Arctic Geography
Natural Features

Arctic Climate
Environment

Canadian Inuit
Northern Population

References

Canada’s Arctic geographic setting varies from east to west, north to south.  The bulk of the Canadian Arctic resides in what is called the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, a group of 94 major islands (greater than 130 km²).  Taking into account both major and minor islands, the Archipelago houses more than 36,000 islands at a total area larger than the size of the province of Ontario; the northernmost group of islands is known as the Queen Elizabeth Islands.  The Archipelago also encompasses the bulk of the various routes making up the Northwest Passage.

The eastern Canadian Arctic is home to one of Canada’s major mountain ranges, the Arctic Cordillera.  Extending more than 1,000 km from Ellesmere Island to the northern coastline of Labrador, the Arctic Cordillera is home to enormous ice caps, ice sheets, glaciers and mountain peaks rising more than 2,600 meters in height.

Satellite image of the five remaining ice shelves on northern Ellesmere Island; July through August, 2008 the ice shelves experienced dramatic losses
Image Credit: Jesse Allen -- NASA

The northern coastline of the Canadian Arctic is home to the majestic yet increasingly sparse ice shelves.  An ice shelf is formed from both sea ice and accumulated snow deposits perched along a coastline.  The Ward Hunt Ice Shelf (located on Ellesmere Island) formed more than 3,000 years ago and is the largest in the Arctic.  Among the five remaining ice shelves on Ellesmere Island, the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf lost approximately 20 km² in size during July, 2008 due in part to rising temperatures in the region. 

Notable geographic features of the western Canadian Arctic largely consist of plateaus and hills, while sea ice is a commanding feature throughout the entire Canadian Arctic maritime landscape.  Pressure ridges (compressed ice extending downward) and hummocks (small ice hills) are some dominant sea ice characteristics which produce navigational hazards.   

The southern portion of the Canadian Arctic (largely residing on the mainland of the territories) is home to the tree line – a defining Arctic feature.  At this juncture, trees are sparse, stunted and offer a transition to the northern terrain dominated by tundra (treeless environment) and permafrost (frozen soil).