CANADIAN FORCES STATION ALERT

The coat of arms and motto. The black and yellow background identify alternating 24 hours of light and day during the seasons Arctic. The musk ox, a stubborn animal that can live even in the desolate Arctic lands, instead embodies the spirit of the people working at the base. Alert is the most northerly inhabited place on the planet, only 817 km from the geographic North Pole. The first settlement dates back to the early 50 while the military base has been active since 1958. The purpose of the station is to facilitate communications support for the Canadian military. The base is home to about 55 people performing different tasks (military functions, scientific, logistical support, etc.). Usually the tour of duty at the base is 6 months. The motto of the base is INUIT NUNANGATA UNGATA which means, in the Inuit language, "beyond the lands of the Inuit" to emphasize that no one has ever lived so far north. The nearest settlement is located only a 725 km south. The station name is derived from the British vessel "Her Majesty's Ship Alert" that wintered with his crew in the bay of Cape Sheridan, just 9.7 kilometers from the location where it is currently the CFS Alert. The base is a base for many North Pole expedition. The climate is very harsh and the snow covers everything for 10 months a year. The warmest month is July with an average of 3.4 degrees Celsius, while the coldest month is February with an average of less than 17.7. Rainfall is scarce and especially in snow