Nunavut
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In the Arctic, get used to feeling insignificant. Nature overwhelms.
In Buchan Gulf, a lurking ice tongue reminds one of the massive glacial bulldozer that carved these canyon walls out of solid rock.
This isolated pinnacle somehow escaped the glacier's onslaught.
Mist drifts on a mountain's flank.
Capturing some grandeur.
The mists that hang over mountains sometimes descend to sea level. Yes, it's still possible to get lost in an Arctic fog, despite the marvels of modern e-gadgetry.
There's lots of life in the Arctic, but most of it is in the water. At sea, the ubiquitous northern fulmar is in constant search for tiny morsels in the surface layer.
Walruses like to climb aboard an ice floe and just hang out. This one is in Lancaster Sound.
A walrus on Monumental Island casts a suspicious eye. I think she's saying "Hey you, photographer guy, you broke my tusk!!! Why did you break my tusk???
For polar bears, ice is a necessity. In open water, bears are lumbering swimmers with no hope of snatching swift and nimble seals. But where there's ice, bears gain the advantage by ambush and stealth. This male, summering on a rocky island in Davis Strait, will be unemployed and unfed until the ice returns.
Q: Where does a large polar bear sleep?
A: Wherever it wants to.
Polar bears are the world's largest carnivore on four legs. Killer whales are world's largest carnivore with fins. Killer whales are the only predator that can take out a polar bear. However, killer whales avoid ice because they don't like bashing their tall dorsal fins against the ice undersurface. Hence the two apex predators rarely meet.
A baby killer keeps up with Mum. Killer whales are becoming more abundant in the high Arctic as summer ice shrinks. Belugas and narwhals, which lack dorsal fins, use ice as a cover against killer whale predation. Killer whales are an increasing threat to these species.
Bless me Father, for I have painted eyes on this iceberg to make it look like a pre-historic monster.
Ice wins, ship loses. A Lindblad Expeditions ship, aiming to reach 80 degrees north latitude, is halted by the icepack. In the Arctic, you can plan to go places, but nature always has the last word.
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