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Why
Baffin Island
is special

This remote land in northern Canada has a spectacular arctic landscape that
attracts adventure travelers.

Tips & insights
on Baffin Island in Canada

Auyuittuq
National Park in southwestern Baffin Island is the leading destination for
adventure travelers. It is noted for its impressive mountain peaks. Rock
climbers and base jumpers love the vertical-drop cliffs, which are as high as
1,200 meters (4,000 feet).

Pond
Inlet in northwestern Canada is another popular place for adventure travelers. The
area offers pristine peaks, fjords and glaciers while the sea coast is home to
whales and polar bears.

Baffin
Island is 1600 kilometers (1000 miles) long and is the world's fifth largest
island.

It
has a population of about 10,000. Most residents are Inuits.

Two-thirds
of Baffin Island lies north of the Arctic Circle. Consequently, that segment
experiences 24-hour daylight around June and 24-hour darkness around December.

Iqaluit
on the southern coast is the major town and serves as the capital of Canada's
vast, cold and sparsely settled Nanuvut Territory.

Geologically,
the western side of the island is mainly tundra. The eastern portion is lined
with a rugged, ice-capped mountain range soaring over 2100 meters (7,000 feet).

The
Inuits have inhabited Baffin Island for at least 1,500 years.

Some
evidence suggests that the Vikings were the first Europeans to see Baffin
Island, about 1,000 years ago.

The
island was named for the 17th century British explorer William Baffin. He
unsuccessfully sought the Northwest Passage.



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