Formed from some of the earth's oldest rock, the Torngat Mountains at the northern extremity of Labrador is Canada’s newest National Park Reserve.

Full of natural treasure
It is a place of spectacular views, the highest and most rugged peaks in eastern Canada, and vast stretches of sensitive low Arctic tundra. Inland, Atlantic salmon, Arctic char, caribou and black bears are found. Seabirds such as puffins, murres and razorbills inhabit its coastal regions, nesting on rocky offshore islands. Polar bears ply the coastline and venture up the valleys. Offshore from the reserve is habitat for several species of whales.

At about 10,000 square kilometres, "the Torngats" is the region's first national protected area, covering a territory almost double the size of Prince Edward Island. This vast area will be kept free from commercial, industrial and mineral development, although there will be managed use of renewable resources such as fish and game within the park boundaries.

Vegetation
The Torngats provide excellent representation of the tundra and the boreal forest.

Through the late spring and summer, bare rock and tundra each comprise about 50 percent of the upland surfaces. In the valleys, the rocky terrain has a sparse cover of low-lying Arctic sedge, lichens, mosses, grasses and hardy Arctic flowers. In sheltered valley slopes, there are patches of Arctic mixed evergreen and deciduous shrubs.

White birch and willow thickets growing on less stable scree frequently mark the transition from tundra to very open stands of black spruce and tamarack in the south. In bogs and other wetter sites in the rare lowland areas is found black spruce with mixed evergreen and deciduous shrubs, underlain by mosses.

Fauna
Long cold winters and short summers keep animal populations at generally low numbers. The valley and ridge system affects patterns of animal movement. The extensive size of the Torngats reserve therefore offers protection to fauna nesting, grazing and hunting across this fragile, tundra-dominated, mountainous landscape. This includes two famous herds of caribou and a marvellous array of bird life.

Caribou – The park area contains the main calving grounds for the George River caribou herd, numbering some 700,000 animals. The area also embraces the entire range of the Torngat caribou herd, believed to comprise 10,000 animals. Genetically distinct from the barren-ground caribou found in the tundra zone of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, the George and Torngat herds are actually woodland caribou, tending to stay near the coast year-round though they spend much of their time out on the tundra.

Waterbirds, shorebirds, waterfowl, landbirds – Three at-risk bird species are found here, harlequin duck, Barrow’s goldeneye and peregrine falcon. The coastal area features two continentally-significant Important Bird Areas – coastal islands that offer breeding grounds for common eiders and staging sites in Seven Islands Bay for the eastern harlequin duck. Seabirds such as puffins, murres and razorbills inhabit the coastal region, nesting on rocky offshore islands. Inland, the rock ptarmigan chooses mates, marks out territory and exchanges white winter plumage for a dappled summer camouflage. Flocks of snow buntings nest through the breeding season.

Other species found in the region include:

Landforms and ecosystems
There are breathtaking landscapes in the region: fjords slash inland for 80 kilometres, cliffs rise abruptly from the sea for 900 metres, and peaks rise nearly 2000 metres above sea level.

Geologists believe mountains in this range are 3.6 billion years old. The rock in this region is mainly Archean granite, forming massive steep-sided, rounded mountains with deeply incised valleys and fjords. Glacial features are common: U-shaped valleys, cirque lakes, patterned ground, boulder fields and hanging valley waterfalls.

These are the highest and most rugged mountains in eastern Canada. There is mineral interest throughout the area, though no major commercial finds have been made. The Torngats contain remnant glaciers and exhibit some of the finest examples of fjord coastline and seascapes in the world. The highest point in the range is Mount Caubvick (1652 m).

Two ecosystems — Low Arctic Tundra and Low Arctic Alpine – are represented here, and are new to the Canadian parks system. The region’s ecology is highly fragile. Many species are at low population levels due to climactic conditions. They are particularly vulnerable to human development pressures and any future recreational and tourism activities will need to be strictly managed.

The Torngats feature a moist, low Arctic eco-climate, with coastal ice and fog affecting the climate greatly. Climate is typified by short, cool, moist summers and long, cold winters. The mean annual temperature –6 deg. C., with a summer mean of 4 deg. C and winter mean of -16 deg. C. The annual precipitation is 400-700 mm. Permafrost is continuous on the Quebec side of the border and extensive on the eastern Atlantic side.

Location
Separating the Labrador Sea from the Ungava Peninsula, the Torngats protected area extends from Saglek Bay in the south to Killinek Island near Cape Chidley at the northern tip of Labrador.

Homeland of the Labrador Inuit
The name Torngats comes from the Inuktitut designation for the region, turngait, meaning "spirits". Legends hold that in this region the spirit world overlaps with our own.

These are Inuit traditional lands and the Inuit are a full partner in the park planning and management process. The area is defined as part of the Labrador Inuit Settlement Area and provisions are set out in its Land Claims Agreement.
The Koroc River to the west extends over more than 180 km to Ungava Bay, forming an important thoroughfare between Ungava and Labrador. The communication axis has been used since the appearance of the first humans in the pre-Dorset period approximately 4000 years ago (Maritime Archaic period of Indian habitation, one of Labrador's earliest and most important cultures, has been investigated at a site near Nulliak Island) and from 1770 to 1866 by the Inuit traveling to the Atlantic coast to trade with Moravian missionaries.

Park development process
Parks Canada has been planning the first national park in Labrador since 1976. The land claim of the Labrador Inuit needed to be settled first, however. In 1992, the Torngats file was reopened and Nature Canada has been involved in working with the partners and garnering public support for the park ever since. The Canadian and Newfoundland and Labrador governments, together with the Labrador Inuit, began investigating the feasibility of a national park. Agreement on park boundaries was reached in 1996. The Newfoundland and Labrador cabinet started negotiating terms of the final agreement with Parks Canada that year, exempting the proposed area from further mineral claim, effective in 1998. Nature Canada played an important role in helping establish ecologically significant boundaries and working to achieve interim protection of the proposed national park reserve. Now, in January 2005, the land’s jurisdiction will be officially transferred from the province of Newfoundland and Labrador to the federal government, represented by Parks Canada.

Tourism
The gateway communities to the Torngats are Nain (where the Moravians founded their first Labrador mission in 1771) and Goose Bay.

One hiker reports, after visiting the region: “These mountains are incredibly varied in colour and texture. Rate of erosion is pretty high, so you'll see little or no vegetation on the slopes. Glaciers scoured out the valley bottoms and these are pretty lush with thick stands of alder and willow in places. Incredible remote, very, very few people have been here. The George River caribou herd comes through here every once in a while...but a small resident herd of caribou can be observed year round. We've seen the odd polar bear during the years and certainly wolves, arctic foxes and lots of raptors. This is BIG SKY country!”

Sources:
Torngat Mountain Tundra, by A. Veitch, K. Kavanagh, M. Sims, G. Mann, World Wildlife Fund, 2001
"Proceed with Torngat park but..." Toronto Sunday Telegram editorial, Nov. 10, 1996, p. 10
"Sadlek North Arm Headwaters," Bivouac.com-Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia
"Trekking a Forgotten Lane: Three adventurers push through Labrador's wild, remote Torngat Mountains", by John Dunn, Canadian Geographic , March-April 1994, pp. 56-69.
"Torngat Mountains National Park", Nunatsiavut.com