The area encompassing Nunavut has been homeland to the Inuit for over 4,000 years. Seventeen thousand, five hundred of Canada's 25,000 Inuit live there. Nunavut covers 1.9 million square km, approximately one-fifth the total area of Canada, bordered by the Northwest Territories to the west, the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan to the south, and Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea to the east. The territory contains the former Keewatin and Franklin districts of the Northwest Territories, includes Baffin Island and seven of Canada's twelve largest islands, two thirds of its coastline, and stretches almost to the North Pole. Most of the territory is flat tundra, snow covered most of the year, above the tree line with stunted vegetation of lichen and grasses.
Wildlife includes white fox, caribou, seals, and a wide assortment of birds during the summer.
The prominent fish are Whitefish and Arctic char. Nunavut has a harsh, desert climate, with less than 10 inches of precipitation per year, mostly as snow. Winter lasts nine months. Iqaluit is the largest community in Nunavut, with a population of 3,600, located approximately 2,000 kilometers from Ottawa. The northernmost community in Nunavut is Grise Fiord.