The Boas is a river on Southampton Island in Nunavut, Canada. The river rises at 64.83278°N, -84.39278°W and its mouth is located at the Bay of Gods Mercy. Proceeding inland, the river becomes braided and is about 5 km wide. It is named after anthropologist Franz Boas.

Flora

There are rich sedge meadows in the river's 2 mi-wide delta area.

Fauna

Bearded seal, bowhead whale, harbor seal, narwhal, polar bear, ringed seal, walrus, and white whale frequent the area. Boas River and associated wetlands is a Canadian Important Bird Area, site #NU022 (63.75°N, -85.66°W). The elevation varies from 0 m to 60 m above sea level. The IBA is 5402 km2 in size. The Harry Gibbons Migratory Bird Sanctuary encompasses one third of the IBA's western portion. This is a notable breeding area for the lesser snow goose. Other bird species include: American golden plover, Arctic loon, Atlantic brant, Canada goose, herring gull, jaegers, king eider, Lapland longspur, oldsquaw, red phalarope, red-throated loon, Ross's goose, tundra swan, sandhill crane, semipalmated plover, semipalmated sandpiper, and white-rumped sandpiper.

History

The area was populated by Sadlermiut until the early 20th century when they were wiped out by an epidemic.