Penny Ice Cap, Ice cap in Auyuittuq National Park, Canada
Penny Ice Cap is a large ice cap on Baffin Island in northern Canada that covers an enormous area and creates harsh conditions for visitors. The surface shows deep crevasses, frozen lakes, and steep slopes that reflect the extreme environmental conditions of this Arctic region.
The ice cap is a remnant of the Laurentide ice sheet that covered large parts of North America during the last ice age. This frozen mass has persisted for millennia and records in its layers the climate history of this polar continent.
Captain William Penny, a whaling captain from Aberdeen who assisted in the search for John Franklin's expedition, established connections with Inuit communities.
Access requires special preparation and equipment for extreme Arctic conditions. The best season for visiting is the summer months when temperatures are milder, although crevasses and rough terrain remain hazardous even then.
Ice core data shows that melting rates have reached unprecedented speeds in recent decades. These frozen cores are like history books that reveal climate changes in this polar region over several thousand years.
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