Pitsiulartok

Island in Nunavut, Canada

63°15′N 090°33′W / 63.250°N 90.550°W / 63.250; -90.550 (Pitsiulartok)Administration

Canada

NunavutNunavutRegionKivalliqDemographicsPopulationUninhabited

Pitsiulartok or Pituilaktok (formerly Fairway Island)^[1] is a small, uninhabited island located at 63°15'N, 90°33'W^[2] in Hudson Bay, about 13 km^[3] from the community of Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut, Canada. The narrow island is about 3.5 km in length and barely 1 km wide at its widest point. Traditionally it was a walrus-hunting ground for the local Inuit,^[2] and a landmark for southern whalers.^[4] It is part of a loose chain of small islands running along the coast, including Sakpik Island and Promise Island.

The name "Pituilaktok" comes from the Inuktitut name for a local bird known in English as the black guillemot (cepphus grylle), "pitiula".^[5]

Fairway Island, early 1920s. Subject unidentified. Photo by Hudson's Bay Company employee Capt. George Cleveland of the motor schooner Fort Chesterfield.

References

^ "Renaming the North". explorenorth.com. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
^ ^a ^b COSEWIC COMMITTEE ON THE STATUS OF ENDANGERED WILDLIFE IN CANADA. "COSEWIC Assessment and Update Status Report on the Atlantic Walrus Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus in Canada" (2006). Ottawa, ON. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ "Geographic features & Photographs around Chesterfield Inlet, in Nunavut, Canada". travelingluck.com. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
^ Barr, William (2004). Red Serge and Polar Bear Pants: The Biography of Harry Stallworthy. University of Alberta. p. 59. ISBN 0-88864-433-7. Fairway Island +Chesterfield.
^ Arctic Institute of North America. "Eskimo Bird Names at Chesterfield Inlet and Baker Lake, Keewatin, Northwest Territories" (PDF). ucalgary.com. Retrieved 2008-04-15.