Tuktoyaktuk, like a caribou

The village of Tuktoyaktuk

Tuktoyaktuk is a small very northern settlement near the Mackenzie River Delta, in Canada, located on the Arctic tree line, at the shores of the Arctic Ocean, called here Beaufort Sea.

Pop. around 900 habitatants

Location 69°26′ N 133°01′W

This area was for many years under exploitation for fur trade by the Hudson Bay Company. Many locals still hunt, fish, and trap. They rely on caribou in the autumn, which they keep frozen underground, on ducks and geese in both spring and autumn, and fishing year-round. Other activities include collecting driftwood, caribou herding, and berrypicking.

Inuit drum dancers

Tuktoyaktuk (=like a caribou) is the gateway for exploring Pingo National Landmark, an area protecting eight nearby pingos in a region which contains approximately 1 350 of these Arctic ice-dome hills.

A pingo is a a mound of earth-covered ice, a landform that raises from the earth as a result of the freezing and melting cycle. They last more than 1000 years - eventually, they collapse.

The Mackenzie river delta, in winter and in summer. The frozen river is the main winter road.

The road to Tuktoyaktuk is an ice road - it only opens for traffic in winter. It's traced on the river Mackenzie and on parts the Arctic Ocean ! During summer the village can be reached only by plane or boat.

Snowmobile instead of car

The old wooden catholic church

A cabin by the Mackenzie

From dogsled trips to the Midnight Sun, Northern Lights and pingos, Tuk has much to offer to an adventure visitor.

Mackenzie Street, Inuvik center (clic!)

Here at Inuvik you can find the main services - even a small café - coffee, espresso and cappucino at 69º N - north of the Arctic Circle !

Aerial view - a remote and extraordinary location, a place at the edge of the map - and if the mean sea level rises 2 feet this place will be wiped out.