Hudson Bay Facts
Hudson Bay Facts
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| Interesting Hudson Bay Facts: |
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| Hudson Bay was named after the English explorer Sir Henry Hudson who first explored the bay aboard his ship Discovery in 1610. |
| When Hudson Bay froze over Henry Hudson and his crew were forced to spend the winter at James Bay southern tip. |
| When the Nonsuch reached Hudson Bay in 1668 trading began for beaver pelts. This would eventually lead to the establishment of the Hudson's Bay Company, a company that still exists today. |
| The average temperatures of the Hudson Bay are low year round, between -5 degrees Celsius and -9 degrees Celsius. In the warmer weather they sometimes rise to 10 degrees Celsius. |
| The salinity of the waters of Hudson Bay are lower on average that the ocean's salinity level. |
| Hudson Bay is home to several islands including the Ottawa Islands and the Belcher Islands. The islands are all part of Nunavut. |
| There are only roughly 12 villages along the shores of Hudson Bat, some of which were originally founded in the 1600s and 1700s as trading posts. Today many are populated by Inuit and Cree people. |
| Some of the more well-known settlements along the shores of Hudson Bay include Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, Churchill, Manitoba, Arviat, Nunavut, and Purvirnitug, Quebec. |
| As the period of time decreases each year that Hudson Bay is frozen over, Canada and Russia have expressed interest in using it for commercial trade routes. |
| Hudson Bay is fed by the Kazan River, the Thelon River, the Dubawnt River, the Hayes River, the Nelson River, the Churchill River, the Winisk River, and the Severn River, among many others. |
| Some believe that Hudson Bay's shape was created by a meteor strike. |
| Marine life in Hudson Bay includes molluscs, starfish, and sea urchins, fish such as halibut, cod, polar plaice, and salmon. |
| Killer whales, walruses, dolphins, and polar bears can be found at Hudson Bay. |
| There are roughly 200 bird species known to live at some point of the year at Hudson Bay's shoreline or islands including crows, owls, snow geese, swans, sandpipers, and ducks. |
| The water along the shoreline of the province of Manitoba is not considered to be part of Manitoba. It is considered to be part of Nunavut. |
| During the summer Hudson Bay becomes homes to approximately 50,000 beluga whales. |
| As the amount of time that Hudson Bay stays frozen each year decreases the polar population becomes more vulnerable. The polar bears use the frozen ice as a platform to hunt seals. |
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