Coppermine River
The Coppermine River is a river in the North Slave and Kitikmeot regions of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut in Canada. It is 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 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. Hearne found only one lump of copper and commercial mining was not considered viable.
Bloody Falls, part of the Kugluk/Bloody Falls Territorial Park, is located 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.Gallery
