Alert, Nunavut

This article is about the community in Canada's far north. For the island community on the west coast of British Columbia, see Alert Bay.

Alert
Weather station and signals intelligence base
The main CFS Alert complex from the south, May 2016
The main CFS Alert complex from the south, May 2016
Motto: 
Inuit Nunangata Ungata (Beyond the Inuit Land)
Alert is located in Nunavut
Alert
Alert
Alert is located in Canada
Alert
Alert
Coordinates: 82°30′N 62°22′W / 82.500°N 62.367°W / 82.500; -62.367[1]
CountryCanada
TerritoryNunavut
RegionQikiqtaaluk
EstablishedApril 9, 1950
Area
 • Total
55.173 sq mi (142.898 km2)
Elevation
[2]
100 ft (30 m)
Population
 (2021)[3]
 • Total
0
Time zoneUTC−05:00 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−04:00 (EDT)
GNBC CodeOAAQK[4]
Websitewww.canada.ca/en/air-force/corporate/alert.html

Alert, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada, is the northernmost continuously inhabited place in the world.[5][6] The location is on Ellesmere Island (in the Queen Elizabeth Islands) at latitude 82°30'05" north, 817 km (508 mi) from the North Pole.[7] It takes its name from the Royal Navy vessel HMS Alert, which wintered 10 km (6.2 mi) east of the present station off what is now Cape Sheridan in 1875–1876.

All Alert residents are temporary, typically serving three- to six-month tours of duty there.[5][8] They staff a military signals intelligence radio receiving facility at Canadian Forces Station Alert (CFS Alert, which includes Alert Airport), as well as the Dr. Neil Trivett Global Atmosphere Watch Observatory, a co-located weather station and monitoring observatory, both operated by Environment and Climate Change Canada.

In the 2021 census, the permanent population was recorded as 0.[3]

  1. ^ "Alert". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  2. ^ Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 16 July 2020 to 0901Z 10 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - Select from a list of geographies, Nunavut, Qikiqtaaluk, Unorganized (Unorganized) [map]". March 8, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023., "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population Profile table - Qikiqtaaluk, Unorganized, Unorganized (NO) Nunavut [Census subdivision]". February 1, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.. The map shows that Alert lies within the Qikiqtaaluk, Unorganized region. The second link shows a population of 0.
  4. ^ "Alert". Natural Resources Canada. October 6, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Canadian Forces Station Alert". Royal Canadian Air Force. February 27, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  6. ^ Reynolds, Lindor (August 31, 2000). "Life is cold and hard and desolate at Alert, Nunavut". Guelph Mercury. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2010. Twice a year, the military resupply Alert, the world's northernmost settlement.
  7. ^ "Alert, Nunavut". Government of Canada. Archived from the original on September 20, 2008. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
  8. ^ Dempsey, Caitlin. "The Northernmost Permanently Inhabited Spot on Earth". Geography Realm. Retrieved May 22, 2021.