{{Short description|Mountain range in Nunavut, Canada}} {{Infobox mountain | name=Baffin Mountains | image_map=Wfm_baffin_island.jpg | map_size= 275 | map_caption=Satellite image of Baffin Island, the Baffin Mountains are seen in northeastern Baffin Island | image=Summit Lake, Akshayuk Pass, Baffin Is.jpg | image_size= 275 | image_caption=Summit Lake, [[mountains]], [[Auyuittuq National Park]] | country= [[Canada]] | subdivision1_type=Territory | subdivision1= [[Nunavut]] | subdivision2_type= Regions | subdivision2= {{enum|[[Baffin Island]]|[[Bylot Island]]}} | parent= [[Arctic Cordillera]] | geology= | orogeny= | highest=Mount Odin | elevation_m= 2147 | coordinates= {{coord|66|33|N|65|26|W|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}} }}
The '''Baffin Mountains''' are a [[mountain range]] running along the northeastern coast of [[Baffin Island]] and [[Bylot Island]], [[Nunavut]], Canada. The ice-capped mountains are part of the [[Arctic Cordillera]] and have some of the highest peaks of eastern [[North America]], reaching a height of {{convert|1525|-|2146|m}} above [[sea level]].<ref>[http://www.ec.gc.ca/soer-ree/English/Framework/Nardesc/Region.cfm?region=5 Baffin Mountains]{{Dead link|date=June 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Retrieved on 2007-10-06</ref> While they are separated by bodies of water to make Baffin Island, they are closely related to the other mountain ranges that make the much larger Arctic Cordillera mountain range.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080217182242/http://www.parkwardens.com/zone1/1.html Park Wardens - Arctic Cordillera]}}</ref>
==Terrain== The highest point is [[Mount Odin]] at {{convert|2147|m|abbr=on|0}}<ref>{{cite peakbagger |name=Mount Odin, Nunavut | pid = 695}}</ref><ref>{{cite bivouac|266|Mount Odin}}</ref> while [[Mount Asgard]] (''Sivanitirutinguak'') at {{convert|2015|m|0|abbr=on}} is perhaps the best known.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304122101/http://www.peakware.com/areas.html?a=310|archive-date=2016-03-04|url=http://www.peakware.com/areas.html?a=310|title=Baffin Island|work=Peakware World Mountain Encyclopedia|access-date=2007-10-06}}</ref> The highest point in the northern Baffin Mountains is [[Qiajivik Mountain]] at {{convert|1963|m|abbr=on|0}}.<ref>{{cite bivouac|12827|Qiajivik Mountain}}</ref> There are no trees in the Baffin Mountains because they are north of the [[Arctic]] [[tree line]]. Rocks that compose the Baffin Mountains are primarily deeply dissected [[granite|granitic]] rocks. They were covered with ice until about 1500 years ago, and vast parts of them are still ice-covered. [[Geology|Geologically]], the Baffin Mountains form the eastern edge of the [[Canadian Shield]], which covers much of Canada's landscape.
[[File:Qijuttaaqanngittuq_Valley_1_1997-08-07.jpg|thumb|Baffin Mountains in [[Auyuittuq National Park]] ]] [[File:Mount Asgard 3 2001-07-25.jpg|thumb|[[Mount Asgard]] ]] [[File:Mount Thor.jpg|thumb|[[Mount Thor]] ]] [[File:Mt. Loki, Penny Icecap, Baffin Is.jpg|thumb|Mount Loki, [[Penny Ice Cap|Penny Icecap]], [[Baffin Island|Baffin Is.]] ]] {| class="wikitable" |+ Highest Peaks of the Baffin Mountains ! Rank !! Name !! m !! ft |- | 1 || [[Mount Odin]] || 2147 || 7044 |- | 2 || [[Mount Asgard]] || 2015 || 6611 |- | 3 || [[Qiajivik Mountain]] || 1963 || 6440 |- | 4 || [[Angilaaq Mountain]] || 1951 || 6401 |- | 5 || [[Kisimngiuqtuq Peak]] || 1905 || 6250 |- | 6 || [[Ukpik Peak]] || 1809 || 5935 |- | 7 || [[Bastille Peak]] || 1733 || 5686 |- | 8 || [[Mount Thule]] || 1711 || 5614 |- | 9 || [[Angna Mountain]] || 1710 || 5610 |- | 10 || [[Mount Thor]] || 1675 || 5495 |}
==Glaciation== The ranges of the Baffin Mountains are separated by deep [[fjord]]s and glaciated valleys with many spectacular glacial and ice-capped mountains. The snowfall in the Baffin Mountains is light, much less than in places like the [[Saint Elias Mountains]] in southeastern [[Alaska]] and southwestern [[Yukon]] which are plastered with snow.
The largest [[ice cap]] in the Baffin Mountains is the [[Penny Ice Cap]], which has an area of {{convert|6000|km2|abbr=on}}. During the mid-1990s, Canadian researchers studied the glacier's patterns of freezing and thawing over centuries by drilling ice core samples.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nunatsiaq.com/archives/60421/news/nunavut/60421_08.html |title=Nunatsiaq News: Penney Ice Cap shrinking like the rest? |access-date=2008-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512045855/http://www.nunatsiaq.com/archives/60421/news/nunavut/60421_08.html |archive-date=2008-05-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Flora and fauna== The dominant vegetation in the Baffin Mountains is a discontinuous cover of [[moss]]es, [[lichen]]s and cold-hardy [[vascular plant]]s such as [[Cyperaceae|sedge]] and [[Eriophorum|cottongrass]].
==History== One of the first mountaineering expeditions in the Baffin Mountains was in 1934 by J.M Wordie, in which two peaks called [[Pioneer Peak (Nunavut)|Pioneer Peak]] and [[Longstaff Tower]] were climbed.
The [[Auyuittuq National Park]] was established in 1976. It features much Arctic wilderness, such as fjords, [[glacier]]s and [[ice field]]s. In [[Inuktitut]] – the language of Nunavut's Aboriginal people, [[Inuit]] – Auyuittuq means "the land that never melts". Although Auyuittuq was established in 1976 as a national park reserve, it was upgraded to a full national park in 2000.
There were Inuit settlements in the Baffin Mountains before European contact. The first European contact is believed to have been by [[Norsemen|Norse]] explorers in the 11th century, but the first recorded sighting of Baffin Island was made by [[Martin Frobisher]] during his search for the [[Northwest Passage]] in 1576.
==References== {{reflist}} {{Arctic Cordillera}} {{Mountains of Nunavut}} {{Mountain ranges of Nunavut}} {{Geography topics}} {{Physical geography topics}}
[[Category:Arctic Cordillera]] [[Category:Mountain ranges of Baffin Island]] [[Category:Protected areas of Nunavut]]