Quaqtaq (northern Village)
The village is one of the northernmost inhabited places in Quebec, located on the eastern shore of Diana Bay (Tuvaaluk in the Inuktitut language), on a peninsula which protrudes into the Hudson Strait where it meets Ungava Bay.
The name Quaqtaq signifies tapeworm. According to local folklore, this name derives from a man who once came to the area to hunt beluga and found live parasites in his feces. His hunting companions began to call the place Quaqtaq.
Inaccessible by road, Quaqtaq is served by the small Quaqtaq Airport.
History
Archaeological evidence indicates that people have occupied the area around Quaqtaq for about 3500 years. Thule people, the ancestors of today's Inuit, arrived around 1400 or 1500 AD.
In 1947, a Roman Catholic mission opened in Quaqtaq. The present-day settlement was established after a trading post first established in 1927 at Iggiajaaq, a few kilometres south-west, was finally closed in 1950. After a measles epidemic killed 11 adults in 1952, the Canadian government began delivering basic services to the community. A nursing station was built in 1963. In the 1960s, the Quebec government opened a store and a post office equipped with a radio-telephone. In 1974, the store became a co-operative and, in 1978, Quaqtaq was legally established as a Northern village.
Since 1996, policing is provided by the Kativik Regional Police Force.
Climate
Quaqtaq is located on the coast of Ungava Bay. Due to its location at 61 degrees north latitude and the influence of cold currents, the temperature in this area is much lower than other areas at the same latitude. The climate type of Quaqtaq is a typical tundra climate (Köppen: ETf), because the average temperature in the warmest July and August is only 6.3 °C (43.3 °F), while the hottest month in areas with similar latitudes is much higher than it, such as Anchorage is 15.3 °C (59.5 °F), and Bergen is 15.6 °C (60.1 °F), while inland Yakutsk can reach 19.9 °C (67.8 °F).
| Climate data for Quaqtaq (1951−1980 normals, extremes 1971-1987) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 1.9 (35.4) |
1.5 (34.7) |
1.0 (33.8) |
2.7 (36.9) |
8.1 (46.6) |
22.8 (73.0) |
26.1 (79.0) |
24.5 (76.1) |
15.1 (59.2) |
9.2 (48.6) |
5.0 (41.0) |
1.7 (35.1) |
26.1 (79.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −18.2 (−0.8) |
−18.6 (−1.5) |
−14.8 (5.4) |
−7.0 (19.4) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
4.6 (40.3) |
10.1 (50.2) |
9.3 (48.7) |
5.6 (42.1) |
0.3 (32.5) |
−4.6 (23.7) |
−13.1 (8.4) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −22.2 (−8.0) |
−22.6 (−8.7) |
−19.0 (−2.2) |
−11.8 (10.8) |
−3.4 (25.9) |
1.9 (35.4) |
6.2 (43.2) |
6.3 (43.3) |
3.3 (37.9) |
−1.6 (29.1) |
−7.1 (19.2) |
−16.7 (1.9) |
−7.2 (19.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −26.1 (−15.0) |
−26.5 (−15.7) |
−23.3 (−9.9) |
−16.5 (2.3) |
−6.4 (20.5) |
−0.8 (30.6) |
2.3 (36.1) |
3.2 (37.8) |
1.1 (34.0) |
−3.5 (25.7) |
−9.6 (14.7) |
−20.3 (−4.5) |
−10.5 (13.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −39.4 (−38.9) |
−42.8 (−45.0) |
−39.7 (−39.5) |
−34.0 (−29.2) |
−23.9 (−11.0) |
−7.8 (18.0) |
−2.6 (27.3) |
−3.4 (25.9) |
−6.5 (20.3) |
−17.0 (1.4) |
−29.6 (−21.3) |
−43.9 (−47.0) |
−43.9 (−47.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 15.3 (0.60) |
7.3 (0.29) |
8.3 (0.33) |
19.4 (0.76) |
22.7 (0.89) |
36.6 (1.44) |
58.8 (2.31) |
41.5 (1.63) |
46.3 (1.82) |
38.3 (1.51) |
22.7 (0.89) |
17.2 (0.68) |
334.4 (13.17) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.2 (0.01) |
0.1 (0.00) |
0.0 (0.0) |
1.1 (0.04) |
3.7 (0.15) |
30.0 (1.18) |
57.6 (2.27) |
41.9 (1.65) |
49.7 (1.96) |
11.3 (0.44) |
0.9 (0.04) |
0.5 (0.02) |
197.0 (7.76) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 19.1 (7.5) |
8.9 (3.5) |
10.7 (4.2) |
21.1 (8.3) |
22.1 (8.7) |
8.3 (3.3) |
0.4 (0.2) |
0.1 (0.0) |
3.0 (1.2) |
27.7 (10.9) |
29.4 (11.6) |
20.0 (7.9) |
170.8 (67.2) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 112 |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 46 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 70 |
| Source: ECCC | |||||||||||||
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Quaqtaq had a population of 453 living in 144 of its 173 total private dwellings, a change of 12.4% from its 2016 population of 403. With a land area of 25.82 km (9.97 sq mi), it had a population density of 17.5/km (45.4/sq mi) in 2021.
Population trend:
- Population in 2021: 453 (2016 to 2021 population change: 12.4%)
- Population in 2016: 403
- Population in 2011: 376
- Population in 2006: 315
- Population in 2001: 305
- Population in 1996: 257
- Population in 1981: 150
Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 144 (total dwellings: 173)
Education
The Kativik School Board operates the Isummasaqvik School.
People
Notable people from the community include musicians Beatrice Deer and Jaaji Uppik.
References
- ^ "Banque de noms de lieux du Québec: Reference number 98666". toponymie.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec.
- ^ "Répertoire des municipalités: Geographic code 99115". www.mamh.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation.
- ^ "Data table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - Quaqtaq, Village nordique (VN) [Census subdivision], Quebec". 9 February 2022.
- ^ "Census Profile, 2016 Census - Quaqtaq, Village nordique [Census subdivision], Quebec and Nord-du-Québec, Census division [Census division], Quebec". 8 February 2017.
- ^ Dorais, Louis-Jacques (1997). Quaqtaq: Modernity and Identity in an Inuit Community. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 132. ISBN 0-8020-7952-0.
- ^ KRPF. "General Information". Home. Archived from the original on 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
- ^ "Canadian Climate Normals 1951–1980 Volume 2: Temperature" (PDF). Environment Canada. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-08-09. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
- ^ "Canadian Climate Normals 1951–1980 Volume 3: Precipitation" (PDF). Environment Canada. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-08-09. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
- ^ "Monthly Data (1971-1987)". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
- ^ "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Quebec". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
- ^ Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021 census
- ^ "Our Schools Archived 2017-09-15 at the Wayback Machine." Kativik School Board. Retrieved on September 23, 2017.
External links
- Website of the village of Quaqtaq Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
| Authority control databases: Geographic |
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