Location: Labrador Map
Area: 9,600 km2 (3,707 sq mi)
Torngat Mountains National Park is one of the newest addition to Labrador and Newfoundland province of Canada. Torngat Mountains National Park covers 9,600 km2 (3,707 sq mi) of pristine lakes, mountains and glaciers. Fauna of Torngat Mountains National Park includes caribou, polar bears, peregrine falcon and golden eagle. It might be redundant, but warning about polar bears is never enough. These are very very dangerous animals. Don't let deadly encounter with this beautiful but dangerous animals ruins your activity. Whether it is kayaking, hiking or camping. Additionally eagle and falcons nests, that are fairly common in the area of Torngat Mountains National Park, should be avoided. Parents are very defensive of their young, and their young are not above using their sharp claws if some one decides to approach them without a special invitation.
The Torngat Mountains are named for the Inuktitut
word torngait, meaning "place of spirits". The largest and most
remote national park in Atlantic Canada, Torngat covers 9,700 km²
(3,700 sq mi) of Arctic Cordillera from Cape Chidley south to Saglek
Fjord.
Park office, ☎ +1 709-922-1290, toll-free:
+1-888-922-1290, e-mail:
torngats.info@pc.gc.ca
Visitors must obtain permits, register and undergo an orientation before setting off on treks or boat trips. As of March 2018, fees have not been imposed for park admission.
Monts-Torngat Park does not include any forest per se except for dwarf spruce trees near the Quebec border. However, the park includes 330 species of vascular plants and 220 species of mosses and liverworts. Knowledge about lichens and mushrooms in the park is patchy.
The park is located at the crossroads of boreal and arctic wildlife.
The park is among others occupied by the woodland caribou (Rangifer
tarandus caribou), namely the herds of the George River and the Torngat
Mountains. The park is also visited by the black bear (Ursus
americanus), the polar bear (Ursus maritimus), the wolf (Canis lupus),
the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus), the vole,
the arctic hare (Lepus arcticus) and the lemming.
The bottom of
the fjords is visited by the minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata),
the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) and the humpback whale (Megaptera
novaeangliae). Several species of seal visit the park, including the
ringed seal (Pusa hispida), the hooded seal (Cystophora cristata), the
harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) and the harbor seal (Phoca
vitulina) which are attracted by the richness of the waters cold.
In terms of birdlife, the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus),
Barrow's goldeneye (Bucephala islandica), short-eared owl (Asioflammeus)
and harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) all nest in the park. The
Alpine ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) resides there all year round.
The name of the park comes from the word “Tongait”. This word from the Inuit language, Inuktitut, means “place inhabited by spirits” or “place of spirits”. At the same time, the name of the Torngatberge (English Torngat Mountains, French Monts Torngat) is derived from this word.
In 1998, the Nunavik Tourism Association was founded, the first Inuit
tourism association. It organized an annual muskox hunt, as well as
opportunities for rafting, climbing and mountain biking. The park was
founded in 2005. Within the park, only Inuit are allowed to carry
weapons to protect themselves from bears. Bivouacs must be secured
against these with a bear fence and safety equipment must be taken with
you. Between 2009 and 2012, around 500 tourists per year visited the
remote park, making them an important economic and cultural factor for
the very small number of residents in the area, especially as jobs were
created, such as in the Visitor Centre. The park is also managed by the
indigenous people.
In 2014, an area in the park area was declared
a National Historic Site of Canada.[4] Ramah chert was mined in this
area between 3000 BC and 1500 AD. The distinctive and important stone
type was used by several ancient cultures of the Northeast for the
manufacture of tools and other objects. Ramah Chert was the most
widespread toolstone known in the Canadian Northeast and was the basis
for long-distance transportation networks that extended across
easternmost Canada and into New England.