Tuktut Nogait, << TOOK tuht NAH gyd, >> National Park is a protected area in northern Canada. It covers 4,667,800 acres (1,889,000 hectares) of land on the eastern edge of the Northwest Territories. Nunavut lies immediately to the east. Lands controlled by the Inuvialuit people of Canada’s western Arctic border the park to the north and northwest. The Arctic Ocean is just 4 miles (7 kilometers) north of the park. The government of Canada formally established Tuktut Nogait National Park in 1996.
Tuktut Nogait has a cold, dry landscape with deep river canyons. Much of the park consists of nearly treeless plains called tundra. The Hornaday and Brock rivers flow through the park. There are also many hills, lakes, and eskers (ridges formed by glaciers). The tundra supports lichens and a few willows. Small spruce trees grow along the rivers. During the summer, beautiful wildflowers grow on the tundra.
The park has a harsh climate the year around. Freezing winds, long periods of rain, and snowstorms are common, and there are few trees to provide shelter from the weather. Much of the land is permanently frozen beneath its surface. Long, cold winters have an average temperature of –17 °F (–27 °C). Although the sun does not set from mid-June to mid-July, summer temperatures average only 46 °F (8 °C).
The park protects the birthing grounds of the Bluenose-West caribou herd, a large herd of barren-ground caribou. The name Tuktut Nogait means young caribou in the language of the Inuvialuit people. Other mammals that live in the park include grizzly bears, musk oxen, and wolves. Eagles, hawks, ospreys, and peregrine falcons are some birds that make their homes in Tuktut Nogait. The Eskimo curlew, one of the rarest birds in Canada, also nests inside the park. Arctic char, grayling, lake trout, and whitefish inhabit the park’s waters.
Visitors may reach Tuktut Nogait on foot or by boat or aircraft. Activities include camping, canoeing, fishing, hiking, and photography. However, the park has no campgrounds or hiking trails.
