Kugluktuk

Kugluktuk
Kugluktuk; Qurluqtuq; ᖁᕐᓗᖅᑐᖅ
	Hamlet
	Hill top view of Kugluktuk
	Kugluktuk
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Country	Canada
Territory	Nunavut
Region	Kitikmeot Region
Electoral district	Kugluktuk
Government
• Mayor	Red Pedersen
• MLA	Peter Taptuna
Area
• Land	549.65 km2 (212.22 sq mi)
• Population centre	0.34 km2 (0.13 sq mi)
Elevation	23 m (75 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	1,450
• Density	2.6/km2 (7/sq mi)
• Population centre	1,082
• Population centre density	3,196.5/km2 (8,279/sq mi)
Time zone	MST (UTC-7)
• Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
Canadian Postal code	X0B 0E0
Area code(s)	867

Kugluktuk (Inuinnaqtun: Qurluktuk, "the place of moving water"; Inuktitut: ᖁᕐᓗᖅᑐᖅ^{[pronunciation?]}, formerly Coppermine until 1 January 1996) is a hamlet located at the mouth of the Coppermine River in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada, on Coronation Gulf, southwest of Victoria Island. It is the westernmost community in Nunavut, near the border with the Northwest Territories.

The traditional language of the area is Inuinnaqtun and is written using the Latin alphabet, rather than the syllabics of the Inuktitut writing system. Like Cambridge Bay, Bathurst Inlet, and Umingmaktok syllabics are rarely seen and are used mainly by the Government of Nunavut.

Location

The community has the usual services: a post office, Northern Store, co-op store, and Hunters & Trappers Association. The two schools in the area are Kugluktuk High School and Jimmy Hikok Ilihakvik. In June 2004, a fuel line broke in the center of Kugluktuk, spilling 2,000 L (439.9 imp gal; 528.3 US gal) of diesel fuel.

Demographics

At the 2011 census, the population was 1,450, an increase of 11.4% from the 2006 census.^[3]

In 1982, a division plebiscite was held. While approximately 80% of the population in what is now Nunavut voted in favour of division, Coppermine was one of only two communities to vote against division. Cambridge Bay was the other.^[6]

Geography

Kugluktuk is located on the shore of the Arctic Ocean. The surrounding landscape is dominated by the rocky and often barren Canadian Shield. The region has a subarctic climate, but barely so, with July having an average of 10.7 °C (51.3 °F). It has very cold winters, light snowfall, and summers too cool to permit the growth of trees. Though trees do exist in the region, they are dwarfed and extremely sparse.

Flora and fauna

Plant growth in the region during summer months includes small shrubs, grass, moss, lichens, blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, various flowers, and dwarfed willow and birch trees.

Climate

Kugluktuk's climate, when classified according to the Köppen Climate Classification, belongs to the Dfc variant of a subarctic climate.).^[7] It is in the transitional zone to a Arctic Tundra (ET) Climate, but falls outside of it, since its warmest month of July surpasses the 50 °F (10 °C) isoterm, averaging 10.9 °C. Tundra climates are characterized by sub-freezing mean annual temperatures, large annual temperature ranges, and moderately low precipitation.

Climate data for Kugluktuk Airport
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high humidex	0.3	−1.7	−0.3	8.9	19.8	30.3	36.8	36.8	25.8	13.1	2.2	−1.5	36.8
Record high °C (°F)	0.8 (33.4)	−1.2 (29.8)	−0.1 (31.8)	9.8 (49.6)	19.8 (67.6)	31.1 (88)	34.9 (94.8)	29.2 (84.6)	22.6 (72.7)	13.8 (56.8)	2.8 (37)	−0.5 (31.1)	34.9 (94.8)
Average high °C (°F)	−23.2 (−9.8)	−23.4 (−10.1)	−20.7 (−5.3)	−11.4 (11.5)	−1.3 (29.7)	9.9 (49.8)	15.6 (60.1)	13.1 (55.6)	6.5 (43.7)	−3.5 (25.7)	−14.8 (5.4)	−20.3 (−4.5)	−6.1 (21)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−27.3 (−17.1)	−27.7 (−17.9)	−25.3 (−13.5)	−16.3 (2.7)	−5.3 (22.5)	5.5 (41.9)	10.9 (51.6)	9.0 (48.2)	3.3 (37.9)	−6.6 (20.1)	−18.7 (−1.7)	−24.5 (−12.1)	−10.3 (13.5)
Average low °C (°F)	−31.4 (−24.5)	−32.0 (−25.6)	−29.8 (−21.6)	−21.2 (−6.2)	−9.2 (15.4)	1.0 (33.8)	6.1 (43)	4.8 (40.6)	0.1 (32.2)	−9.8 (14.4)	−22.6 (−8.7)	−28.6 (−19.5)	−14.4 (6.1)
Record low °C (°F)	−47.3 (−53.1)	−47.2 (−53)	−47.0 (−52.6)	−40.2 (−40.4)	−30.2 (−22.4)	−12.1 (10.2)	−0.8 (30.6)	−4.4 (24.1)	−18.9 (−2)	−35.4 (−31.7)	−41.0 (−41.8)	−44.5 (−48.1)	−47.3 (−53.1)
Record low wind chill	−64.3	−64.4	−65.0	−54.4	−39.7	−15.6	−5.9	−11.8	−22.9	−46.5	−54.1	−61.5	−65.0
Average precipitation mm (inches)	10.4 (0.409)	8.4 (0.331)	9.9 (0.39)	10.0 (0.394)	14.6 (0.575)	16.6 (0.654)	44.5 (1.752)	45.1 (1.776)	37.8 (1.488)	26.5 (1.043)	13.0 (0.512)	10.4 (0.409)	247.2 (9.732)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	0.1 (0.004)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	0.1 (0.004)	4.3 (0.169)	14.6 (0.575)	44.4 (1.748)	44.9 (1.768)	31.4 (1.236)	4.7 (0.185)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	144.5 (5.689)
Average snowfall cm (inches)	19.6 (7.72)	16.3 (6.42)	19.4 (7.64)	18.2 (7.17)	16.2 (6.38)	2.1 (0.83)	0.0 (0)	0.2 (0.08)	7.7 (3.03)	35.0 (13.78)	25.5 (10.04)	21.9 (8.62)	182.1 (71.69)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm)	8.9	8.7	10.0	8.2	7.5	7.6	11.5	13.3	12.8	14.3	11.1	9.7	123.4
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm)	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	1.9	6.8	11.5	13.1	10.5	2.3	0.0	0.0	46.4
Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm)	10.5	10.1	11.6	9.5	7.2	1.3	0.1	0.2	3.7	14.5	13.4	11.6	93.6
Average relative humidity (%)	76.7	75.1	77.5	82.3	83.1	70.2	64.8	69.8	75.5	84.7	80.9	77.8	76.5
Mean monthly sunshine hours	17.8	77.3	160.3	233.3	246.7	375.0	341.6	207.7	91.1	51.2	19.6	0.2	1,821.7
Percent possible sunshine	17.7	35.5	44.4	49.6	38.7	52.1	48.5	38.5	22.8	17.6	12.7	0.7	31.6
Source: Environment Canada Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010^[8]