Labrador Attractions

The Labrador Peninsula, an area of 1,560,000 sq. km (602,160 sq. mi.) between Hudson Bay and the Atlantic, is the eastern flank of the Canadian Shield, and contains a wealth of mineral deposits in its Pre-Cambrian plutonic rocks. Labrador's central uplands range between 200 m (650 ft) and 500 m (1650 ft), reaching heights in the north-east of between 800 m (2625 ft) and 1800 m (5907 ft). The peninsula was the final resting place of the glaciers of the last continental Ice Age, until they too melted about 6000-7000 years ago. The landscape has many clearly glacial features, especially in the north. Countless rivers have carved deep valleys across the face of Labrador, which has deep fjords as well, particularly along the Atlantic coast, also typically glaciated. The hummock-covered pristine wilderness of the interior has broad basins that have been filled with lakes, moraine spoil or sand. The lowlands around Hudson Bay and Ungava Bay were under water when times got warmer.

The Labrador Peninsula lies between 50° and 60° latitude north, and has a sub-arctic climate that counts as extreme in European terms. This is intensified by the cold Labrador current that swirls around the edge of this land mass. Temperatures in central Labrador can fall to -50°C (-58°F), and they can even get as low as -40°C (-40°F) on the coast. Average summer temperatures are between 5°C (41°F) and 10°C (50°F), and higher in places. Average precipitation is between 500 mm (20 in.) and 1000 mm (40 in.), depending on the lie of the land, and rather less on the Ungava peninsula, with a quarter to a third falling as snow.

Most of northern Labrador is in the permafrost, and has the typical tundra vegetation of sparse, sub-arctic pine and birch. The south, on the Gulf of St Lawrence and around Goose Bay, mostly has boreal timber.

The Labrador is a breed of dog native to eastern Canada, and probably related to the Newfoundland, although not as large. Labradors have a short, thick coat, ranging in colour from pure white to black, occasionally with a tinge of brown. Here in Canada they are mainly used for pulling sledges.

The waters off Labrador are among the world's best fishing grounds, so there is a long fishing tradition. In the past furs also played an important role in the local economy. Timber felling and processing are also of economic importance, mostly concentrated on the Gulf of St Lawrence seaboard.

Eastern Labrador is among the world's major mining regions, and the vast iron ore reserves between the Churchill and Koksoak rivers yield over 10 million tonnes a year.

Its enormous hydro-electric potential has made Labrador a major supplier of energy to the industries of south-eastern Canada and the United States eastern seaboard.

Labrador was probably discovered by the Vikings in about 986. John Cabot reached the peninsula in 1498, then later came immigrants from the British Isles. Trappers, fur-traders and lumbermen were roaming the territory up until 1900, when the population numbered about 5000, most of them Inuit and Indian.

Vast reserves of iron ore were discovered in the late 19th c. and as they came to be mined, particularly after the Second World War, the population grew. By 1950 it had already risen to 18,000, about a third being Inuit or Indian.

Most of Labrador is in Québec Province, but the east coast and part of the hinterland come under Newfoundland, although these boundaries have shifted several times since 1763.