Hudson Bay
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Biomusicology
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{{redirect|Hudson's Bay|the outlet of the Hudson River|New York Harbor}}
[[Image:Hudsonbay.png|thumb|right|Hudson Bay, Canada.]]
'''Hudson Bay''' (French: ''baie d'Hudson'') is a large (1.23 million km²), relatively shallow body of water in northeastern [[Canada]]. It drains a very large area that includes parts of [[Ontario]], [[Quebec]], [[Saskatchewan]], [[Alberta]], most of [[Manitoba]], parts of [[North Dakota]] and [[Minnesota]], and the southeastern area of [[Nunavut]]. A smaller offshoot of the bay, [[James Bay]], lies to the south. The [[International Hydrographic Organization|IHO]], in its Special Publication 23, ''Limits of Oceans and Seas'', fourth edition, lists Hudson Bay as part of the [[Arctic Ocean]]. On the east it is connected with the [[Atlantic Ocean]] by [[Hudson Strait]], and on the north with the rest of the Arctic Ocean by [[Foxe Basin]] (which is not considered part of the bay) and [[Fury and Hecla Strait]]. [[Geographic coordinate]]s: 78° to 95° W, 51° to 70° N.
The Eastern [[Cree language|Cree]] name for Hudson and [[James Bay]] is ''Wînipekw'' (Southern dialect) or ''Wînipâkw'' (Northern dialect), meaning muddy or brackish water. [[Lake Winnipeg]] is similarly named by the local Cree, as is the location for the City of [[Winnipeg]].
==History==
[[Image:Hudson bay explorer.png|thumb|250px|right|Canada, Routes of Explorers, 1497 to 1905]]
Hudson Bay was named after [[Henry Hudson]], who explored the bay in [[1610]] on his ship the ''[[Discovery (1602 ship)|Discovery]]''. On this fourth voyage he worked his way around the west coast of [[Greenland]] and into the bay, mapping much of its eastern coast. The ''Discovery'' became trapped in the ice over the winter, and the crew survived onshore at the southern tip of James Bay. When the ice cleared in the spring Hudson wanted to explore the rest of the area, but the crew [[mutiny|mutinied]] on [[June 22]], [[1611]], and left Hudson and others adrift in a small boat. No one to this day knows the fate of Hudson and his loyal crew.
Sixty years later the ''[[Nonsuch (ship)|Nonsuch]]'' reached the bay and successfully traded for [[American Beaver|beaver]] pelts with the [[Cree]]. This led to the creation of the [[Hudson's Bay Company]], which bears its name to this day. The British crown awarded a trading monopoly on the Hudson Bay [[drainage basin|watershed]], called [[Rupert's Land]], to the Hudson's Bay Company. France contested this grant by sending several military expeditions to the region, but abandoned its claim in the [[Treaty of Utrecht]] (April, [[1713]]).
During this period, the Hudson's Bay Company built several [[Fortification|forts]] and [[trading post]]s along the coast at the mouth of the major rivers (such as [[Fort Severn, Ontario]], [[York Factory, Manitoba]], and [[Churchill, Manitoba]]). The strategic locations allowed inland exploration and more importantly, facilitated trade with the indigenous people, who would bring fur to the posts from where the HBC would transport it directly to Europe (which incidentally is a shorter distance than from [[Montreal]]). The HBC continued to use these posts until the beginning of the 20th century. The port of Churchill is still today an important shipping link for trade with Europe and Russia.
This land, an area of approximately 3.9 million km², was ceded in [[1870]] to [[Canada]] as part of the [[Northwest Territories]] when the trade monopoly was abolished. Starting in 1913, the Bay was extensively charted by the Canadian Government's [[CSS Acadia]] to develop the bay for navigation. This resulted in the establishment of [[Churchill, Manitoba]], as a deep-sea port for wheat exports in [[1929]] after unsuccessful attempts at [[Port Nelson, Manitoba|Port Nelson]].
Due to a change in naming conventions, Hudson's Bay is now correctly called Hudson Bay. As a result, both the body of water and the company are often misnamed.
==Geography==
===Climate===
[[Image:Ursus maritimus walks over ice.jpg|250px|thumb|In early November ice at Hudson Bay starts to form]]
Hudson Bay was the growth centre for the main ice sheet that covered northern North America during the last Ice Age. The whole region has very low year round average temperatures. (The average annual temperature for Churchill at 59°N is -5°C; by comparison [[Arkhangelsk]] at 64°N in a similar cold continental position in northern Russia has an average of 2°C.<ref>GHCN climatic monthly data, GISS, using 1995-2007 annual averages</ref>) Water temperature peaks at 8°-9°C on the western side of the bay in late summer. It is largely frozen over from mid-December to mid-June when it usually clears from its eastern end westwards and southwards. A steady increase in regional temperatures over the last 100 years has been reflected in a lengthening of the ice-free period which was as short as four months in the late 17th century.<ref>General Survey of World Climatology, Landsberg ed., (1984), Elsevier.</ref>
===Waters===
[[Image:HudsonBay.MODIS.2005may21.jpg|thumb|225px|In late spring (May), large chunks of ice float near the eastern shore of the bay, while to the west, the center of the bay remains frozen. Between 1971 and 2007, the length of the ice-free season in the southwestern part of the Hudson Bay — historically the last area to thaw — had increased by about 7 days.]]
Hudson Bay has a [[salinity]] that is lower than the world ocean on average. This is caused mainly by the low rate of evaporation (the bay is ice-covered for much of the year), the large volume of terrestrial runoff entering the bay (about 700 km³ annually; the [[Canada Hudson Bay drainage|Hudson Bay watershed]] covers much of [[Canada]], with many rivers and streams discharging into the bay), and the limited connection with the larger Atlantic Ocean (and its higher [[salinity]]). The annual freeze-up and thaw of [[sea ice]] significantly alters the salinity of the surface layer, representing roughly three years' worth of river inflow.
===Shores===
The western shores of the bay are a lowland known as the "Hudson Bay Lowlands" which covers [[1 E11 m²|324,000 km²]]. The area is drained by a large number of rivers and has formed a characteristic vegetation known as [[muskeg]]. Much of the landform has been shaped by the actions of [[glacier]]s and the shrinkage of the bay over long periods of time. Signs of numerous former beachfronts can be seen far inland from the current shore. A large portion of the lowlands in the province of [[Ontario]] is part of the [[Polar Bear Provincial Park]], and a similar portion of the lowlands in [[Manitoba]] is contained in [[Wapusk National Park]].
In contrast, most of the eastern shores (the Quebec portion) form the western edge of the [[Canadian Shield]] in Quebec. The area is rocky and hilly. Its vegetation is typically [[taiga|boreal forest]], and to the north, [[tundra]].
Measured by shoreline, Hudson Bay is the largest bay in the world (the largest in area being the [[Bay of Bengal]]).
===Islands===
There are many islands in Hudson Bay, mostly near the eastern coast. All are part of the territory [[Nunavut]]. The main group of islands is known as the [[Belcher Islands]].
==Geology==
When Earth's gravitational field was mapped starting in the 1960s a large region of below-average gravity was detected in the Hudson Bay region. This was initially thought to be a result of the crust still being depressed from the weight of the [[Laurentide]] ice sheet during the most recent [[Ice Age]], but more detailed observations taken by the [[GRACE]] satellite suggest that this effect cannot account for the entirety of the gravitational anomaly. It is thought that convection in the underlying [[Mantle (geology)|mantle]] may be contributing.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn11826-satellites-solve-mystery-of-low-gravity-over-canada.html| publisher=New Scientist| title= Satellites solve mystery of low gravity over Canada| date=10 May 2007| first=Kelly| last=Young| accessdate=2007-05-11}}</ref>
Supposedly there are large deposits of iron ore under the bay which affect magnetic fields and compasses.{{Fact|date=December 2007}}
==Coastal communities==
The coast of Hudson Bay is extremely sparsely populated; there are only about a dozen villages. Some of these were founded in the 17th and 18th centuries by the Hudson's Bay Company as trading posts, making them part of the oldest settlements in Canada. With the closure of the HBC posts and stores in the second half of the 20th century, many coastal villages are now almost exclusively populated by [[Cree]] and [[Inuit]] people.
Some of the more prominent communities along the Hudson Bay coast are:
*[[Puvirnituq, Quebec]]
*[[Arviat, Nunavut]]
*[[Churchill, Manitoba]]
*[[Rankin Inlet, Nunavut]]
===Military development===
Not until the [[Cold War]] was there any military significance attributed to the region. In the 1950s, a few sites along the coast became part of the [[Mid-Canada Line]], watching for a potential Soviet bomber attack over the North Pole. The only arctic, deep water port in Canada is located at Churchill, Manitoba.
==Economy==
===Arctic Bridge===
[[Image:Arctic.svg|thumb|right|225px|The Arctic Bridge [[shipping route]] is hoped to link [[North America]] to [[market]]s in [[Europe]] and [[Asia]] using ice-free routes across the [[Arctic Ocean]]]]The longer periods of ice-free navigation and the reduction of Arctic Ocean ice coverage have led to interest in [[Russia]] and Canada in the potential for commercial trade routes across the Arctic and into Hudson Bay. The so-called "[[Arctic Bridge]]" would link Churchill, Manitoba and the Russian port of [[Murmansk]].<ref>[http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071018.wChurchill18/BNStory/National/] The Globe and Mail, Toronto, 18 October 2007, Russian ship crosses 'Arctic bridge' to Manitoba</ref>
==See also==
*[[Canada Hudson Bay drainage]]
*[[Great Recycling and Northern Development Canal]]
*[[Hudson's Bay Company Archives]]
*[[Tyrrell Sea]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
*''Atlas of Canada'', [http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/index.html online version].
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[[Category:Hudson Bay| ]]
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