There are also several varieties of seaweed found along the shoal 

 and bank areas. 



"The world's greatest fishing grounds are on the fringes of the 

 Arctic, with life abundant throughout polar waters," Hayes writes. 



GEOGRAPHY OF CANADIAN EASTERN ARCTIC 



The Canadian Eastern Arctic is often defined as the area north 

 of the treeline in Canada which is served from the Atlantic Ocean 

 and Hudson Bay. For convenience, the region is expanded to include 

 all the islands of the Canadian archipelago. The area includes the 

 mainland west and north of Hudson Bay in the Keewatin District, 

 the islands of James and Hudson Bays, the islands of the Franklin 

 District and the mainland of northern Quebec. It contains about 

 700,000 square miles or 19 percent of the total area of Canada. 

 As a distinct region, the eastern arctic presents a natural environ- 

 ment and a combination of problems and conditions which are dis- 

 similar from those of the western arctic and the Mackenzie valley. 



COASTAL AREAS 



The coastal areas of the mainland and the islands present every 

 possible type of shoreline development ranging from the deeply 

 indented mountainous eastern coasts of Baffin and Ellesmere Is- 

 lands to the low swampy coasts of western Hudson Bay. There 

 are very few beaches and those that do exist are limited in extent. 

 Small islands are numerous along the coasts of the larger islands 

 and scattered throughout the bays. 



Most maps present the arctic islands as separate and distinct 

 units. This is not everywhere the case, however, especially in 

 winter. The open channels become ice bridges and the islands are 

 linked together. In fact, ice persists in some of the water areas 

 even through the summer, as in the McClintock Channel and 

 Victoria Strait joining Victoria, King William and Prince of Wales 

 Islands into a common unit throughout most years. The same con- 

 dition prevails in the Parry and Sverdrup Islands, essentially unit- 

 ing them to Axel Heiberg Island. Along the shores of the other 

 northern islands ice begins to form about the end of September, 

 extending outward as the temperature lowers. The wider chan- 

 nels either freeze over completely or become blocked with pack ice. 

 This effectively links the islands together and provides easy surface 

 travel from one island to another. The winter ice, especially that 

 lying immediately offshore, is a boon to winter travel. 



41 



