| Coppermine River | |
|---|---|
 View of the Arctic Sea from the mouth of the Coppermine River (1821) by George Back | |
  Coppermine River mouth location | |
| Location | |
| Country | Canada |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Lac de Gras |
| • location | Northwest Territories, Canada |
| • coordinates | 64°35′01″N 111°11′33″W / 64.58361°N 111.19250°W |
| • elevation | 396 m (1,299 ft) |
| Mouth | Coronation Gulf |
• location | Nunavut, Arctic Ocean, Canada |
• coordinates | 67°48′43″N 115°05′05″W / 67.81194°N 115.08472°W |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 845 km (525 mi) |
| Basin size | 50,700 km2 (19,600 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 337.69 m3/s (11,925 cu ft/s)[1] |
| • minimum | 10.37 m3/s (366 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 1,500 m3/s (53,000 cu ft/s) |
| [2][3] | |
The Coppermine River is a river in the North Slave and Kitikmeot regions of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut in Canada. It is 845 kilometres (525 mi)[4] long. It rises in Lac de Gras, a small lake near Great Slave Lake, and flows generally north to Coronation Gulf, an arm of the Arctic Ocean. The river freezes in winter but may still flow under the ice.
The community of Kugluktuk (formerly Coppermine) is located at the river's mouth.
The river was named for the copper ores which are located along the river, by Samuel Hearne in 1771.[5] Hearne found only one lump of copper and commercial mining was not considered viable.[6]
Bloody Falls, part of the Kugluk/Bloody Falls Territorial Park, is located 18.5 kilometres (11.5 mi) from Kugluktuk, and was home to the Kogluktogmiut a sub-group of the Copper Inuit. It is the site of the Bloody Falls Massacre, when Matonabbee, Samuel Hearne's guide, and his fellow Chipewyan warriors ambushed and massacred the local Inuit.[7]
