Native name: Arviliit or Arqvilliit | |
---|---|
Geography | |
Location | Hudson Bay, Nunavik Marine Region |
Coordinates | 59°30′N 80°25′W / 59.500°N 80.417°W |
Archipelago | Arctic Archipelago |
Total islands | 24 |
Major islands | Booth Island, Bronson Island, Eddy Island, Gilmour Island, J. Gordon Island, Pattee Island, Perley Island |
Highest elevation | 549 m (1801 ft) |
Administration | |
Canada | |
Nunavik | |
Demographics | |
Population | Currently Uninhabited, access and harvest rights by Nunavik Inuit |
Source: Ottawa Islands at Atlas of Canada |
The Ottawa Islands (Inuit: Arviliit or Arqvilliit in Inuktitut meaning "place where you see bowhead whales")[1][2] are a group of currently uninhabited islands situated in the eastern edge of Canada's Hudson Bay. The group comprises 24 small islands, located at approximately 60N 80W.[3] The main islands include Booth Island, Bronson Island, Eddy Island, Gilmour Island, J. Gordon Island, Pattee Island, and Perley Island. The highest point is on Gilmour Island, which rises to over 1,800 ft (550 m).[3] Located a short distance off the northwest coast of Quebec's Ungava Peninsula, they, like the other coastal islands in Hudson Bay, were historically part of the Northwest Territories, and became Crown Land upon the creation of Nunavut in 1999. Nunavik Inuit have occupied these islands since time immemorial and gained constitutionally-protected harvest and access rights under the Nunavik Inuit Land Claim Agreement signed in 2007.[4][5]