The second northernmost community in Canada, Resolute Bay is located in the High Arctic on the south coast of Cornwallis Island. The gateway to the High Arctic, Resolute Bay (pop. 257) is the major stopover for expeditions to the North Pole and to Quttinirpaaq (Ellesmere Island) National Park, and a base for scientific research.
There is a weather station as well as the Polar Continental Shelf Project research camp located within the community. Resolute’s history has the most European influence of all the Nunavut communities. The site was a critical junction along the Northwest Passage, the famed route to Asia sought by European explorers in the 18th and 19th centuries. The community is named after the HMS Resolute, a British ship that searched for the lost Franklin expedition.
