The Coppermine is steeped in history. As it winds in and out of the forest-tundra border it passes through land used for millenia by both Inuit and Dene people. Samual Hearne was the first European explorer to travel the Coppermine River during the 1770s. A terrible clash of cultures gives Bloody Falls on the Coppermine its name. A large set of rapids originally named Bloody Fall to commemerate the fall of a party of Inuit camped at the popular fishing spot and slaughtered by a raiding party of Hearne's guides. Sir John Franklin made two trips down the Coppermine in his explorations of Canada's northern coast. One was an ill-fated trip along the coast to the area east of Bathurst Inlet. The fall return trip on this expedition travelled overland, up the Hood River and westward towards a winter camp north of Yellowknife. Several of the party died and there were allegations of murder and cannibalism.

The Inuit town of Coppermine sits just west of the mouth of the river on the shores of Coronation Gulf. Coppermine, or Kulgluktuk, is a bustling Arctic community of over a thousand people. Although still accessable only by air and boat, there is talk of putting a road in to the area, and creating a deep harbor just east of the mouth of the river. This would change the character of the area considerably, but change is the byword these days in the Arctic...let's just hope we take the land and its gifts into account when we make our plans!

Burnside River | Coppermine River | Hanbury River | Hood River | Mara River | Thelon River | Thomsen River | Yellowknife River