{{Infobox river | name = Hornaday River | image = | image_caption = | source1_location = South of [[Bluenose Lake]] (''Takipaq''), [[Nunavut]] | mouth_location = [[Amundsen Gulf]], [[Northwest Territories]] | mouth_coordinates = {{coord|69|19|50|N|123|47|41|W|region:CA|name=Hornady River (mouth)|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = [[Canada]] | length_km = 190 | source1_elevation = | mouth_elevation = [[Sea level]] | discharge1_avg = {{convert|52.2|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="Ayles">{{cite journal |last1=Ayles |first1=G. Burton |first2=Norman B. |last2=Snow |date=January 2002 |journal=Arctic |volume= 55 |number= 5, Supp. 1 |pages= 9 |title=Canadian Beaufort Sea 2000: The Environmental and Social Setting |url=http://arctic.journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/arctic/index.php/arctic/article/view/731/757 |issn= 1923-1245 |doi= 10.14430/arctic731 |access-date= 2015-05-29|doi-access=free }}</ref> | basin_size_km2 = 13120 | basin_size_ref = <ref name="Ayles" /> }} '''Hornaday River''' (variants: '''Big River''', '''Homaday River''', '''Hornaaa River''';<ref name="oclc">{{cite web |url=http://0-tspilot.oclc.org.millennium.mohave.edu/lcsh/sh2004011506.html |title=Hornaday River (Nunavut and N.W.T.) |publisher=oclc.org |access-date=2009-03-06}}{{dead link|date=May 2015}}</ref> or '''Rivière La Roncière-le Noury'''<ref name="Davis">{{cite encyclopedia |editor-last=Davis |editor-first=Richard Clarke |title=Emile Petitot (1838 - 1916) |encyclopedia=Lobsticks and Stone Cairns: Human Landmarks in the Arctic |url={{google books|CKisKFb0YKYC|p=153|plainurl=yes}} |publisher=University of Calgary Press |location=Calgary, Canada |date=1996 |pages=153–154 |isbn=978-1-895176-88-9}}</ref>) is a [[waterway]] located above the [[Arctic Circle]] on the mainland of [[Northern Canada]].
The upper reach of a river first discovered in 1868 was named Rivière La Roncière-le Noury in honour of Admiral Baron [[Adalbert Camille Marie Clément de La Roncière-Le Noury]], commander of the Mediterranean Squadron, and president of the [[Société de Géographie]]. The lower reach of a river discovered in 1899 was named Hornaday after American [[zoology|zoologist]] [[William Temple Hornaday]]. Decades later, the Roncière and the Hornaday were ascertained to be the same river.
==Course== The river originates ({{coord|67|52|10|N|120|13|16|W|type:waterbody_region:CA-NU|name=Hornady River (head)}}) in the western [[Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut|Kitikmeot Region]], [[Nunavut]], {{convert|20|km|mi}} south of [[Bluenose Lake]]<ref name="oclc" /> (''Takipaq'').<ref name="proposed">{{cite report |last=Stevenson |first=Marc |title=Survey of the proposed national park at Bluenose Lake |url=http://www.aina.ucalgary.ca/scripts/minisa.dll/144/proe/proeyd/su+women+and+rt+any+r?COMMANDSEARCH |date=1991 |work=Northern Past Heritage Consultants |publisher=Arctic Science and Technology Information System |access-date=2009-03-09 |archive-date=2009-06-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612230543/http://www.aina.ucalgary.ca/scripts/minisa.dll/144/proe/proeyd/su+women+and+rt+any+r?COMMANDSEARCH |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite report |last1=Jones |first1=T. A. |last2=Jeffersen |first2=C. W. |last3=Morrell |first3=G. R. |title=Assessment of Mineral and Energy Resource Potential in the Brock Inlier - Bluenose Lake Area, N.W.T. |url={{google books|E9Te1_8XaVUC|p=3|plainurl=yes}} |publisher=Geological Survey of Canada |location=Ottawa, Canada |page=3 |date=April 1992 |access-date=2015-05-29}}</ref> It initially flows west-southwest, passing into the [[Northwest Territories]] along the southern edge of the [[Melville Hills]] within the [[Inuvialuit Settlement Region|Settlement Region]] of the [[Inuvialuit]],<ref name="charr">{{cite report |url=http://fishfp.sasktelwebhosting.com/publications/Hornaday%20Arctic%20Char%20SSR%20(1999).pdf |title=Hornaday River Arctic Charr |date=February 2000 |work=DFO Science Stock Status Report D5-68 (1999) |publisher=Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Government of Canada |location=Winnipeg, Canada |access-date=2009-03-06 |issn=1480-4913 |archive-date=2022-01-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106234042/http://fishfp.sasktelwebhosting.com/publications/Hornaday%20Arctic%20Char%20SSR%20(1999).pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> just south of the [[Tuktut Nogait National Park]] boundary. It then flows northwest through Tuktut Nogait, its canyons and waterfalls making it one of the main features of the park. The river empties into [[Amundsen Gulf]]'s [[Darnley Bay]], {{convert|14|km|mi|0}} east of the [[Inuit]] [[Hamlet (place)#Canada|hamlet]] of [[Paulatuk, Northwest Territories|Paulatuk]].<ref name="Paddling ">{{cite web |url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/nt/tuktutnogait/activ/activ3.aspx#paddling |website=Tuktut Nogait National Park of Canada |title=Activities - Experiences to Discover - Paddling |publisher=Parks Canada |date=2015-05-15 |access-date=2009-03-06}}</ref>
The Hornaday is approximately {{convert|190|km|mi}} long. Its main tributary is the Little Hornaday River northwest of the park. First Creek, Second Creek, Aklak Creek, George Creek, and Rummy Creek drain the Hornaday. Rummy Lake ({{coord|69|07|31|N|123|30|08|W|type:waterbody_region:CA-NT|name=Rummy Lake (Hornady River)}}), Seven Islands Lake ({{coord|69|17|02|N|123|00|16|W|type:waterbody_region:CA-NT|name=Seven Islands Lake (Hornady River)}}), and Hornaday Lake are part of the river's system.<ref name="charr" /> Hornaday River runs parallel with the Horton River to its west, and the Brock River to its east.
Located at an elevation of {{convert|274|m|ft}} [[above mean sea level|above sea level]],<ref name="geonames">{{cite web|url=http://www.geonames.org/6050057/la-ronciere-falls.html |title=La Roncière Falls ca. 274 m |website=GeoNames |access-date=2009-03-09}}</ref> La Roncière Falls ({{coord|69|08|16|N|122|52|37|W|type:landmark_region:CA-NT|name=La Roncière Falls (Hornady River)}}) is a {{convert|23|m|ft|adj=on}} [[waterfall]] on the Hornaday, south of the main tributary. Its name was adopted by the [[Geographical Names Board of Canada]] in June 1952.<ref name="Fraser 1952, p. 231">{{cite journal |last=Fraser |first=J. K. |date=January 1952 |title=Identification of Petitot's Riviere La Ronciere-le Noury |journal=Arctic |volume=5 |number=4 |pages=231 |issn=1923-1245 |doi=10.14430/arctic3914 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
==Natural history== The area is part of the Arctic, Interior and Hudson Platforms. Deposit characteristics are [[Coal mining|coal seam]].
The river's [[drainage basin]] includes the area between [[Great Bear Lake]] and the [[Arctic Ocean]].<ref name="Fraser January 1952, p. 227">Fraser (January 1952), p. 227</ref> Its middle course supports a wide channel for {{convert|65|km|mi}}.<ref name="Davis" /> The river's stretches include a broad [[bedrock]] valley, bedrock canyons, and a delta into the Arctic Ocean. Its tundra has a [[permafrost]] layer {{convert|2|m}} below the surface which minimizes [[groundwater]] flow and storage, forcing rainstorm flow directly into the river.
[[Flora]] along the river is characterized by typical [[tundra]] vegetation such as [[Cyperaceae|sedge]] and [[lupin]]e meadows, and some [[willow]] patches along the lower Hornaday.<ref name="charr" /> While a dense cover of [[spruce]] is found along the nearby Horton River, there are no spruce along the Hornaday.<ref name="Fraser 1952, p. 231"/>
[[Arctic char]]r, plentiful, are monitored by the Paulatuk community. Commercial fishing occurred between 1968 through 1986, sports fishing occurred in 1977 and 1978, while currently, the Hornaday is only a food fishery.<ref name="charr" /> Other fish species with the river include [[Arctic cisco]], [[Arctic grayling]], [[broad whitefish]], [[burbot]], [[longnose sucker]], and [[Ninespine stickleback|nine-spined stickleback]]. [[Capelin]] are an abundant food source for the fish species.<ref name="charr" />
The bluenose [[barren-ground caribou]] herd's calving grounds are west of the Hornaday River, south to the Little Hornaday River.<ref name="Herd ">{{cite web|url=http://www.nwtwildlife.com/NWTwildlife/caribou/bluenosewest.htm|title=Bluenose-West Herd |date=February 12, 2009|publisher=nwtwildlife.com|access-date=2009-03-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820043242/http://www.nwtwildlife.com/NWTwildlife/caribou/bluenosewest.htm |archive-date=2008-08-20}}</ref>
==History==
===Mapping controversy=== The Rivière La Roncière-le Noury was discovered in 1868 by [[Émile Petitot]], a French [[Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate|Missionary Oblate]] and a notable Canadian northwest [[Cartography|cartographer]], [[Ethnology|ethnologist]], and [[geographer]]. He traveled most of the course of the river, mapping it in 1875. He admitted that he did not explore its lower reaches because of heavy fogs. In error, he charted its mouth to be in [[Franklin Bay]] instead of Darnley Bay.<ref name="Davis" /> Petitot made the mistake based on hearsay, possibly from the [[Dene]] (Hare Indians) that traveled with him.<ref>Fraser (January 1952), p. 232</ref> However, in the same year, his accounts and maps were published in [[Paris]], where he was awarded a silver medal by the Société de Géographie.
Because the river's mouth was mapped incorrectly, later explorers believed the Roncière did not exist.<ref>Fraser (January 1952), pp. 224, 234</ref>
In 1899, naturalist Andrew J. Stone of the [[American Museum of Natural History]] investigated the shores of Franklin Bay and Darnley Bay, discovering the mouth of a large river entering Darnley Bay, but he did not travel up the river. Stone named it Hornaday River in honour of William T. Hornaday, director of the [[Wildlife Conservation Society|New York Zoological Society]].<ref name="Fraser January 1952, p. 227"/>
Between 1909 and 1912, [[Arctic]] explorers [[Vilhjalmur Stefansson]] and [[Rudolph Martin Anderson|Rudolph Anderson]] explored Franklin and Darnley Bays. In the 1913 ''The Stefánsson-Anderson Arctic expedition of the American museum : preliminary ethnological report'', Stefansson concluded that "...River la Ronciere is represented to be on the chart, and that the River la Ronciere is in fact non-existent".<ref name="Stefansson">{{cite book |last=Stefansson |first=Vilhjalmur |title=My Life with the Eskimo |url={{google books|AE_P_XngIi0C|p=125|plainurl=yes}} |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |date=2004 |pages=125 |isbn=978-1-4179-2395-3 }}</ref> Stefansson did not mention the river Stone found in 1899.<ref name="Davis" />
In 1915, the [[Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913-1916|Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913-18]] finally delineated the southern shore of Darnley Bay, including the mouth of the Hornaday, but again, the expedition did not travel up the Hornaday. The subsequent map still showed the Hornaday to be a short stream drained a few miles inland by a large lake.<ref name="Davis" />
It was not until 1949 that [[aerial photography]] by the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] produced a Topographical Survey showing the {{convert|190|km|mi|adj=on}} Hornaday.<ref name="Davis" /> But the photographs were not used to create Canada's 1952 Geographical Branch, [[Natural Resources Canada|Department of Mines and Technical Surveys]] map as, again, the Hornaday is charted as a short stream.<ref>Fraser (January 1952), p. 228, Figure 3, "Portions of Anderson River Sheet... showing latest published mapping of the Horton, Hornaday and Brock Rivers."</ref>
After studying maps and aerial photographs, and investigating the area in 1951 with [[Geomorphology|geomorphologist]] [[J. Ross Mackay]].<ref name="Activities">{{cite journal |last=Fraser |first=J. Keith |date=January 1957 |title=Activities of the Geographical Branch in Northern Canada, 1947-1957 |journal=Arctic |volume=10 |number=4 |pages=246–250 |issn=1923-1245 |doi=10.14430/arctic3770 |doi-access=free }}</ref> [[J. Keith Fraser]] of the Geographical Branch, Department of Mines and Technical Surveys ascertained that the Roncière did in fact exist; it was now known as the Hornaday.<ref>Fraser (January 1952), p. 224</ref>
===Archaeology=== Hundreds of archaeological sites have been found along the Hornaday within Tuktut Nogait from [[Thule people|Thule culture]] times or earlier. Most of the campsites are temporary, seasonal, or multi-generational. They include markers, rock alignments, hearths, [[hunting blind]]s, meat-drying areas, and artifacts, such as [[dog sled|komatik]] parts.<ref name="Savauge">{{cite web |last1=Savauge |first1=Stephen |last2=Cockney |first2=Cathy |title=Tuktut Nogait Cultural Resource Inventory |url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/docs/v-g/rs-rm2002/sec3/page10.aspx |website=Annual Report of Research and Monitoring in National Parks of the Western Arctic 2001 |publisher=Parks Canada |date=2001 |access-date=2009-03-09 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130209224958/http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/docs/v-g/rs-rm2002/sec3/page10.aspx |archive-date=2013-02-09 }}</ref>
===Mining=== An old coal mine site ({{coord|69|10|N|123|22|W|type:landmark_scale:30000_region:CA-NT|name=Coal mine (Hornady River)}}), both [[open-pit mining]] and underground, is located on the west side of the Hornaday River, north of the junction between George Creek and Rummy Creek, and {{convert|20|mi|km|order=flip}} southeast of Paulatuk. It operated during the period of 1936 to 1941.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ntgomap.nwtgeoscience.ca/showing_detail.jsp?showingID=097DSW0001 |title=Hornaday River Coal Mine |publisher=Northwest Territories Geological Survey |access-date=2009-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006184427/http://ntgomap.nwtgeoscience.ca/showing_detail.jsp?showingID=097DSW0001 |archive-date=2011-10-06 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
==See also== * [[List of rivers of the Northwest Territories]] * [[List of rivers of Nunavut]]
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{GeoGroupTemplate}} * [http://www.tinoxygentungsten.com/Arctic/tuktut.htm Photo, 2003, Hornaday River canyon] * [http://www.fields-of-lupine.com/gallery2/v/Arctic2006/IMG_1427.JPG.html Photo, 2006, La Ronciere Falls]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
{{Rivers of Nunavut}} {{Northwest Territories hydrography}}
{{authority control}} [[Category:Geography of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region]] [[Category:Rivers of the Kitikmeot Region]] [[Category:Rivers of the Northwest Territories]]