Beaufort Sea facts for kids
The Beaufort Sea is a part of the Arctic Ocean. It is located north of Alaska, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories in Canada. To its west are Canada's Arctic islands. The sea gets its name from Sir Francis Beaufort, who was a person who mapped waters. The Mackenzie River, a very long river in Canada, flows into the Canadian side of this sea. Tuktoyaktuk is one of the few towns built along its shores.
Most of the year, the Beaufort Sea is covered in ice. Only a small area, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) wide, becomes ice-free in August and September near the coast. People have lived along the coast of this sea for about 30,000 years. The Beaufort Sea has many natural resources like petroleum (oil) and natural gas. These were found between the 1950s and 1980s, and exploration for them began in the 1980s. Many beluga whales also live here. The United States and Canada have a disagreement about where their sea border is in the Beaufort Sea.
Where is the Beaufort Sea?
Many rivers flow into the Beaufort Sea. These include the Kongakut River in Alaska and the Firth River in Yukon. The biggest river that flows into it is the Mackenzie River, which is Canada's longest river. The shallow area near the coast, called the continental shelf, is quite narrow. It is especially narrow near Point Barrow in Alaska. However, it gets wider near the Mackenzie River delta. This shelf is never wider than 145 kilometers (90 miles).
Close to the coast, the water is shallower than 60 meters (200 feet). But as you go north, the sea quickly gets much deeper, sometimes by several kilometers. There are many small islands in the sea and in the Mackenzie River delta. Some larger islands are west of the Mackenzie River. These include Herschel Island, which is about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from shore, and Barter Island, about 0.3 kilometers (0.2 miles) from the coast. The coasts are low, with the highest points being between 250 and 750 meters (820 and 2,460 feet) high. The ground is frozen all year round. This frozen ground is called permafrost. Only the top few tens of centimeters (inches) thaw in the summer. Because of this, buildings must be built on wooden poles above the ground.
Animals and Plants of the Beaufort Sea
The land along the Beaufort Sea is covered in tundra. This area is the northernmost home for polar bears in North America. The Mackenzie River delta is a very important home for whales and sea birds. This delta also has many lakes and ponds. Animals like the muskrat live here.
The sea itself is home to many tiny living things. It has about 80 types of zooplankton (tiny animals) and more than 70 types of phytoplankton (tiny plants). There are also nearly 700 types of worms (polychaetes), tiny water animals (bryozoans), crustaceans (like crabs), and mollusks (like clams). However, there are not huge numbers of these animals because the climate is very cold. Important fish species include polar cod, Arctic cod, saffron cod, Arctic char, chum salmon, Arctic cisco, least cisco, lake whitefish, broad whitefish, Pacific herring, fourhorn sculpin, inconnu, and flatfish.
Images for kids
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Melting ice in the Beaufort Sea
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Sea Ice Retreat in the Beaufort Sea
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The cross-hatched wedge-shaped region in the east is claimed by both Canada and the US
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Topography of the Beaufort Sea area.
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Mackenzie river enters Beaufort sea
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Sea ice pressure ridges in the Beaufort Sea off the northern coast of Alaska (spring 1949).
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Bearded seal
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Beluga whales
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Polar bear at the coast of the Beaufort Sea
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A map showing the Trans-Alaska Pipeline colored in red.
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See also
In Spanish: Mar de Beaufort para niños
