Hot Weather Creek

Hot Weather Creek

Hot Weather Creek is a stream not far from Eureka in the Baffin region of Nunavut, Canada. Its basin covers an area of 50 km2. Summers in the area are more moderate than in most of the Queen Elizabeth Islands. The average temperature in July is at least 5 degrees Celsius. This regional temperature is due to the surrounding mountain ranges, which tend to deflect or disperse low-level clouds from the central Arctic Ocean. The decrease in cloud cover results in high solar radiation, which causes surface warming. The Fosheim Peninsula has an unusually diverse flora at this latitude, with 140 plant species occurring in the Hot Weather Creek area. This contrasts with the vegetation in similar in the western and central Queen Elizabeth Islands, where there are generally fewer than 35 plant species. A diversity and richness of vegetation is more typical of the southern, warmer Arctic Islands.