Katannilik Park, Northwest Territories

The diverse, cross-country beauty of the nation is depicted on 12 provincial and territorial parks stamps to be issued for Canada Day 1993. Occupying the Meta Incognita Peninsula in the southern part of Baffin Island, the park extends from the south shore of Frobisher Bay across from Iqaluit, to the top of Pleasant Inlet along the coast of Hudson Strait. Katannilik means "place where there are falls" and the reserve contains waterfalls of various sizes within its 1,500 square kilometres of highland plateau and scenic river valleys. Three distinct types of landscape are found within its boundaries: the flat-bottomed, steep-sided Soper River Valley with low adjacent wetlands and a relatively rich cover of vegetation; the surrounding uplands, flat to gently rolling, with streams and ponds in shallow valleys almost devoid of vegetation; and a combination of the two. The animal population, typical of the Arctic, is low and subject to fluctuation. Caribou are the most common and important to the natives, who get food, clothing and bone for implements from them. Many Arctic species also are found within the reserve. Although still in its planning stages, Katannilik has much to offer. Hiking trails, canoes, rafts, kayaks, bush planes, helicopters, snowmobiles...not for the beginner but a fantastic chance to have a first-hand experience of the Far North. As the NWT people proclaim: "Within Reach yet Beyond Belief". The stamp designs convey the feeling that the artist visited these spectacular locations and was awed by their beauty.