Chesterfield Inlet

Chesterfield Inlet, or Igluligaarjuk (meaning 'place with a few houses'), is a small hamlet located on the west coast of Hudson Bay near the inlet that bears its name. The inlet runs from Hudson Bay to Baker Lake and the town is one of the oldest settlements in Nunavut. This settlement dates back to the arrival of the whalers who often wintered in the region from the mid-1800s to the beginning of the 1900s. The presence of American whalers prompted the RCMP to establish a station at Chesterfield in order to ensure Canadian law was adhered to and taxes were collected. It was also the Hudson's Bay Company's main supply depot and contained a large Catholic mission.