{{Short description|Fjord on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada}} {{Infobox body of water | name= Tanquary Fiord | native_name= | other_name= | image = Tanquary Fiord 2 1997-08-05.jpg | alt = Aerial view of Tanquary Fiord with Tanquary Fiord Airport on the right | caption = The north-east part of Tanquary Fiord with [[Tanquary Fiord Airport]] on the right | pushpin_map = Canada Nunavut | pushpin_map_caption = Location | location= [[Ellesmere Island]], [[Nunavut]] | coords= {{coord|81|05|N|78|45|W|region:CA-NU_type:waterbody_sourcehttp://www4.rncan.gc.ca/search-place-names/unique/OAQDL|display=inline, title}} | rivers= | oceans= [[Nansen Sound]] via [[Greely Fiord]] | countries= Canada | length= | width= | area= | depth= | settlements= }} '''Tanquary Fiord'''<ref>{{Cite cgndb|OAQDL|Tanquary Fiord|2020-06-15}}</ref> is a [[fjord]] on the north coast of the [[Arctic Archipelago]]'s [[Ellesmere Island]], [[Nunavut]], Canada. It is located in the [[Quttinirpaaq National Park]] and extends {{Convert|30|mi|abbr=on|order=flip}} in a north-westerly direction from [[Greely Fiord]].
== History == [[Radiocarbon dating]] methods suggest that between 10,000 and 4,100 [[Before Present|BP]], [[wiktionary:deglaciation|deglaciation]] occurred, followed by a period of glacial readvance and the formation of ice shelves until 2,400 BP. Until 1,400 BP, a period of glacial retreat occurred, and since then glacial readvance and nearby [[ice rise]]s have marked the area.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic26-4-314.pdf |title=Holocene History of a Portion of Northernmost Ellesmere Island |author1=Lyons, J. |author2=Mielke, J. |name-list-style=amp |date=1973 |publisher=[[University of Calgary]] |accessdate=July 20, 2010 |archive-date=September 19, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100919140956/http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic26-4-314.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Radiocarbon analysis of charcoal undertaken by the [[Geological Survey of Canada]] has shown that [[Inuit]] were present at Tanquary Fiord around 1070 BP at the latest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic26-3-255.pdf|title=An Archaeological Site on the North Coast of Ellesmere Island|author=Hattersley-Smith, G.|date=|publisher=[[University of Calgary]]|accessdate=July 20, 2010|archive-date=March 4, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304073554/http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic26-3-255.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Geography == The head of the Tanquary Fiord is the convergence point of four river valleys, three of which end in a [[floodplain]] and one in a [[river delta]]. [[Carbon dating]] findings show that the fjord was free of [[glacial ice]] approximately 6,500 years ago.<ref name=postglacial>{{cite web |url=http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic20-4-255.pdf |title=Postglacial Uplift at Tanquary Fiord, Northern Ellesmere Island, Northwest Territories |author1=Hattersley-Smith, G. |author2=Long, A. |name-list-style=amp |publisher=[[University of Calgary]] |accessdate=July 20, 2010 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303210042/http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic20-4-255.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the past 40 years, the terminal points of side [[glacier]]s have receded.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0689115 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312075501/http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0689115 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 12, 2012 |title=Glacial features of Tanquary Fiord and adjoining areas of northern Ellesmere Island, N.W.T. |author=Hattersley-Smith, G. |date=1968 |publisher=Defence Research Telecommunications Establishment Ottawa (Ontario) |accessdate=July 20, 2010}}</ref>
Tanquary Fiord has 65 [[frost]]-free days per year (enough to grow [[lettuce]]), which is remarkable for its latitude. Summer temperatures of {{convert|18|°C}} have been recorded.<ref name=climate>{{cite book |title=The Arctic climate system |last=Serreze |first=Mark |authorlink2=Roger G. Barry |first2=Roger Graham|last2=Barry |year=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-521-81418-8 |page=219 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J2wzX6eTdOkC |accessdate=July 20, 2010}}</ref>
== Human activity == In 1963, the [[Defence Research and Development Canada|Defence Research Board]] began 'Operation Tanquary' in the area, with a focus on [[oceanography]]. The operation concluded in 1972.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic19-1-48.pdf |title=Canada |author=van Steenburgh, W. |date= |publisher=[[University of Calgary]] |accessdate=July 20, 2010 |archive-date=August 25, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110825091905/http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic19-1-48.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> As the fjord is in a remote location, there is little human habitation. A Warden Station is staffed by [[Parks Canada]] during the summer months,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/nu/quttinirpaaq/visit/visit3.aspx |title=Quttinirpaaq National Park of Canada: Hours of Operation|date=2009 |publisher=[[Parks Canada]] |accessdate=July 20, 2010}}</ref> and [[Tanquary Fiord Airport]] is located nearby. It is possible to reach the area via [[charter airline|charter aircraft]], or increasingly via [[icebreaker]] cruise ships.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/nu/quttinirpaaq/visit/visit2.aspx |title=Quttinirpaaq National Park of Canada: How to Get There|date=2009 |publisher=[[Parks Canada]] |accessdate=July 20, 2010}}</ref> In 1947, a [[meteorological station]] was installed at [[Eureka, Nunavut|Eureka]], about {{Convert|175|km|abbr=on}} southwest of the fiord.<ref>{{cite book |title=Exploring polar frontiers: a historical encyclopedia |last=Mills |first=William |year=2003 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |location=Santa Barbara |isbn=978-1-57607-422-0 |page=211 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PYdBH4dOOM4C |accessdate=July 20, 2010}}</ref> The Fiord was named by Explorer [[Donald Baxter MacMillan]] in honor of his friend and fellow explorer [[Maurice Cole Tanquary]].<ref>MacMillan, Donald, Four Years in the White North, Harper Brothers Publishers, 1918, pg. 353.</ref> See also the [[Crocker Land Expedition]].
== References == {{reflist}}
{{Fjords of Nunavut}}
[[Category:Ellesmere Island]] [[Category:Bodies of water of Baffin Bay]] [[Category:Fjords of the Qikiqtaaluk Region]]