Ukkusiksalik National Park, National park in Nunavut, Canada.
Ukkusiksalik National Park covers 20,885 km² of tundra and coastal mudflats around Wager Bay, a 100 km inlet of Hudson Bay. A reversing waterfall drops over dark, stepped rock into a turquoise river, and shallow pools lie on the low, stone-strewn land. The park is the smallest of Nunavut's four national parks and the sixth largest in Canada.
A Hudson's Bay Company trading post operated near Wager Bay from 1925 to 1947, influencing the region's fur trade networks. This period of European commercial activity left its mark on how the area developed.
The park's name comes from ukkusik, the Inuktitut word for a stone pot or qulliq, referring to the steatite found locally. Four Inuit groups used Wager Bay: the Ukkusiksalingmiut, Aivilingmiut, Qairnirmiut and Natsilingmiut. About 500 archaeological sites include Thule tent rings, inuksuit, caches and fox traps.
Visiting is possible only from early July through early August when conditions are favorable for travel. Transportation relies on chartered aircraft from Baker Lake or boats from Naujaat, so advance planning is essential.
The name Ukkusiksalik comes from local stone deposits that were traditionally used by Inuit people to make cooking pots. This soapstone material shaped both the daily life and heritage of people who lived here.
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