shallow water marine environment|shallow water carbonate]])
* Eskimo Formation ([[flood basalt]])
* Kasegalik Formation ([[sabkha]])

The oldest part of the Belcher Group, the Kasegalik Formation, was deposited between 2.0185 and 2.0154 billion years ago.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Hodgskiss|first1=Malcolm S. W.|last2=Dagnaud|first2=Olivia M. J.|last3=Frost|first3=Jamie L.|last4=Halverson|first4=Galen P.|last5=Schmitz|first5=Mark D.|last6=Swanson-Hysell|first6=Nicholas L.|last7=Sperling|first7=Erik A.|date=2019-08-15|title=New insights on the Orosirian carbon cycle, early Cyanobacteria, and the assembly of Laurentia from the Paleoproterozoic Belcher Group|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X19302936|journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters|language=en|volume=520|pages=141–152|doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2019.05.023|bibcode=2019E&PSL.520..141H|s2cid=197578328|issn=0012-821X}}</ref> The Kasegalik Formation also contains the oldest unambiguous [[Cyanobacteria]] microfossils.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hofmann|first=H. J.|date=1976|title=Precambrian Microflora, Belcher Islands, Canada: Significance and Systematics|journal=Journal of Paleontology|volume=50|issue=6|pages=1040–1073|jstor=1303547|issn=0022-3360}}</ref> Much of the  Belcher Group strata were deposited under intertidal to shallow-water conditions, although the Mavor Formation formed a platform margin stromatolite reef complex,<ref name=":3">{{Cite report|last1=Ricketts|first1=B D|last2=Donaldson|first2=J A|date=1981|title=Sedimentary History of the Belcher Group of Hudson Bay|doi=10.4095/109371|doi-access=free}}</ref> and the overlying Costello and Laddie formations represent slope and deep basin deposits, respectively.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> The Kipalu Formation, deposited approximately 1.88 billion years ago, is notable for being a granular [[Banded iron formation|iron formation]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> The Flaherty Formation basalt that composes much of the Belcher Islands was deposited between 1.87 and 1.854 billion years ago,<ref name=":2" /> with the overlying Omarolluk and Loaf formations being deposited from 1.854 billion years ago until sometime after 1.83 billion years ago.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Corrigan|first1=David|last2=van Rooyen|first2=Deanne|last3=Wodicka|first3=Natasha|date=April 2021|title=Indenter tectonics in the Canadian Shield: A case study for Paleoproterozoic lower crust exhumation, orocline development, and lateral extrusion|journal=Precambrian Research|volume=355|page=106083|doi=10.1016/j.precamres.2020.106083|bibcode=2021PreR..355j6083C|s2cid=233524866|issn=0301-9268}}</ref>

=== Soapstone ===
The occurrence of very high-quality [[soapstone]] in the Belcher Islands supports a locally significant carving industry.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Timlick|first=L.|date=2017|title=Comparative study of the petrogenesis of excellent-quality carving stone from Korok Inlet, southern Baffin Island, and the Belcher Islands, Nunavut|url=https://m.cngo.ca/wp-content/uploads/Summary_of_Activities_2017-P11-Timlick.pdf|journal=Summary of Activities|via=Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office}}</ref> These soapstone occurrences formed when sedimentary rocks of the Belcher Group were [[Intrusive rock|intruded]] by Haig sills and dykes approximately 1.87 billion years ago.<ref name=":4" /> Most soapstone is quarried from a site on western Tukarak Island where dolomite of the Costello Formation was [[Intrusive rock|intruded]] by hot [[magma]],<ref name=":4" /> with [[Dolomite (mineral)|dolomite]] reacting with [[quartz]] and [[water]] under intense heat to form [[talc]], [[calcite]], and [[carbon dioxide]]:

{{chem2|3CaMg(CO3)2 + 4SiO2 + H2O ->[Heat] Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 + 3CaCO3 + 3CO2}}

Other minerals within the soapstone are largely [[calcite]], [[Dolomite (mineral)|dolomite]], [[talc]], and [[Chlorite group|clinochlore]], with minor amounts of [[ilmenite]].

Although most soapstone has been sourced from two quarries, the relatively widespread occurrence of Haig intrusions within the Belcher Islands suggests that there may be many more possible sources of high-quality soapstone not yet discovered.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Steenkamp|first=H.M.|date=2016|title=Geological mapping and petrogenesis of carving stone in the Belcher Islands, Nunavut|url=https://m.cngo.ca/wp-content/uploads/Summary_of_Activities_2016-P12-Steenkamp.pdf|journal=Summary of Activities|via=Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office}}</ref>

==Flora==
Several species of willow (''[[Salix]]'') form a large component of the native small shrubbery on the archipelago. These include rock willow (''[[Salix vestita]]''), bog willow (''[[Salix pedicellaris|S.&nbsp;pedicellaris]]''), and Labrador willow (''[[Salix argyrocarpa|S.&nbsp;argyrocarpa]]''), as well as naturally occurring [[Hybridisation (biology)|hybrids]] between ''[[Salix arctica|S.&nbsp;arctica]]'' and ''[[Salix glauca|S.&nbsp;glauca]]''.<ref name="FoNA">{{cite book |title=Flora of North America |volume=7 |pages=64, 80, 83, 115 |year=2010 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-531822-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I_KRof-0pX4C&q=flora+belcher+islands&pg=PA83 |access-date=6 September 2017}}</ref> Trees cannot grow on the islands because of a lack of adequate soil.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mitiq.com/belcher-islands.htm |title=Belcher Islands |access-date=2009-02-12 |archive-date=2012-09-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120909021610/http://www.mitiq.com/belcher-islands.htm }}</ref>

==Fauna==
The main wildlife consists of [[beluga (whale)|belugas]], [[walrus]], [[caribou (North America)|caribou]], [[common eider]]s and [[snowy owl]]s all of which can be seen on the island year round. There is also a wide variety of [[fish]] that can be caught such as [[Arctic char]], [[cod]], [[capelin]], [[Cyclopterus lumpus|lump fish]], and [[sculpin]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mitiq.com/sanikiluaq-kayaking-tours.htm |title=Belcher Island Kayak Tour |access-date=2009-02-12 |archive-date=2010-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100220093812/http://www.mitiq.com/sanikiluaq-kayaking-tours.htm }}</ref> The historical relationship between the [[Sanikiluaq]] community and the eider is the subject of a feature-length Canadian documentary film called ''[[People of a Feather]]''. The director, cinematographer and biologist Joel Heath, spent seven years on the project, writing biological articles on the eider.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1929346/|title=People of a Feather (2011)|date=8 November 2013|publisher=IMDBaccessdate=8 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peopleofafeather.com/|title=People of a Feather|access-date=8 February 2012}}</ref>

In 1998, the Belcher Island caribou (''Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus'') herd numbered 800.<ref>{{citation|last1=Mallory|first1=F.F.|first2=T.L.|last2=Hillis|year=1998|title=Demographic characteristics of circumpolar caribou populations: ecotypes, ecological constraints/releases, and population dynamics|journal=Rangifer|issue=Special Issue 10|pages=9–60|url=http://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/rangifer/article/viewFile/1541/1447|access-date=18 December 2013}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* Bell, Richard T. ''Report on Soapstone in the Belcher Islands, N.W.T''. St. Catharines, Ont: Dept. of Geological Sciences, Brock University, 1973.
* Born, David O. "Eskimo Education and the Trauma of Social Change". Social Science Notes – 1, Northern Science Research Group, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Ottawa, January 15, 1970
* Caseburg, Deborah Nancy. ''Religious Practice and Ceremonial Clothing on the Belcher Islands, Northwest Territories''. Ottawa: National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1994. {{ISBN|0-315-88029-5}}
* Flaherty, Robert J. ''The Belcher Islands of Hudson Bay Their Discovery and Exploration''. Zug, Switzerland: Inter Documentation Co, 1960s.
* Fleming, Brian, and Miriam McDonald. ''A Nest Census and the Economic Potential of the Hudson Bay Eider in the South Belcher Islands, N.W.T''. Sanikiluaq, N.W.T.: Brian Fleming and Miriam McDonald, Community Economic Planners, 1987.
* Guemple, D. Lee. ''Kinship Reckoning Among the Belcher Island Eskimo''. Chicago: Dept. of Photoduplication, University of Chicago Library, 1966.
* Hydro-Québec, and Environmental Committee of Sanikiluaq. ''Community Consultation in Sanikiluaq Among the Belcher Island Inuit on the Proposed Great Whale Project''. Sanikiluaq, N.W.T.: Environmental Committee, Municipality of Sanikiluaq, 1994.
* Jonkel, Charles J. ''The Present Status of the Polar Bear in the James Bay and Belcher Islands Area''. Ottawa: Canadian Wildlife Service, 1976.
* Manning, T. H. ''Birds and Mammals of the Belcher, Sleeper, Ottawa and King George Islands, and Northwest Territories''. Ottawa: Canadian Wildlife Service, 1976.
* Oakes, Jill E. ''Utilization of Eider Down by Ungava Inuit on the Belcher Islands''. [Ottawa, Ont.]: Canadian Home Economics Journal, 1991.
* Richards, Horace Gardiner. ''Pleistocene Fossils from the Belcher Islands in Hudson Bay''. Annals of the Carnegie Museum, v. 23, article 3. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Museum, 1940.
* Twomey, Arthur C., and Nigel Herrick. ''Needle to the North, The Story of an Expedition to Ungava and the Belcher Islands''. Houghton Mifflin, 1942.

{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Belcher Islands}}
* [http://www.sanikiluaq.ca/i18n/english/ Welcome to the Municipality of Sanikiluaq]

{{Islands of the Qikiqtaaluk Region}}
{{Subdivisions of Nunavut}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Belcher Islands| ]]
[[Category:Islands of Hudson Bay]]
[[Category:Volcanism of Nunavut]]
[[Category:Archipelagoes of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago]]
[[Category:Hudson's Bay Company trading posts in Nunavut]]