Baffin

Baffin is a geographic name that principally refers to Baffin Island, the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest in the world. The island covers about 507,000 square kilometres and forms part of Nunavut, in the eastern Canadian Arctic. Its coasts border Baffin Bay to the east and the Labrador Sea to the south, with its northern and western limits lying near the Nares Strait and Foxe Basin. The island has a polar climate with extensive permafrost, rugged coastlines, and glaciated terrain. The Baffin Mountains are part of the Arctic Cordillera. The population is sparse, centered in communities such as Iqaluit (the capital of Nunavut), Pangnirtung, and Kimmirut, with Inuktitut and English spoken in the region.

Baffin Bay is a separate body of water named after William Baffin, the 17th-century English navigator who charted the area in 1616 with Robert Bylot. The bay lies between Baffin Island and Greenland and is an important conduit for marine life and seasonal travel in the Arctic.

Protected areas on Baffin Island include Auyuittuq National Park on the Cumberland Peninsula and Sirmilik National Park along the island’s northeastern coast, both established to conserve Arctic landscapes, fjords, and wildlife.

Ecology on the island is dominated by Arctic tundra, polar deserts in some regions, and populations of polar bears, Arctic foxes, caribou, beluga and narwhal, along with migratory birds. Human activity is mainly centered on remote communities, traditional hunting and fishing, and increasingly tourism, supported by air access and seasonal sea routes.