Kugluktuk


Kugluktuk is a hamlet located at the mouth of the Coppermine River in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada, on Coronation Gulf, southwest of Victoria Island. It is the westernmost community in Nunavut, near the border with the Northwest Territories.
The traditional language of the area is Inuinnaqtun and is written using the Latin alphabet, rather than the syllabics of the Inuktitut writing system. Like Cambridge Bay, Bathurst Inlet, and Umingmaktok, syllabics are rarely seen and are used mainly by the Government of Nunavut.

Location

The community has the usual services: a post office, Northern Store, co-op store, and Hunters & Trappers Association. The two schools in the area are Kugluktuk High School and Jimmy Hikok Ilihakvik. In June 2004, a fuel line broke in the centre of Kugluktuk, spilling of diesel fuel.

Demographics

At the 2016 census, the population was 1,491, an increase of 2.8% from the 2011 census. The Population centre showed a population of 1,057, in an area of, an increase of 1% from 2011.
In 1982, a division plebiscite was held. While approximately 80% of the population in what is now Nunavut voted in favour of division, Coppermine was one of only two communities to vote against division. Cambridge Bay was the other.

Broadband communications

The community has been served by the Qiniq network since 2005. Qiniq is a fixed wireless service to homes and businesses, connecting to the outside world via a satellite backbone. The Qiniq network is designed and operated by SSI Micro. In 2017, the network was upgraded to 4G LTE technology, and 2G-GSM for mobile voice.

Geography

Kugluktuk is located on the shore of the Arctic Ocean. The surrounding landscape is dominated by the rocky and often barren Canadian Shield. The region has a subarctic climate, but barely so, with July having an average of. It has very cold and extremely dry winters, light snowfall. Though trees do exist in the region, they are dwarfed and extremely sparse.

Flora

Plant growth in the region during summer months includes small shrubs, grass, moss, lichens, blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, various flowers, and dwarf willow and birch trees.

Climate

Kugluktuk features a subarctic climate ; like most of mainland Nunavut; with wet summers and dry winters. It is in the transitional zone to a cold tundra climate, but falls outside of it, since its warmest month of July surpasses the isotherm, averaging.
The highest temperature ever recorded in Kugluktuk was on 15 July 1989. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 2 February 1968.

Gallery