Resolute

Resolute is a settlement on Cornwallis Island in Qikiqtaaluk Region, roughly 600 kilometers from the magnetic North Pole. The houses stand on flat ground beside the coast, surrounded by bare tundra and open water during the short Arctic summer.

In the 1950s, the Canadian government moved Inuit families from Port Harrison and Pond Inlet to Cornwallis Island to project presence in the High Arctic. People had to adapt to entirely new hunting grounds and much colder temperatures.

The local population speaks Inuktitut in daily life, and many traditions revolve around living with extreme weather and long winters. Hunting marine mammals and fish remains part of everyday routines, with modern equipment used alongside inherited knowledge of the ice and sea.

The airport serves as a hub for charter flights to remote research stations and camps across the Arctic archipelago. Visitors should prepare for harsh weather conditions and extended periods without sunlight in winter.

The place carries the Inuktitut name Qausuittuq, meaning place without dawn, as the sun stays below the horizon for months in winter. Researchers use the area to study ice formation and ocean pollution under extreme conditions of the high north.

Location: Qikiqtaaluk Region

Elevation above the sea: 66 m

GPS coordinates: 74.69750,-94.83222

Latest update: December 12, 2025 23:16