Kugaaruk
Photo: Jeannie Illuitok
Overview
A community of about 1,033 people (2021 census), Kugaaruk is located in the Kitikmeot region of Nunavut.
Kugaaruk is part of the Mountain Standard time zone along with Alberta and the Northwest Territories. It is accessible via plane; after flying from the south to Yellowknife; travellers take a 3-hour and 40-minute flight to Kugaaruk with one stop in Gjoa Haven.
Photo: Joseph Cole Porter
Highlights
Kugaaruk means little stream in Inuktitut but it is also sometimes called “Arviligjuaq,” which means place of many bowhead whales. This is because it is situated near bowhead habitat.
Kugaaruk is home to some famous Inuit artists like Emily Illuitok, who worked mostly in walrus ivory, and Nick Sikkuark, who worked in whalebone and caribou antler. The distinctive carvings of Kugaaruk artists are often characterized by droll, macabre wit.
Weather and landscape
Photo: Martina Sigguk
Located between the 68th and 69th parallels, Kugaaruk has a tundra climate. From early December to early January, the community sees no sunlight. From late May until around July 20, there is 24-hour sun.
Summer temperatures in Kugaaruk usually range from 5°C to 15°C. Winter temperatures range from -15° C to -35°C; with wind chill it can feel like -50°C. Kugaaruk has the coldest recorded wind chill in Canada of -78°C on January 13, 1975.
Kugaaruk is nestled within coastal mountains that rise between Pelly Bay and vast expanses of rugged, boulder-strewn tundra. There are several small islands in the bay and countless small lakes, rivers and streams nearby.
Photo: Sheila Anaittuq