Talk:Churchill, Manitoba

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Untitled[edit]

Factoid: Hudson Bay (the bay), but Hudson's Bay (the company). See the Canadian Oxford dictionary and CP Caps and Spelling --MarkB 19:29, 7 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Whence and why the bears come[edit]

"It is most famous for the many polar bears that come ashore in the autumn, looking for easily available food. " Actually the bears don't "come ashore", they head from their inland summer living areas (hibernation?) toward shore, waiting for the bay to freeze so they can begin hunting for and feeding on seals through the winter months. A few rogue bears will wander close to town (specifically but not exclusively to the town dump), but these bears are usually quickly captured, taken to "polar bear jail" and then removed from the area via a "bear lift".

Some reference site: http://www.churchillmb.net/~cccomm/, http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/

Removing the reference links in the text[edit]

I removed the html tags for the references in the text because they were stopping the page from displaying properly. --Apyule 09:53, 21 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Record precipitation event[edit]

In October 2006, 13.31 inches of precipitation fell in Churchill, MB. This is more than seven times the normal of 1.83* inches in October, shatters the previous record of 3.52 inches and is rather uncommon for a precip total in the subarctic regions. Much of the precipitation fell in blizzard conditions (with reports of hurricane force winds) from 10/11-10/14.

Videowizard2006 11:00, 15 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Another record total for November 2006, 11.54 inches of precipitation fell in Churchill. Normally, they get less than half an inch in November, so this total is 30 times greater than average. The previous wettest November was 7.36 inches. I'm surprised the media hasn't mentioned this, as this makes just under 25 inches in two months.

--Videowizard2006 02:52, 1 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Port of Churchill[edit]

With news today of US interests expecting the Port of Churchill to benefit from global warming changes, I am reminded of the public efforts in the 1960s to promote use of the port for grain shipping. Is it still used to transport prairie grain? What is the history of the use of the port for shipping? Maybe the US owner of the port is on the right track? KenWalker | Talk 17:05, 4 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

"Canada's only main port on the Arctic Ocean"[edit]

Looking at the map, the place is nowhere near the arctic ocean. Zazaban 01:20, 4 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Except Hudson's Bay is part of the Arctic Ocean. Geo Swan 02:48, 4 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Should that read "Canada's only mainland port in the Arctic Ocean?", what is a "main port", as there is a port in Nanisivik, which will be going through serious upgrading...--Kelapstick 12:06, 4 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Churchill is a port, in the sense that goods are delivered there from other parts for forwarding on to other parts. Nanisivik is not a port, in that sense, because it only ships goods that are produced right there. It's not a through port. I would argue that this is exactly why the wording is good the way it is. 198.49.180.40 (talk) 22:32, 17 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Mainland port would work for me. Or port with a connection to the North-American railroad grid. Geo Swan (talk) 10:14, 12 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I doubt that the origin of the goods matter when defining a marine shipping port. By the way, a sea shore, by definition cannot be inland. Additionally, it makes no difference whether it faces north, south east or west. Regards, BatteryIncluded (talk) 18:30, 12 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  • FWIW, Kelapstick, when I looked at them, the actual plans for Nanisivik, were very modest. Permanent staff? (1) seasonal; (2) non-DnD caretakers. Geo Swan (talk) 00:06, 3 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Add more details to the sentence then, no? How about "Canada's only main port on the Arctic Ocean in the sense that [Churchill] connects to the North-American railroad grid. Another site Nanisivik ships locally produced goods." -- Ktsquare (talk) 14:51, 30 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Climate section[edit]

I have a bit of a problem with the climate section. It says "Prevailing northerly winds from the North Pole jet across the frozen bay and chill it to a −26.7 °C..." but a quick look at the Envionment Canada site indicates that the winds in January are from the west. Now there is a small bay to the west and that may play a part in cooling but the winds are not from the north. "Churchill's winters are colder than a location at a latitude of 58 degrees north should warrant." First of all that isn't sourced. Who says it's colder? It then goes on to compare Churchill and Juneau, which is a lot warmer. However, looking at Cluff Lake, SK, Collins Bay, SK, Inukjuak, QC, Kuujjuaq, QC, Fort Chipewyan, AB, High Level, AB and Lynn Lake, MB shows that Churchill is colder than most of those places. However, it's not much colder only a few degrees in most cases. Enter CambridgeBayWeather, waits for audience applause, not a sausage 14:42, 27 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I think you did a good job with this section, and the table hit the spot just right. BatteryIncluded (talk) 18:38, 27 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Eastern Arctic[edit]

Churchill is also the major seaport in Canada for the Eastern Arctic

(looks at map of the Arctic) So where is the Eastern Arctic? The phrase doesn't seem to make sense.Ordinary Person (talk) 15:26, 20 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Yep. How'bout: "a major seaport in north-central Canada"? Cheers, BatteryIncluded (talk) 18:24, 20 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]


Western Arctic is the Yukon and western part of NWT, Eastern Arctic mostly means Nunavut. Most Cdns wouldn't really know where North-Central Canada is. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.161.165.22 (talk) 17:38, 8 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

  • Hay River, on Great Slave Lake, also has a rail link. While it is just a riverport, something like 1000 kilometres from the Sea, barges loaded there serve the Western Arctic, including some American facilities, off the shore of Alaska. Geo Swan (talk) 00:23, 3 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]

What is the size of the largest vessels the port can handle?[edit]

What is the size of the largest vessels the port can handle?

There is a List of deep water ports. Does Churchill merit listing there? I have argued for that other article being tuned, so it only lists ports above a specific size, like panamax. Can Churchill handle panamax vessels? Geo Swan (talk) 17:59, 24 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

When I lived there I noticed that the grain-carrying vessels could enter the port only at high tide and had something like 3 feet to spare. Hope that helps. BatteryIncluded (talk) 15:40, 26 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. That is what I needed. Geo Swan (talk) 16:06, 26 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Why no roads link Churchill to anywhere else?[edit]

I don't really understand why Churchill isn't connected to any other city or town by street or highway, any answers as to that? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.81.57.247 (talk) 01:32, 20 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

It is thousands of miles of wet, shifting tundra. There is no significant commerce that would justify the expense of building and maintaining such road. The existing railway is barely self-sustainable thanks to the seasonal grain transport. BatteryIncluded (talk) 22:02, 24 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I will be visiting by rail as a tourist. I would have done so years ago if it were possible to drive my car there. "No significant commerce" right now, but don't be blind to the certainty that lots of tourism commerce would result if even a gravel road were constructed right next to the railroad. 75.163.142.160 (talk) 21:56, 10 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]


Wapusk National Park is located east of Churchill not south. There is no sportsfishing in Churchill, although there is goose hunting in the spring and fall. The cars in Churchill are left unlocked NOT because of the polar bears. They are left unlocked by most of the resident ALL year long. The polar bears are generally only around in the summer and fall. The reason the doors are left unlocked is that there is a low crime rate and anyone taking the car would be identified by other residents. As there is no road out whoever took the vehicle would have to return it to town afterwards, increasing the likelihood of being caught. Yes, we are known as the Polar Bear Capital of the World, and you could make a case for the Beluga Capital, but, as a resident, I have never heard it called C-town.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.200.30.10 (talk) 04:46, 14 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Re. sport fishing: They built a dam on the river near Mosquito Point (belugas don't go past that point for calving), so that upriver they could build fishing lodges for tourists. Also, I never heard anybody use "C-Town" nickname, and it is unreferenced. BatteryIncluded (talk) 06:23, 1 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Only Arctic Ocean seaport connected to the North American railroad grid?[edit]

Doesn't quite sound accurate, as the Port of Moosonee is also connected to the North American railroad grid. 75.163.142.160 (talk) 23:12, 10 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

  • "Port Facilities Could Help Canada's Churchill". Maritime Executive. When the weather is warm, it is possible for maritime transportation to gain access to several coastal communities in the region. James Bay extends south from the southeastern area of Hudson Bay to the town of Moosonee that has railway service that extends south to Canada's most densely populated region. It appears possible at Moosonee, to develop intermodal connections between railway and maritime transportation that could carry food and goods to several Hudson Bay coastal communities.
So, I suggest, what the quote from the article above means, is that it would be possible to build an intermodal terminal, at Moosonee, but that none exists now. What is an intermodal terminal? Hay River is an example of an intermodal terminal. Standard sized shipping containers arrive there, by rail, and all the cargo in the shipping container is tranferred to a barge. An intermodal terminal can transfer cargo from rail, to an actual sea-going vessel. Hay River is a river port, and only services barges. Moosonee
So, the river wasn't dredged, in 1960. Has it been dredged, since then? I see no record of this dredging.
Without dredging Moosonee could be used to load barges, as at Hay River. But there don't seem to be any facilities to load or unload barges. Barges come in various sizes. The Mackenzie River is a big river, and can accommodate big barges. The Moose may only be capable of transitting medium, or small barges.
With dredging, and the construction of port facilities, like piers, cranes, etc, Moosonee could accommodate deeper seagoing ships. But this hasn't been done yet.
How expensive is it to dredge miles of channel in tidal flats? I dunno. More than one hundred million, maybe?
I think this means that Moosonee, currently, is a small riverport, where shallow barges have access to the sea. So, not a seaport.
https://web.archive.org/web/20030815131145/http://www.mtlmoose.com:80/vessels.htm - no longer online, not online since 2007, so maybe it has gone out of business.
According to https://northernontariommts.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/ttr_marine_techbackgrounder-2016-11-17.pdf the maximum size barge that can reach Moosonee has a draft of 1.8 metres (5.9 ft), beam of 13 metres (43 ft), length of 52 metres (171 ft).
So Moosonee is a riverport, not a seaport. Geo Swan (talk) 23:59, 2 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  • "River conditions pushing company out of Moosonee". CBC News. 2014-05-14. Retrieved 2018-11-02. But Cool said he hasn't seen sediment build-up like this in his decades working the river. 'We are taking two or three tides to get out, where we would normally get out in one tide,' said Cool. 'That can make a difference of 12, 24 or 36 hours per trip.'

Tree line[edit]

The article mentions that it is north of the tree line, but there are trees in the picture next to the sign welcoming you to town! What gives? Titanium Dragon (talk) 03:48, 7 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

It is at the tree line (taiga), but it does not mean that all trees shall die there. However, the tree line does not dictate the weather, so I did not revert your edit. Cheers, BatteryIncluded (talk) 05:13, 7 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

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CFS or CFL[edit]

Hello all, Churchill,_Manitoba#History says the ionospheric study station owns callsign CFL but this pages say CFS. Which one is right? Or both are right but designate different stations?

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