Hudson Bay: Why Canada Has an Inland Sea

Hudson Bay is a sea in the middle of North America, almost closed in by land, and it is slowly shrinking. The ground around it is still rising, more than half a metre a century. From Henry Hudson's ship in 1610 to the twin satellites that measured its gravity, this is why Canada has an inland sea. 📌 What you’ll learn • How ice up to 3 km thick pressed the land down, and why the GPS station at Churchill still rises about a centimetre a year • Why old beaches and campsites now stand far from the water, and how much the shore Hudson saw in 1610 has risen since • What the GRACE satellites revealed in 2007: the ice explains only about 25 to 45 percent of the gravity low • Why ships anchored 11 km off York Factory, and why the railway to the bay ended at Churchill instead of Port Nelson Educational and historical content. Some scenes are illustrative reconstructions based on the historical record. This film includes the history of First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, named as they name themselves. 📚 Key sources • James H. Marsh, The Canadian Encyclopedia, "Hudson Bay" (2009, updated 2025) • M. E. Tamisiea, J. X. Mitrovica and J. L. Davis, "GRACE Gravity Data Constrain Ancient Ice Geometries and Continental Dynamics over Laurentia", Science (2007) • G. F. Sella and others, "Observation of glacial isostatic adjustment in 'stable' North America with GPS", Geophysical Research Letters (2007) • L. H. Neatby, Dictionary of Canadian Biography, "Hudson, Henry" • David Malaher, "Port Nelson and the Hudson Bay Railway", Manitoba History (1984) — and other sources. Have you stood on the shore of Hudson Bay or James Bay, at Churchill, Moosonee, Moose Factory or one of the coastal communities? Tell us where, and what the water and the ice were doing. Subscribe for more long films about the land, water and ice that shaped Canada. #HudsonBay #CanadianGeography #Churchill #IceAge #TheShapeOfCanada Educational and historical content. Some scenes are illustrative reconstructions based on the historical record.