Old Crow, Yukon
| Old Crow Teechik |
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|---|---|
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 Old Crow
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| Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | |
| Country | Canada |
| Territory | Yukon |
| Area[1] | |
| • Land | 14.17 km2 (5.47 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
| • Total | 245 |
| • Density | 17.3/km2 (45/sq mi) |
| • Change 2006-11 |  -3.2% |
| Time zone | Pacific (PST) (UTC-8) |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) |
Old Crow (Teechik[2] in Gwich’in) is a dry community in the Canadian Territory of Yukon and is a periglacial environment. It had 245 inhabitants as of 2011, most of them belonging to the Gwichʼin-speaking Aboriginal Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation. The community is situated on the Porcupine River in the far north of the territory. Old Crow is the only Yukon community that cannot be reached by car, requiring visitors to fly in to Old Crow Airport in order to reach it.
Contents
History
A large number of apparently human modified animal bones have been discovered in the Old Crow area, notably at Bluefish Caves, located near the shores of the Arctic Ocean, that have been dated to 25,000-40,000 years ago by carbon dating, several thousand years earlier than generally accepted human habitation of North America.[3]
A chief named Deetru` K`avihdik, literally "Crow-May-I-Walk", helped settle a community here around the 1870s. The town was named after him.[4] The village was founded around muskrat trapping, which continues to provide basic income.
The people of Old Crow are dependent on the Porcupine caribou herd for food and clothing.[5] The Porcupine caribou herd migrates to the coastal plain in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska to give birth to their young. Many citizens of Old Crow believe the herd is being seriously threatened by oil-drilling in the ANWR and have been heavily involved in lobbying to prevent it.
Transportation
Old Crow Airport provides year-round transportation to other communities. During winter time, a temporary winter road is built to transport freight into Old Crow.[6]
Climate
Old Crow has a cold subarctic climate. Average annual temperature is −8.3 °C (17.1 °F).[7] Old Crow experiences annual temperature average daily highs of 20.2 °C (68.4 °F) in July and average daily lows of −33.5 °C (−28.3 °F) in January.[7] Record high temperature was 32.8 °C (91.0 °F) on August 30, 1976 and the lowest was −59.4 °C (−74.9 °F) on January 5, 1975.[7] Old Crow has little precipitation with an average annual snowfall of 141.4 centimetres (55.67 in) and 154.8 millimetres (6.09 in) of rainfall.[7]
As Old Crow is located north of the Arctic Circle, it experiences polar day or midnight sun in summer and polar night in winter. The midnight sun is typically between May 5 and August 8 inclusive, while the polar night usually starts around December 14 and end by December 29.[8]
| Climate data for Old Crow Airport | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high humidex | 1.6 | 1.5 | 4.8 | 14.3 | 27.5 | 33.5 | 32.5 | 38.4 | 23.0 | 15.7 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 38.4 |
| Record high °C (°F) | 2.5 (36.5) |
3.0 (37.4) |
6.7 (44.1) |
13.5 (56.3) |
26.0 (78.8) |
32.0 (89.6) |
31.0 (87.8) |
32.8 (91) |
23.9 (75) |
17.5 (63.5) |
6.1 (43) |
1.7 (35.1) |
32.8 (91) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −25.2 (−13.4) |
−21.7 (−7.1) |
−14.8 (5.4) |
−3.7 (25.3) |
8.4 (47.1) |
19.1 (66.4) |
20.2 (68.4) |
16.2 (61.2) |
7.9 (46.2) |
−5.3 (22.5) |
−19.0 (−2.2) |
−20.7 (−5.3) |
−3.2 (26.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −29.2 (−20.6) |
−26.5 (−15.7) |
−21.2 (−6.2) |
−10.1 (13.8) |
2.7 (36.9) |
12.9 (55.2) |
14.6 (58.3) |
10.9 (51.6) |
3.5 (38.3) |
−8.8 (16.2) |
−22.9 (−9.2) |
−25.1 (−13.2) |
−8.3 (17.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −33.5 (−28.3) |
−31.1 (−24) |
−27.6 (−17.7) |
−16.5 (2.3) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
6.6 (43.9) |
8.9 (48) |
5.4 (41.7) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
−12.2 (10) |
−27.1 (−16.8) |
−29.6 (−21.3) |
−13.4 (7.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −59.4 (−74.9) |
−54.4 (−65.9) |
−48.3 (−54.9) |
−39.5 (−39.1) |
−28.0 (−18.4) |
−8.3 (17.1) |
−2.5 (27.5) |
−9.5 (14.9) |
−22.5 (−8.5) |
−38.0 (−36.4) |
−47.0 (−52.6) |
−56.7 (−70.1) |
−59.4 (−74.9) |
| Record low wind chill | −59.6 | −55.8 | −53.3 | −44.5 | −31.2 | −12.2 | 0.0 | −11.5 | −20.3 | −43.7 | −53.2 | −57.3 | −59.6 |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 13.1 (0.516) |
13.8 (0.543) |
14.4 (0.567) |
9.5 (0.374) |
14.4 (0.567) |
37.2 (1.465) |
43.5 (1.713) |
46.7 (1.839) |
29.0 (1.142) |
22.1 (0.87) |
18.1 (0.713) |
16.7 (0.657) |
278.6 (10.969) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.0 (0) |
0.1 (0.004) |
0.0 (0) |
0.7 (0.028) |
8.3 (0.327) |
34.5 (1.358) |
43.5 (1.713) |
45.8 (1.803) |
20.0 (0.787) |
2.0 (0.079) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
154.8 (6.094) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 15.5 (6.1) |
16.4 (6.46) |
16.6 (6.54) |
9.7 (3.82) |
6.6 (2.6) |
2.8 (1.1) |
0.0 (0) |
1.0 (0.39) |
9.3 (3.66) |
23.0 (9.06) |
21.6 (8.5) |
18.9 (7.44) |
141.4 (55.67) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 9.2 | 9.6 | 9.4 | 6.6 | 6.3 | 10.8 | 13.6 | 14.4 | 12.6 | 13.6 | 11.9 | 11.4 | 129.3 |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 10.5 | 13.6 | 14.3 | 9.3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 53.0 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 10.0 | 9.9 | 9.5 | 6.2 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 3.9 | 13.2 | 12.6 | 11.8 | 81.5 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 78.7 | 76.5 | 77.0 | 70.4 | 54.6 | 47.0 | 53.3 | 60.2 | 66.5 | 80.3 | 79.5 | 78.9 | 68.6 |
| Source: Environment Canada Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010[7] | |||||||||||||
Population data
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1991 | 256 | — |
| 1996 | 278 | +8.6% |
| 2001 | 299 | +7.6% |
| 2006 | 253 | −15.4% |
| 2011 | 245 | −3.2% |
Notable residents
Edith Josie, journalist
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2011 and 2006 censuses
- ↑ ANLC : Alaska Native Place Names
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.oldcrow.ca/history.htm
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Sunrise Sunset Old Crow 2012
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Further reading
- Josie, Edith. Old Crow News: The Best of Edith Josie, 1964. Whitehorse, Yukon: Whitehorse Star, 1964.
- McSkimming, Robert James. Territory, Territoriality and Cultural Change in an Indigenous Society: Old Crow, Yukon Territory. [S.l: s.n.], 1975.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to [[commons:Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).|Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).]]. |
- Old Crow's official website
- Vuntut Gwitchin Government website
- Old Crow: Land of the Vuntut Gwitch'in
- Community profile
- Webpage about the Old Crow Airport on the Canadian Owners & Pilots Association Places to Fly Airport Directory
- Watch The Challenge in Old Crow, a National Film Board of Canada documentary
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