Iqaluit

Iqaluit

Iqaluit, formerly Frobisher Bay, city, capital of Nunavut territory and headquarters of Baffin region, Canada. It lies at the head of Frobisher Bay, on southeastern Baffin Island. Iqaluit is the largest community in the eastern Canadian Arctic.

It was established as a trading post in 1914 and became an air base during World War II. It later was the site of construction camps for the DEW (Distant Early Warning) line of radar stations, and it also has a meteorological station. The name of the town signifies “place of fish” in the Inuktitut language. Iqaluit is an outlet for Inuit art, and its Nunuuta Sunaqutangit Museum has Arctic displays. Nearby territorial parks include Qaummaarvit, Sylvia Grinnell, and Katannilik. Pop. (2011) 6,699; (2016) 7,740.