# Ottawa Islands

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Canadian island group in Hudson Bay

Ottawa Islands Arviliitcode: iku promoted to code: iu (Inuit) Arqvilliit (Inuktitut) Ottawa Islands Show map of Nunavut Ottawa Islands Show map of Canada Geography Location Hudson Bay, Nunavik Marine Region Coordinates 59°30′N 80°25′W / 59.500°N 80.417°W / 59.500; -80.417 Archipelago Arctic Archipelago Total islands 24 Major islands Booth Island, Bronson Island, Eddy Island, Gilmour Island, J. Gordon Island, Pattee Island, Perley Island Highest elevation 549 m (1801 ft) Administration Canada Nunavik Demographics Population Currently Uninhabited, access and harvest rights by Nunavik Inuit Source: Ottawa Islands at Atlas of Canada

The **Ottawa Islands** ([Inuit](/source/Inuit_languages): *Arviliit*code: iku promoted to code: iu or *Arqvilliit* in [Inuktitut](/source/Inuktitut) meaning "place where you see bowhead whales")[1][2] are a group of currently uninhabited islands situated in the eastern edge of [Canada's](/source/Canada) [Hudson Bay](/source/Hudson_Bay). The group comprises 24 small islands, located at approximately 60°N 80°W.[3] The main islands include [Booth Island](/source/Booth_Island_(Nunavut)), [Bronson Island](/source/Bronson_Island), [Eddy Island](/source/Eddy_Island), [Gilmour Island](/source/Gilmour_Island), [J. Gordon Island](/source/J._Gordon_Island), [Pattee Island](/source/Pattee_Island), and [Perley Island](/source/Perley_Island). The highest point is on Gilmour Island, which rises to over 1,800 ft (550 m).[3] Located a short distance off the northwest coast of Quebec's [Ungava Peninsula](/source/Ungava_Peninsula), they, like the other coastal islands in Hudson Bay, were historically part of the [Northwest Territories](/source/Northwest_Territories), and became [Crown Land](/source/Crown_Land) upon the creation of [Nunavut](/source/Nunavut) in 1999. Nunavik Inuit have occupied these islands since [time immemorial](/source/Time_immemorial) and gained constitutionally-protected harvest and access rights under the Nunavik Inuit Land Claim Agreement signed in 2007.[4][5]

## Geography

The Ottawa Islands are situated on the barren and rocky east coast of Hudson Bay.[6] By 1610, Hudson Bay had been explored and named by [Henry Hudson](/source/Henry_Hudson) in his quest for a [Northwest Passage](/source/Northwest_Passage).[6] It was not until 1631 when [Luke Foxe](/source/Luke_Fox) (or Fox) on a voyage from "[Vltimum Vale](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vltimum_Vale&action=edit&redlink=1)" ([Cape Henrietta Maria](/source/Henrietta_Maria)), near 57° 40' N, indicated that "Mr. Hudson calls those islands by the name of 'Lancaster's Iles.'"[7] According to historian [T.H. Manning](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=T.H._Manning&action=edit&redlink=1), there is no other record of Henry Hudson naming islands in that region.[8] A little further north, near 58° 5' N, [Capt.](/source/Captain_(nautical)) Foxe says "Wee came by a small Iland at clocke one, the highest I haue seene since I came from Brook Cobham; the deep 70 fathome. I named the *Ile Sleepe*."[9] Foxe named the islands just north of Lancaster Isle, "Ile Sleepe". According to Manning, the name, having eventually changed to "Sleeper Island" or "The Sleepers", could be used "for the islands between and including Lancaster and Ottawa Islands."[8]

Canada, Routes of Explorers, 1497 to 1905

### Further coordinate readings

- [59°48′N 080°03′W / 59.800°N 80.050°W / 59.800; -80.050 (Ottawa Islands 3)](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Ottawa_Islands&params=59_48_N_080_03_W_region:CA-NU_type:isle&title=Ottawa+Islands+3)[8]

## Geology

According to a survey conducted by [Natural Resources Canada](/source/Natural_Resources_Canada) in 2007, the Ottawa Islands contain [komatiite](/source/Komatiite) basalt rocks with various concentrations of [magnesium](/source/Magnesium) from the [Paleoproterozoic](/source/Paleoproterozoic) era. Lower concentration of magnesium are found on J. Gordon Island and Pattee Island.[10]

## Fauna

The Ottawa Islands and the southwardly [Belcher Islands](/source/Belcher_Islands) are a breeding ground for "the Hudson Bay subspecies of the [Common Eider](/source/Common_Eider)".[11] In 1765 commercial whaling of [bowheads](/source/Bowhead) was started by Churchill-based [sloops](/source/Sloops) of the [Hudson's Bay Company](/source/Hudson's_Bay_Company) with some whales being harvested in the Ottawa Islands.[12] The islands are important habitat for polar bears[13] and many waterfowl. The waters surrounding the islands are important habitat for seals, walrus and bowhead and beluga whales.

## See also

- [Arctic Archipelago](/source/Arctic_Archipelago)

- [Glacial landform](/source/Glacial_landform)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Issenman, Betty. *Sinews of Survival: The living legacy of Inuit clothing*. UBC Press, 1997. pp252-254

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Arviliit"](https://www.nunatop.com/product-page/is02-arviliit). *Avataq Cultural Institute, The Nunatop Project*.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Gazetteer_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Gazetteer_3-1) [Columbia Gazetteer of North America](http://www.bartleby.com/69/58/O03158.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20051205171428/http://bartleby.com/69/58/O03158.html) 2005-12-05 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), accessed May 30, 2007

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Nunavik Inuit Land Claims Agreement"](https://www.gov.nu.ca/sites/default/files/files/Nunavik%20Inuit%20Land%20Claims%20Agreement%20(NILCA).pdf) (PDF).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["NILCA"](https://web.archive.org/web/20220320035751/https://www.makivik.org/corporate/history/nilca/#:~:text=The%20Nunavik%20Inuit%20Land%20Claims,Bay%20and%20Northern%20Quebec%20Agreement.). *Makivik Corporation*. Archived from [the original](https://www.makivik.org/corporate/history/nilca/#:~:text=The%20Nunavik%20Inuit%20Land%20Claims,Bay%20and%20Northern%20Quebec%20Agreement.) on 2022-03-20. Retrieved 2020-06-05.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Columbia_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Columbia_6-1) "Hudson Bay." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Columbia University Press., 2003. [Answers.com 26 Jan. 2007](http://www.answers.com/topic/hudson-bay). Accessed 01-26-2007.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Miller Christy, ed., "The Voyage of Capt. Luke Fox of Hull and Capt. Thomas James of Bristol, in search of North-west Passage, 1631-2", (Hakluyt Soc., Vols. 88, 89, 1894), p.368. Taken from; Manning, T.H., "Explorations on the East Coast of Hudson Bay". *The Geographical Journal*, Vol. 109, No. 1/3 (Jan. - Mar., 1947), pp. 58-75, [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/1789902](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1789902), [Republished](https://www.jstor.org/stable/1789902.) by [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR), Accessed 01-26-2007.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Manning_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Manning_8-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Manning_8-2) Manning, T.H., "Explorations on the East Coast of Hudson Bay". *The Geographical Journal*, Vol. 109, No. 1/3 (Jan. - Mar., 1947), pp. 58-75, [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/1789902](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1789902), [Republished](https://www.jstor.org/stable/1789902.) by JSTOR, Accessed 01-26-2007.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Miller Christy, op. cit. p.369. Taken from; Manning, T.H., op. cit.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Baragar, W. R. A. (2007). [Geology, Ottawa Islands, eastern Hudson Bay, Nunavut](https://ostrnrcan-dostrncan.canada.ca/handle/1845/181749) (Report). Natural Resources Canada. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.4095/224569](https://doi.org/10.4095%2F224569).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** "National Marine Conservation Areas of Canada: Canada's National Marine Conservation Areas System Plan: James Bay: The Wildlife". [Parks Canada](http://www.pc.gc.ca/progs/amnc-nmca/systemplan/itm1-/arc10_e.asp) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20070217223915/http://www.pc.gc.ca/progs/amnc-nmca/systemplan/itm1-/arc10_E.asp) 2007-02-17 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), Last Updated: 2006-11-17, Accessed 01-26-2007.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-chap14_12-0)** Government of Canada - Fisheries and Oceans Canada. "[Harvesting](http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/ch14-Harvesting.pdf)" Chapter 14.5.3, page 14-19. Information originally sourced from (Flaherty 1918; Newspaper Clipping in PAC, MG 29, A58, Vol 8., File 5 in Reeves and Mitchell 1987). Accessed 06-11-2007

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Nunavik Inuit Knowledge and Observations of Polar Bears"](https://nmrwb.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/NMRWB-Nunavik-Inuit-knowledge-and-Observations-of-polar-bears-SHB-subpopulation.pdf) (PDF). *Nunavik Marine Region Wildlife Board*.

## Bibliography

- Manning, T. H. *Birds and Mammals of the Belcher, Sleeper, Ottawa and King George Islands, and Northwest Territories*. Ottawa: Canadian Wildlife Service, 1976.

- Manning, T.H., "Ruins of Eskimo Stone Houses on the East Side of Hudson Bay". *American Antiquity*, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jan., 1946), pp. 201–202. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/275565](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F275565), Republished by JSTOR, [Web Link](https://www.jstor.org/stable/275565), Accessed 01-26-2007.

## External links

- [Toparama - Topographic Maps from Natural Resources Canada](http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/topo/map/topographicmap_view?mapsize=428+380&scale=5000000.000000&mapxy=800387.8343108902+1253023.3842336104&mode=zoomin&lat=59.5833000008&long=-80.2667000014&searchstring=ottawa&location1=62&unique_key=0cf9f326849c20c37ca00f89f6c16cfc&feature_na=Ottawa+Islands&entity=ISL&layers=fapfeature%20north_arrow%20other_features%20million_grid%20t50k_grid%20grid_50k_3%20roads%20hydrography%20boundary%20builtup%20vegetation%20populated_places%20railway%20power_network%20manmade_features%20designated_areas%20water_features%20water_saturated_soils%20relief%20contours%20toponymy%20contour%20nodata_ntdb_50k&hidetextbox=&urlappend=%26map_textzoom03_feature%3Dnew%26map_textzoom03_feature_points%3D802343.215481%201252496.91677%26map_textzoom03_class_text%3DOttawa+Islands%26map_textzoom46_feature%3Dnew%26map_textzoom46_feature_points%3D802343.215481%201252496.91677%26map_textzoom46_class_text%3DOttawa+Islands%26map_polygonresultzoom0_data%3Dfap_isl%26map_polygonresultzoom0_class_expression%3D0cf9f326849c20c37ca00f89f6c16cfc%26map_polygonresultzoom1_data%3Dfap_isl%26map_polygonresultzoom1_class_expression%3D0cf9f326849c20c37ca00f89f6c16cfc%26map_polygonresultzoom2_data%3Dfap_isl%26map_polygonresultzoom2_class_expression%3D0cf9f326849c20c37ca00f89f6c16cfc%26map_polygonresultzoom0outline_data%3Dfap_isl%26map_polygonresultzoom0outline_class_expression%3D0cf9f326849c20c37ca00f89f6c16cfc%26map_polygonresultzoom1outline_data%3Dfap_isl%26map_polygonresultzoom1outline_class_expression%3D0cf9f326849c20c37ca00f89f6c16cfc%26map_polygonresultzoom2outline_data%3Dfap_isl%26map_polygonresultzoom2outline_class_expression%3D0cf9f326849c20c37ca00f89f6c16cfc%26map_arrowzoom03_feature%3Dnew%26map_arrowzoom03_feature_points%3D802343.215481%201252496.91677)

- [2006 Beluga Statistics From Weekly Reports](http://www.qc.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/peches/en/statistique/pdf2006/BELUGA_EN.pdf) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20061002212305/http://www.qc.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/peches/en/statistique/pdf2006/BELUGA_EN.pdf) 2006-10-02 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) (Contains a map of the region)

- [The Atlas of Canada](http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/archives/imw/easterncanada/no17?w=4&h=4&l=6&r=2&c=7), map of Ottawa Islands from 1976

- [Plant and Phytoplankton study of Hudson Bay](http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/ch06-Plants.pdf)

v t e Islands of the Qikiqtaaluk Region Adams Akpatok Alfred Allen Arvalik Aulattivik Aulitivik Aulitiving Baffin Barth Beacon (Ungava Bay) Bergesen Bjarnason Bylot Davids Dexterity Diana Edgeworth Eider Elder Fraser Gyrfalcon Hamilton Imiliit Imiqqutailaqtuuq Kaigosuiyat Kilian Lady Franklin Landslip Lock Low Marvin Mumiksaa Nakoaiyet Nova Zembla Old Squaw Otrick Pandora Payne Peter Richards Pilattuaq Pisiktarfik Plover Prescott Prince Leopold Prince of Wales Qikiqta Qikiqtaaluk Qimivvik Round Russell Saglaarjuk Saglirjuaq Salikuit Saneruarsuk Simialuk Somerset Spicer Stephens Trinity Vesey Hamilton Vivian Wollaston Yeoman Young Belcher Islands Bradbury Broomfield Bun Cake Camsell Dove Fair Flaherty Innetalling Karlay La Duke Loaf Mata Mavor Moore Nero Ney O'Leary Range Renouf Snape Split Tukarak Twin Cairns Walton Wiegand Islands of Cumberland Sound Akulagok Anarnittuq Aupaluktok Aupaluktut Blacklead Clear Passage Drum Ekallulik Iglunga Imigen Ivisa Kaigosuit Kangigutsak Kekertelung Kekerten Kekertukdjuak Kudjak Maktaktujanak Miliakdjuin Moodie Nimigen Nunatak Nuvujen Opingivik Sanigut Saunik Shakshukowshee Shakshukuk Tesseralik Tuapait Upajjana Utaqqiurviarjuruluk Utsusivik Wareham Islands of Davis Strait Aggijjat Akuglek Alikdjuak Angijak Broughton Idjuniving Kekertaluk Kekertuk Kekerturnak Manitung Monumental Nedlukseak Nudlung Nunatsiaq Nuvuktik Paallavvik Pilektuak Qaqulluit Rock Satigsun Islands of Foxe Basin Air Force Bird Bray Foley Igloolik Kapuiviit Koch Nirlirnaqtuuq North Tweedsmuir Prince Charles Qikiqtaarjuk Rowley Siuraq South Tweedsmuir White Winter Islands of Frobisher Bay Algerine Alligator Anchorage Aubrey Augustus Bear Beveridge Bishop Brigus Brook Bruce Cairn Camp Carter Chase Coffin Crowell Culbertson Daniel Dog Eden Emerick Falk Faris Field Fletcher Frobisher's Farthest Gabriel Gardiner Gay Gross Halford Hantzsch Harper Hill Jenvey Kodlunarn Kudlago Kungo Lefferts Leopold Loks Land Long Low Luella Mair Mark Mary McAllister McBride McLaren McLean Metela Mitchell Monument Nest Nouyarn Ogden Pan Peak Pichit Pike Pink Lady Pope Potter Precipice Ptarmigan Pugh Qarsau Quadrifid Redan Resor Sale Scalene Sliver Smith Sybil Thompson Whiskukun Islands of the Gulf of Boothia Crown Prince Frederik Glen Honeyman Lavoie Sabine Wales Islands of Hudson Bay Awrey Big Booth Bronson Commodore Cox Digges Eddy Elsie Fraley Frazier Gilmour Harrison J. Gordon Johnnys Kugong Long Mansel Marcopeet McCormack Moore Nuvuk Ottawa Pattee Perley Smith Islands of Hudson Strait Anguttuaq Aulatsiviit Avingasittuit Siqinirsipangat Beacon (Hudson Strait) Black Bluff Bush Button Charles Clark Dolphin Dorset Edgell Erhardt Goodwin Gudmusson Hector Holdridge Ijjuriktuq Ivvitsa Kaavvijjuaq King Kinngarjuaq Lacy Lavoie Lawson Leading Lower Savage MacColl Mallik Middle Savage Mill Naniruaq Niels Nottingham Nunarijjait Nuvuktiqpaaraaluk Nuvursiit Observation Point Poodlatee Qaqqannalik Qaiqsuarjuk Qikiqtaalujjuaq Qikiqtarjuaq Qikiqtarjuarusiq Resolution Saarru Salisbury Saqajaa Sheer Strathcona Takijualuk Ukaliqtuuq Ungirlauttat Upirngiviaaluk Islands of James Bay Akimiski Bear Big Cape Hope Carey Charlton Grey Goose Gull Jacob Moore North Twin Paint Hills Solomons Temple South Twin Spencer Stag Strutton Sunday Trodely Twin Walter Weston Islands of the Labrador Sea Brevoort Cape Chidley Christopher Hall Hozier Hudson Ilikok Jackson Killiniq Knight Leybourne Little Hall Muingmak Rogers Queen Elizabeth Islands Ellesmere Island Ellesmere Ward Hunt Parry Islands Alexander Baillie-Hamilton Bathurst Beechey Berkeley Borden Brock Browne Buckingham Byam Martin Cameron Cheyne Coburg Cocked Hat Cornwall Cornwallis Crescent Des Voeux Devon Dundas Edmund Walker Eglinton Ekins Emerald Exmouth Fairholme Findlay Group Garrett Graham Griffith Grosvenor Hans (with Greenland) Helena Houston Stewart Hoved Hyde Parker John Barrow Little Cornwallis Lougheed Lowther Mackenzie King Moore Marc Margaret Massey Melville Nookap Norman Lockyer North Kent Patterson Philpots Pim Pioneer Prince Patrick Princess Royal Seymour Skraeling Spit Stupart Table Thor Truro Vanier Sverdrup Islands Amund Ringnes Axel Heiberg Ellef Ringnes Fay Gretha Haig-Thomas Hat King Christian Meighen Stor Ulvingen Islands in italics are inhabited. See also Islands of the Kitikmeot Region, Islands of the Kivalliq Region See also Islands of the Kitikmeot Region, Islands of the Kivalliq Region.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ottawa Islands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa_Islands) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa_Islands?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.