Site: FOX-3

FOX-3
Dewar Lakes, Nunavut

 


DEWLINE HISTORICAL DESCRIPTION

Topography

  • FOX-3 at DEWAR LAKES, Canada, is situated on 4060 acres of glacially scoured terrain which consists of rolling hills separated by broad intervening depressions. The station occupies the crest of one of these rolling hills at an altitude of about 1800 feet above sea level. the site lies near the west bank of a stream that runs through a deep valley. The stream is part of a long chain of lakes and rivers that drain into Foxe Basin. It is south flowing and connects to lakes located at an elevation of 650 feet. The northern lake is named Ukala and the southern Tuk-Tuk (Eskimo for hare and caribou respectively). Peaks in the vicinity of FOX-3 are free of ice. however in the highland to the east, snowfields can be found.

Climate

  • Annual precipitation, including snowfall, is approximately 9 inches, being heaviest from July to November and least in March. Snowfall is greatest in October and November and averages about 46 inches a year. The absolute minimum and maximum temperatures are minus 51 and plus 66 degrees Fahrenheit respectively.

Water

  • Normally, during the summer months only, a 12 mile round trip potable water haul is maintained between a river and two 65,000 gallon collapsible rubber tanks at the site. During cold weather the tanks are electrically heated to keep the water from freezing. In emergencies, water can be secured from a lake some 3 miles from the station during the winter.

Building Layout Diagram.

Runway Area Layout Diagram.

Satellite Image – High level.

Satellite Image – Close-up.

Winter Photo.

Summer Photo, Aug 1995. Courtesy Dan McIsaac.

Armco Building, Aug 1995. Courtesy Dan McIsaac.


Communications Center. (Top photo is upside down!) Courtesy Ed Groelle.

More Electronic Equipment. Courtesy Ed Groelle.

Construction Era Photos for FOX-3.
The pictures below were selected from the extensive collection of Markham Cheever, the DEWLine’s Superintendent of Construction from 1953 to 1957, before the Line went operational. (Click on picture to enlarge.)

The People.
The people in the photos below, also from the Markham Cheever collection, are displayed in the hopes that someone may recognize a father, grandfather, or friend who was involved in the construction of this particular DEWLine site. (Click on picture to enlarge.)