Pingo National Landmark | |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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A melting pingo with wedge ice in Pingo National Landmark
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Location | Northwest Territories, Canada |
Nearest city | Tuktoyaktuk, Inuvik, NT |
Coordinates | 69°23′59″N 133°04′47″W / 69.39972°N 133.07972°WCoordinates: 69°23′59″N 133°04′47″W / 69.39972°N 133.07972°W |
Area | 16 km2 (6.2 sq mi) |
Established | 1984 |
Governing body | Parks Canada |
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Pingo National Landmark is a natural area protecting eight pingos near Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories. It is in a coastal region of the Arctic Ocean which contains approximately 1,350 Arctic ice dome hills—approximately one quarter of the world's pingos.
The Landmark comprises an area roughly 16 km2 (6.2 sq mi), just 5 km (3.1 mi) west of Tuktoyaktuk, and includes Ibyuk Pingo—Canada's highest, exceeded in height only by Kadleroshilik Pingo in Alaska—at 49 m (161 ft). The Landmark, which lies within the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, is managed by Parks Canada under the National Parks Act. Although a nationwide landmarks program was envisioned at its creation, Pingo remains the country's only National Landmark.
In a region near the Beaufort Sea which is quite flat, pingos dominate the skyline, rising from 5 to 36 m (16 to 118 ft), in various stages of growth and collapse. Ibyuk Pingo, the highest, continues to grow about 2 cm (0.79 in) per year, and is estimated to be at least 1,000 years old. Unique to areas of permafrost, pingos have formed here thanks to numerous lakes in the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula.
Animals that inhabit this park include grizzly bears, polar bears, wolves, Arctic foxes, red foxes, and Arctic ground squirrels. Birds that either nest or migrate around the park are brant geese, tundra swans, lesser snow geese, loons, and greater white-fronted geese. Ducks such as mallard, green-winged teal, king eider, common eider, and oldsquaw are common to this area as well as a variety of gulls and shorebird species.