Arctic capital

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St Jude's Cathedral in 1995 (Photo: Ansgar Walk)

Think north and sparsely populated for our Geo Quiz: We’re looking for a tiny territorial capital just south of the Arctic Circle. Only about 6,000 people live there. This community used to be called Frobisher Bay. It was founded in 1942 as an American airbase and soon played a strategic role in the Cold War.

In the 1950s, hundreds of people moved there to build the Distant Early Warning line, a system of radar stations for the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

These days, the community is busy rebuilding a church, actually an Anglican cathedral, that burned down five years ago. The cathedral is shaped like an igloo crowned by a spire and cross. So was the church that burned down. But this time the building materials are a bit more fire-proof.

Still guessing?


Geo Answer:

Well, the answer is Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut in Canada. That’s where an Anglican cathedral is being rebuilt in the shape of in igloo. Andrew Ataguttaaluk is the bishop in Nunavut. Jeb Sharp talks with him.

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