Fury and Hecla Strait

Map showing Fury and Hecla Strait, Nunavut, Canada with Igloolik to the east.

Fury and Hecla Strait is a narrow (from 2 to 20 km (1.2 to 12.4 mi)) channel of water located in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. Situated between Baffin Island to the north and the Melville Peninsula to the south, it connects Foxe Basin on the east with the Gulf of Boothia on the west.

The first European to see it was William Edward Parry in 1822. It used to be always covered in ice, making the navigation difficult. The first transit was by icebreaker in the middle of the 20th century. In the summer of 2016 the strait was transited by sail boat for the very first time, by David Scott Cowper.[1]

The Strait is named after the Royal Navy ships HMS Fury, commanded by Perry, and HMS Hecla.

On November 2, 2016, CBC News reported that residents were describing a hum or buzz, coming from deep within the Fury and Hecla Strait—near Steensby Inlet where Baffinland has one of its ports.[2]

Paul Quassa, Igloolik's representative to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, said the hum had been disturbing the sea mammals community members rely on for food.[2] The hum is very loud, so loud the complement of vessels transiting the straits can hear it transmitted through the hulls, without any electronic aids. The Royal Canadian Air Force sent a Lockheed CP-140 Aurora to the area but were unable to detect the noise or the source.[3]

References

  1. ↑ David Scott Cowper Makes History – Again
  2. 1 2 Jimmy Thomson (2016-11-02). "Mysterious 'ping' sound from sea floor baffles Igloolik". CBC News. Retrieved 2016-11-03. Sometimes called a beep, a ping, or a hum, the sound is blamed for scaring away animals.
  3. ↑ No unusual sounds near Nunavut’s Fury and Hecla Strait, RCAF reports

Further reading

  • Chandler, F. W. Geology of the Late Precambrian Fury and Hecla Group, Northwest Baffin Island, District of Franklin. Ottawa, Canada: Energy, Mines and Resources Canada, 1988. ISBN 0-660-12652-4
  • Ciesielski, A. The Basement to the Fury & Hecla Group Lithologic, Structural and Geochemical Data, Northwest Baffin Island. Ottawa, Ont: Geological Survey of Canada, 1992.
  • Hall, Charles Francis, and J. E. Nourse. Narrative of the Second Arctic Expedition Made by Charles F. Hall His Voyage to Repulse Bay, Sledge Journeys to the Straits of Fury and Hecla and to King William's Land, and Residence Among the Eskimos, During the Years 1864-'69. Washington: G.P.O., 1879.
  • Lee, Geoffrey. Note on Arctic Palaeozioc Fossils from the "Hecla" and "Fury" Collections. 1912.

Coordinates: 69°49′59″N 083°00′00″W / 69.83306°N 83.00000°W / 69.83306; -83.00000 (Fury and Hecla Strait)


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