| Broughton Island is only 16 km long and 12 km wide and located just off the east coast of Baffin Island facing Greenland. It sits about 100 km north of the Arctic Circle not far from Auyuittuq National Park.
The island and the surrounding area are home to spectacular land forms and wildlife. Nearby lies the massive Penny Ice Cap, the largest ice cap on Baffin Island, and the many glaciers it has sired. The surrounding waters abound with walruses, polar bears, seals, narwhals, belugas, and even occasional bowhead whales.
Broughton Island is often called "the iceberg capital of the North". Hunting and fishing are still important parts of daily life here, and families will often spend much of their time "on the land" during spring and summer. Its Inuktitut name - Qikiqtarjuaq - means "Big Island" despite the island's small size. Inuktitut is the language of choice on Broughton Island, although an increasing number of people speak English.
The area around Broughton Island may have been inhabited as many as 4,000 years ago. Approximately 1,000 years ago, people of the Thule culture entered the region from northern Alaska. Today's Inuit, including those on Broughton Island, are direct descendants of the Thule.
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