Qausuittuq National Park

Qausuittuq National Park occupies the northwest of Bathurst Island in Nunavut’s High Arctic, where a severe polar climate, sparse vegetation, and glaciated terrain support Peary caribou and other Arctic wildlife including muskoxen, wolves, seals, walruses, and whales. Established on September 1, 2015, as Canada’s 45th national park, it was created to represent the Western High Arctic natural region and protect important habitat. Human use of the wider island reaches back about 4,500 years, though mainly outside the park area. British search expeditions for Franklin reached this coast in the mid-19th century, and park planning advanced from the 1990s through agreements with nearby Inuit communities before opening in 2016.

Nunavut · Canada