Devon Island, Baffin Bay, Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada

September 6, 2018 - Day 11 of Quark's Northwest Passage
Voyage.
The morning's activities, sights, and sounds on YOUTUBE:
youtu.be/A8-f5OCIF_k
The afternoon's activities, sights, and sounds on YOUTUBE:
youtu.be/uIV8tnO2zb0

Devon Island (Inuit: Tatlurutit), located in Baffin Bay, Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada, is the world's largest uninhabited island. The ground remains frozen for almost the entire year, particularly the eastern third of the island, which is permanently covered by an ice cap some 500 to 700 meters thick. During the brief (40 to 55 days) growing season in the summer temperatures seldom exceed 50 °F and the ground is snow-free. In winter temperatures can plunge to as low as −58 °F).

Due to its relatively high elevation and its extreme northern latitude, Devon Island receives very little precipitation, resulting in a barren polar desert ecology, dominated by frost-shattered rocks and nearly devoid of plants and animals.

The lowlands are poorly drained favoring the growth of some moss over which Musk-Oxen graze year-round. The cold and wet soil is inhabited by invertebrates such as worms, protozoa, midge and fly larvae. The island also has a few bird populations.

For scientist and researchers, Devon Island is an extremely interesting place. Its desert setting and harsh climate is very similar to conditions on Mars.

Devon Island is the site of the Haughton impact crater, created approximately 39 million years ago when a meteorite about 1.2 mi in diameter slammed into what were then forests. The incident was so violent that rocks as far below as 1 mile were brought up to the surface. Because there is no flowing water due to the freezing temperature, weathering is minimal.

The impact left a crater about 14 mi in diameter, which was a lake for several million years. It retains many geological features that craters elsewhere lose to erosion. The Haughton impact crater area is said to have one of the most Mars-like terrain on earth.

It is the summer home to NASA's Haughton Mars Project, which studies how human explorers might live and work on other planetary objects, in particular on Mars. The

Haughton Mars Project has conducted geological, hydrological, botanical, and microbiological studies in this harsh environment since 1997.

“Devon Island's barren terrain, freezing temperatures, isolation, and remoteness offer NASA scientists and personnel a number of unique research opportunities,” reads the project’s information page on NASA’s website. “Other factors, such as the Arctic day and night cycle and restricted logistics and communications capabilities, offer fitting analogs for the challenges that crewmembers will likely face on long-duration space flights.”

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Devon Island, Baffin Bay, Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada

September 6, 2018 - Day 11 of Quark's Northwest Passage
Voyage.
The morning's activities, sights, and sounds on YOUTUBE:
youtu.be/A8-f5OCIF_k
The afternoon's activities, sights, and sounds on YOUTUBE:
youtu.be/uIV8tnO2zb0

Devon Island (Inuit: Tatlurutit), located in Baffin Bay, Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada, is the world's largest uninhabited island. The ground remains frozen for almost the entire year, particularly the eastern third of the island, which is permanently covered by an ice cap some 500 to 700 meters thick. During the brief (40 to 55 days) growing season in the summer temperatures seldom exceed 50 °F and the ground is snow-free. In winter temperatures can plunge to as low as −58 °F).

Due to its relatively high elevation and its extreme northern latitude, Devon Island receives very little precipitation, resulting in a barren polar desert ecology, dominated by frost-shattered rocks and nearly devoid of plants and animals.

The lowlands are poorly drained favoring the growth of some moss over which Musk-Oxen graze year-round. The cold and wet soil is inhabited by invertebrates such as worms, protozoa, midge and fly larvae. The island also has a few bird populations.

For scientist and researchers, Devon Island is an extremely interesting place. Its desert setting and harsh climate is very similar to conditions on Mars.

Devon Island is the site of the Haughton impact crater, created approximately 39 million years ago when a meteorite about 1.2 mi in diameter slammed into what were then forests. The incident was so violent that rocks as far below as 1 mile were brought up to the surface. Because there is no flowing water due to the freezing temperature, weathering is minimal.

The impact left a crater about 14 mi in diameter, which was a lake for several million years. It retains many geological features that craters elsewhere lose to erosion. The Haughton impact crater area is said to have one of the most Mars-like terrain on earth.

It is the summer home to NASA's Haughton Mars Project, which studies how human explorers might live and work on other planetary objects, in particular on Mars. The

Haughton Mars Project has conducted geological, hydrological, botanical, and microbiological studies in this harsh environment since 1997.

“Devon Island's barren terrain, freezing temperatures, isolation, and remoteness offer NASA scientists and personnel a number of unique research opportunities,” reads the project’s information page on NASA’s website. “Other factors, such as the Arctic day and night cycle and restricted logistics and communications capabilities, offer fitting analogs for the challenges that crewmembers will likely face on long-duration space flights.”

© All Rights Reserved

Devon Island, Baffin Bay, Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada

September 6, 2018 - Day 11 of Quark's Northwest Passage
Voyage.
The morning's activities, sights, and sounds on YOUTUBE:
youtu.be/A8-f5OCIF_k
The afternoon's activities, sights, and sounds on YOUTUBE:
youtu.be/uIV8tnO2zb0

Devon Island (Inuit: Tatlurutit), located in Baffin Bay, Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada, is the world's largest uninhabited island. The ground remains frozen for almost the entire year, particularly the eastern third of the island, which is permanently covered by an ice cap some 500 to 700 meters thick. During the brief (40 to 55 days) growing season in the summer temperatures seldom exceed 50 °F and the ground is snow-free. In winter temperatures can plunge to as low as −58 °F).

Due to its relatively high elevation and its extreme northern latitude, Devon Island receives very little precipitation, resulting in a barren polar desert ecology, dominated by frost-shattered rocks and nearly devoid of plants and animals.

The lowlands are poorly drained favoring the growth of some moss over which Musk-Oxen graze year-round. The cold and wet soil is inhabited by invertebrates such as worms, protozoa, midge and fly larvae. The island also has a few bird populations.

For scientist and researchers, Devon Island is an extremely interesting place. Its desert setting and harsh climate is very similar to conditions on Mars.

Devon Island is the site of the Haughton impact crater, created approximately 39 million years ago when a meteorite about 1.2 mi in diameter slammed into what were then forests. The incident was so violent that rocks as far below as 1 mile were brought up to the surface. Because there is no flowing water due to the freezing temperature, weathering is minimal.

The impact left a crater about 14 mi in diameter, which was a lake for several million years. It retains many geological features that craters elsewhere lose to erosion. The Haughton impact crater area is said to have one of the most Mars-like terrain on earth.

It is the summer home to NASA's Haughton Mars Project, which studies how human explorers might live and work on other planetary objects, in particular on Mars. The

Haughton Mars Project has conducted geological, hydrological, botanical, and microbiological studies in this harsh environment since 1997.

“Devon Island's barren terrain, freezing temperatures, isolation, and remoteness offer NASA scientists and personnel a number of unique research opportunities,” reads the project’s information page on NASA’s website. “Other factors, such as the Arctic day and night cycle and restricted logistics and communications capabilities, offer fitting analogs for the challenges that crewmembers will likely face on long-duration space flights.”

© All Rights Reserved

Croker Bay & Dundas Harbour, Devon Island, Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada

September 6, 2018 - Day 11 of Quark's Northwest Passage
Voyage.
The morning's activities, sights, and sounds on YOUTUBE:
youtu.be/A8-f5OCIF_k
The afternoon's activities, sights, and sounds on YOUTUBE:
youtu.be/uIV8tnO2zb0

CROKER BAY
Croker Bay is a fjord is situated on the southern coast of Devon Island on the Lancaster Sound in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada.

Devon Island, named by William Baffin in 1616 for the Devon shire in England, has its own extensive ice cap, which feeds two glaciers into Croker Bay.

The bay itself was named by William Edward Parry in 1819 in honor of John Wilson Croker, First Secretary to the Admiralty.

Upon entering this fjord, two large tide water glaciers are seen that tumble down the slopes and into the sea. These actively calving glaciers fill Croker Bay with gorgeous blue bergie bits that are released to the sea from the icecap of Devon Island.

The wide face of the glacier, backed by a spectacular stacked plateau of differently colored rock layers, makes a favorite photographic subject.

The area is a breeding site for Northern Fulmars and Black-legged Kittiwakes, The bay also is a summer ground for Arctic marine mammals. Seals are frequently sighted and occasionally walruses.

DUNDAS HARBOUR
Dundas Harbor is an abandoned settlement on Devon Island.

An outpost was established at the harbor in August 1924 as part of a government presence intended to curb foreign whaling and other activity. Hudson's Bay Company leased the outpost in 1933. The following year, 52 Inuit were relocated from Cape Dorset to Dundas Harbour but they returned to the mainland 13 years later.

Dundas Harbour was populated again in the late 1940s to maintain a patrol presence, but it was closed again in 1951 due to ice difficulties. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment was moved to Craig Harbour on southern Ellesmere Island.
Only the ruins of a few buildings remain, along with one of the northernmost cemeteries in the world.

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Croker Bay, Devon Island, Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada

September 6, 2018 - Day 11 of Quark's Northwest Passage
Voyage.
The morning's activities, sights, and sounds on YOUTUBE:
youtu.be/A8-f5OCIF_k
The afternoon's activities, sights, and sounds on YOUTUBE:
youtu.be/uIV8tnO2zb0


Croker Bay is a fjord is situated on the southern coast of Devon Island on the Lancaster Sound in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada.

Devon Island, named by William Baffin in 1616 for the Devon shire in England, has its own extensive ice cap, which feeds two glaciers into Croker Bay.

The bay itself was named by William Edward Parry in 1819 in honor of John Wilson Croker, First Secretary to the Admiralty.

Upon entering this fjord, two large tide water glaciers are seen that tumble down the slopes and into the sea. These actively calving glaciers fill Croker Bay with gorgeous blue bergie bits that are released to the sea from the icecap of Devon Island.

The wide face of the glacier, backed by a spectacular stacked plateau of differently colored rock layers, makes a favorite photographic subject.

The area is a breeding site for Northern Fulmars and Black-legged Kittiwakes, The bay also is a summer ground for Arctic marine mammals. Seals are frequently sighted and occasionally walruses.

© All Rights Reserved