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Gjoa Haven

Gjoa Haven
ᐅᖅᓱᖅᑑᖅ
Uqsuqtuuq
Hamlet
Main street of Gjoa Haven
Main street of Gjoa Haven
Gjoa Haven is located in Nunavut
Gjoa Haven
Gjoa Haven
Coordinates: 68°37′33″N 095°52′30″W / 68.62583°N 95.87500°W / 68.62583; -95.87500Coordinates: 68°37′33″N 095°52′30″W / 68.62583°N 95.87500°W / 68.62583; -95.87500
Country Canada
Territory Nunavut
Region Kitikmeot Region
Electoral district Gjoa Haven
Government
 • Mayor Allen Aglukkaq
 • MLA Tony Akoak
 • MP Hunter Tootoo
Area
 • Total 28.47 km2 (10.99 sq mi)
 • Population Centre 0.78 km2 (0.30 sq mi)
Elevation 47 m (154 ft)
Population (2016)
 • Total 1,324
 • Density 46.5/km2 (120/sq mi)
 • Population Centre 1,197
 • Population Centre density 1,500/km2 (4,000/sq mi)
Time zone MST (UTC-7)
 • Summer (DST) MDT (UTC-6)
Canadian Postal code X0B 1J0
Area code(s) 867
Website www.gjoahaven.net

Gjoa Haven (/ˌ ˈhvən/; Inuktitut: Uqsuqtuuq, syllabics: ᐅᖅᓱᖅᑑᖅ, meaning "lots of fat", referring to the abundance of sea mammals in the nearby waters) is a hamlet in Nunavut, above the Arctic Circle, located in the Kitikmeot Region, 1,056 km (656 mi) northeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. It is the only settlement on King William Island.

The name Gjoa Haven is from the Norwegian Gjøahavn or "Gjøa's Harbour"; it was named by early 20th-century polar explorer Roald Amundsen after his ship Gjøa. This was derived from the old Norse name Gyða, a compressed compound form of Guðfríðr (guð "god" and fríðr "beautiful"').

In 1903, the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen had entered the area on his ship Gjøa in an expedition intending to travel through the Northwest Passage. By October the straits through which he was travelling began to ice up. Amundsen put Gjøa into a natural harbour on the southeast coast of King William Island. He stayed there, in what Amundsen called "the finest little harbor in the world", for nearly two years. He and his crew spent much of that time with the local Netsilik Inuit, learning from them the skills to live off the land and travel efficiently in the Arctic environment. This knowledge proved to be vital for Amundsen's later successful exploration to the South Pole. He explored the Boothia Peninsula, searching for the exact location of the North Magnetic Pole.


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