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Where is Iqaluit?

Located on Baffin Island in Canada's Eastern Arctic, Iqaluit (pronounced "ee-kal-a-wheat") is the capital of Canada's newest territory, Nunavut. Nunavut officially became a territory April 1, 1999.

Iqaluit has a population of 7,200 and growing. Average temperatures range from 12 degrees Celcius in the summer to -40 degrees Celcius in the winter, which extends from mid-October to late May.Winter temperatures can, however, plunge to a bone-chilling low of -100.

  Iqaluit, Inuktitut for "place of fish," is the Inuit name for the community, which is still often referred to by its English name, Frobisher Bay. Sir Martin Frobisher, an English explorer, "discovered" Baffin Island in 1576 while trying to chart a course through the Northwest Passage. While in the area, Frobisher plundered the land, loading up his ships with the black ore he'd found, beliving it to contain gold. After landing back in England, however, the ore turned out to be fool's gold. The Bay surrounding Iqaluit still bears Frobisher's name.

About half of Iqaluit's population is made up of Inuit, while the remaining half is a mix of cultures and languages, including a French population of about 500.

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