Thelon

Geography

The drainage basin of the Thelon River encompasses some 142,400 square kilometres (55,000 sq mi). Located far from almost all human development, the Thelon and its surroundings are entirely pristine wilderness. It has been described as Canada's remotest river.

The river has a width of up to a kilometre (0.6 mi) along much of its lower section, widening into Beverly, Aberdeen, and Schultz Lakes about 100 kilometres (62 mi) upstream from its mouth at Baker Lake.

History

Inuit – including Caribou Inuit and Copper Inuit – have long occupied the sparsely populated lands around the Thelon. Artifacts of Inuit hunting and travel (including inukshuk guide stones) are readily observed near the river.

In 1770–71 English explorer Samuel Hearne crossed the Thelon while exploring Canada's northern interior. James William Tyrrell led an expedition through the area in 1900.

Over the winter of 1926–27 John Hornby starved to death on the Thelon along with two other men. They had planned to hunt migrating caribou, but failed to find the herd. Nevertheless, on the basis of Hornby's earlier explorations with James Charles Critchell Bullock in 1923, the Thelon Game Sanctuary was established in 1927, renamed the Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary in 1956.

Tourism

In 1990 the lower 545 kilometres (339 mi) of the Thelon were designated a Canadian Heritage River. Although there is no road access to the river, a number of wilderness campers and canoeists visit the Thelon every summer.