Cape Parry facts for kids

Cape Parry is a headland (a piece of land that sticks out into the sea) in Canada's Northwest Territories. It's located at the northern tip of the Parry Peninsula, reaching into the Amundsen Gulf. The closest community is Paulatuk, which is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) to the south. Fiji Island is also nearby, about 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) to the west. Cape Parry used to have an airport, but it was closed after a special defense line was shut down. The cape is named after the Arctic explorer William Edward Parry.

History of Cape Parry

Between the 1950s and the 1980s, Cape Parry was home to a military site. This site was part of the Distant Early Warning Line, also known as the DEW Line. The DEW Line was a chain of radar stations built across the Arctic. Its purpose was to detect if any attacks were coming over the North Pole during the Cold War.

From 1969 to 1982, scientists launched 18 sounding rockets from Cape Parry. These rockets are special because they carry instruments high into the atmosphere. They collect important information about the air and space.

Geography of Cape Parry

Cape Parry is shaped like a three-pointed outcrop. It has tall coastal cliffs that rise about 20 meters (66 feet) above the sea. These cliffs are made of limestone rock.

The beaches along the coast are made of sand and gravel. They form many bays and inlets. On either side of the narrow strip of land that connects Cape Parry to the main Parry Peninsula, you'll find two bays. Tyne Bay is to the west, and Gillet Bay is to the east.

Climate at Cape Parry

The weather at Cape Parry can be very extreme. The coldest temperature ever recorded there was a chilly -47.2 degrees Celsius (-53 degrees Fahrenheit). On the other hand, the warmest temperature recorded was 23.9 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit).

Each year, Cape Parry gets a lot of snow, about 116.0 centimeters (45.7 inches) on average. While there isn't a weather station with people working there anymore, an automatic weather station now collects climate information.

Animals and Plants

Cape Parry doesn't have a lot of plants growing everywhere. Most of the plants are found in low, wet areas.

However, the area is home to many amazing animals! You might see large marine mammals like Beluga whales, bowhead whales, bearded seals, and ringed seals. On land, caribou, grizzly bears, and polar bears often visit the cape.

Cape Parry is also a very important place for birds. Many different kinds of birds live or breed here. These include nationally significant populations of common eiders, glaucous gulls, king eiders, long-tailed ducks, and yellow-billed loons. It's also one of only two places in the western Arctic where black guillemots are thought to nest. The colony of thick-billed murres at Cape Parry is more isolated than any other murre colony in the world.

Protected Area

Cape Parry is a very special place, so it has several protection statuses. It is recognized as an Important Bird Area (NT041). This means it's a crucial habitat for many bird species.

In 1961, the Cape Parry Migratory Bird Sanctuary (Site 6) was created here. This sanctuary helps protect the birds that migrate through or breed in the area. It is also an International Biological Programme Site (#4-11) and is part of a Key Marine Habitat Site (Site 19). These titles show how important Cape Parry is for nature and wildlife.