Devon Island, Nunavut.

Devon Island is the second-largest of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, Nunavut, Canada, the 27th largest island in the world and Canada's 6th largest island. The largest uninhabited island on Earth, Devon Island comprises 55,247 km² (21,331 mi²) of Precambrian gneiss and Paleozoic siltstones and shales. Because of its relatively high elevation and its extreme northern latitude, it supports only a meagre population of musk oxen and small birds and mammals; the island does support hypolith communities. Animal life is concentrated in the Truelove Lowland area of the island, which has a favourable microclimate and supports relatively lush Arctic vegetation. Temperatures during the brief (40 to 55 days) growing season seldom exceed 10 °C (50 °F), and in winter can plunge to as low as -50 °C (-58 °F). With a polar desert ecology, Devon Island receives very little precipitation. Image File history File links Devon_Island. ... Image File history File links Devon_Island. ... The Queen Elizabeth Islands (formerly known as the Parry Islands) form the northern part of the Canadian arctic islands, lying in Nunavut and Northwest Territories in Canada. ... Motto: Nunavut Sannginivut (Inuktitut: Nunavut our strength or Our land our strength) Official languages Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English, French Flower Purple Saxifrage Tree Bird Rock Ptarmigan Capital Iqaluit Largest city Iqaluit Commissioner Ann Meekitjuk Hanson Premier Paul Okalik (Independent) Parliamentary representation  - House seats  - Senate seats 1 (Nancy Karetak-Lindell) 1 (Willie... This is a list of islands in the world ordered by area. ... This is a list of Canadian islands, as ordered by area. ... Adjectives: Terrestrial, Terran, Telluric, Tellurian, Earthly Atmosphere Surface pressure: 101. ... The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian) is an informal name for the eons of the geologic timescale that came before the current Phanerozoic eon. ... Gneiss Gneiss (IPA: ) is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from preexisting formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks. ... The Paleozoic Era (from the Greek palaio, old and zoion, animals, meaning ancient life) is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon. ... Siltstone Siltstone is a geological term for a sedimentary rock whose composition is intermediate in grain size between the coarser sandstone and the finer mudstone. ... Shale Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. ... Binomial name Ovibos moschatus (Zimmermann, 1780) The Musk ox (Ovibos moschatus) is a bovine noted for its thick coat and for the strong odor of the male. ... In Arctic and Antarctic ecology, a hypolith is a photosynthetic organism that lives underneath rocks in climatically extreme deserts such as Cornwallis Island and Devon Island in the Canadian high Arctic. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Erg Chebbi, Morocco In geography, a desert is a landscape form or region that receives very little precipitation. ...

Devon Island is also notable for the presence of the Haughton impact crater, created some 23 million years ago when a meteorite about 2 km (1.2 mi) in diameter crashed into what were then forests. The impact left a crater approximately 20 km (12 mi) in diameter, which was a lake for several million years. The crater is now considered one of Earth's best Mars analog sites and is the summer home of the Haughton-Mars Project. Synthetic aperture radar image of Haughton crater The Haughton impact crater is located on Devon Island, Nunavut, Canada. ... The Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) is an international interdisciplinary field research project being carried out near the Haughton impact crater on Canadas northern Devon Island. ...

Devon Island region

Satellite photo montage of Devon Island and its neighbours

The Haughton crater and the glaciated Treuter Mountain region are the primary geological features of Devon Island. ... The Haughton crater and the glaciated Treuter Mountain region are the primary geological features of Devon Island. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1280x948, 191 KB) Banks Island in the Canadian Arctic. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1280x948, 191 KB) Banks Island in the Canadian Arctic. ...

History

An outpost was established at Dundas Harbour (74°31′N 82°30′W) in August 1924 as part of a government presence intended to curb foreign whaling and other activity. The outpost was leased to Hudson's Bay Company in 1933. Year 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar). ... The crew of the oceanographic research vessel Princesse Alice, of Albert Grimaldi (later Prince Albert I of Monaco) pose while flensing a catch. ... The Hudsons Bay Company (HBC; Compagnie de la Baie dHudson in French) is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world. ... Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ...

The collapse of fur prices and the need to cut relief expenses led to the dispersal of 53 Baffin Island Inuit families on the island in 1934. It was considered a disaster due to wind conditions and the much colder climate, and the Inuit chose to leave in 1936. Dundas Harbour was populated again in the late 1940s to maintain a patrol presence, but it was closed again in 1951 due to ice difficulties. Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. ... For other uses, see Inuit (disambiguation). ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ...

In July 2004 Devon Island became the temporary home for five scientists and two journalists, who were to use the Marslike environment to simulate living and working on the Red Planet. The Flashline MARS (Mars Arctic Research Station) project entered its third season in 2004. A complementary program, NASAs Haughton Mars Project (HMP) is conducting geological, hydrological, botanical, and microbiological studies in this harsh environment, and entered its eighth field season the same year. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ... The Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) is a project operated by the Mars Society in collaboration with NASAs Haughton-Mars Project, to conduct geological and microbiological exploration under conditions similar to those found on Mars, to develop field tactics based on those explorations, to test habitat design features... For other uses, see NASA (disambiguation). ... The Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) is an international interdisciplinary field research project being carried out near the Haughton impact crater on Canadas northern Devon Island. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Water covers 70% of the Earths surface. ... Pinguicula grandiflora Botany is the scientific study of plantlife. ... An agar plate streaked with microorganisms Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are unicellular or cell-cluster microscopic organisms. ...

Only the ruins of a few buildings remain at Dundas Harbour today.

References

• NASA Haughton-Mars project
• Truelove Lowland summary and pictures
• Sea islands: Atlas of Canada; Natural Resources Canada

External links

• Arctic and Alpine Research Group, University of Alberta