Innuitian Mountains

Innuitian Mountains
280px British Empire Range, in the north of Tanquary Fiord
Highest point
Peak	Barbeau Peak
Elevation
Coordinates
Geography
Country	Canada
States/Provinces	Nunavut and Northwest Territories
Parent range	Arctic Cordillera
Geology
Orogeny	Innuitian
Age of rock	Mesozoic
Type of rock	Igneous, Metamorphic and Sedimentary

The Innuitian Mountains are a mountain range in Canada's Arctic territories of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. They are part of the Arctic Cordillera and are largely unexplored, due to the hostile climate. They are named after the northern indigenous people, who live in the region. In some locations the Innuitian Mountains measure over 2,500 m (8,202 ft) in height, and 1,290 km (802 mi) in length. The highest point is Barbeau Peak at 2,616 m (8,583 ft). There are no trees or wildlife in the Innuitian Mountains due to the harsh cold climate as well as being located north of the Arctic tree line. This region is mostly barren with vast areas of permafrost. There are metallic mineral resources including iron and zinc and fossil fuel resources such as coal.

The Innuitian Mountains consist of numerous smaller mountain ranges. Some of these are the British Empire Range, the Princess Margaret Range and the United States Range, which is the world's second most Northern mountain range after the Challenger Mountains.

The Innuitian Mountains were first seen by European explorers in 1882 by the explorer Adolphus Greely from Lake Hazen.

Geology

The Innuitian Mountains present form was shaped during the Innuitian orogeny in the middle of the Mesozoic era when the North American Plate moved northward. The Innuitian Mountains contain igneous and metamorphic rocks, but for the most part are composed of sedimentary rock. They are younger than the Appalachians, and so erosion has not yet rounded them significantly.

The Innuitian Mountains resemble the Appalachian Mountains in composition and contain similar types of minerals. The mineral resources have not been greatly exploited, due to the cost of developing such a remote region while cheaper alternatives are available elsewhere. The estimate amount of petrol in the area is approximately 281.4 Billion barrels of oil equivalent to 36% of all extractable oil left in the world.

Minerals

The Innuitian Mountains are mainly composed of Granite mountains that are high in Iron, Zinc and Cobalt. The area also is high in Natural gas, poor coal and some petrol.

See also

• List of mountain ranges

References

• Clark, Bruce W. and Wallace, John K. Making Connections: Canada's Geography, 1999