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The "Igloo Church" in Downtown Inuvik Mackenzie Road, Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada |
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This is where the Dempster Highway ends — Inuvik, 456 unpaved miles north from Dempster Corner on the Klondike River. There is a winter-only road that continues north from here to Tuktoyaktuk, and even to offshore islands, but it can only be traveled when the lakes, rivers, and tundra are frozen solid. Inuvik is Canada's northernmost modern town, located almost 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle. It was built by the Canadian government in 1955-63, largely because the existing town in the area, Aklavik, seemed about to be washed away by the Mackenzie River. Every building in town was built on pilings, to prevent melting of the permafrost. Central heat, water, power, and sewage are provided through a system of insulated aboveground "utilidors" connecting all buildings — utilities cannot be buried in the frozen ground. The population of about 3000 is split more or less evenly between Athapascan Indians (the Déné), Eskimos (Inuit), and other Canadians, many of them working for the government. Points of interest in this panorama are Boreal Books (in the red building), the distinctive Igloo Church, and one of the town's large pubs.
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