Herschel Island

Herschel Island, also known by the Inuvialuktun name Qikiqtaruk, is an island in the Beaufort Sea off the northern coast of Yukon. It is notable for historic whaling and trading sites and for its importance to the Inuvialuit people.

The island contains the remains of a late 19th and early 20th-century Euro-American settlement and whaling station alongside archaeological and cultural sites associated with Indigenous use. Today it is designated as a protected area and functions as a territorial park with interpreted heritage features.

In the late 1800s Herschel Island was used as a seasonal base by whalers and traders and hosted a multicultural seasonal population; much of the surface archaeology documents this period of intense coastal Arctic activity. The island’s permafrost landscapes and coastal habitats also support seabirds and wildlife typical of the western Arctic.

Herschel Island lies off the north coast of Yukon in the Beaufort Sea, west of the Mackenzie River delta and north of the Yukon mainland. Access is by boat or by seasonal air charter from coastal communities, and visits are dependent on ice and weather conditions.

• Names and use: Also known by its Inuit name Qikiqtaruk, the island was a major whaling and trading base in the late 19th century and is now protected for its cultural and natural heritage.
• Access: Accessible seasonally by boat or charter aircraft from coastal communities; visitation is dependent on weather and sea-ice conditions.

What to See #

• Historic settlement ruins: Remains of a late 19th and early 20th-century settlement and whaling station, including building foundations and archaeological deposits documenting Euro-American and Inuit occupation.
• Qikiqtaruk Territorial Park: Qikiqtaruk Territorial Park area that protects the island's cultural and natural heritage and provides interpretive information for visitors.