How large is Hudson Bay?

One of the largest bays in the world

Why is the bay's water less salty than the open ocean?

Many rivers pour fresh water into it

Hudson Bay Quiz: Canada's Inland Sea of Ice and Wildlife

This Hudson Bay quiz sails into the huge inland sea at the heart of northern Canada. Play 10 interactive questions on Henry Hudson's 1610 voyage, the Hudson's Bay Company charter of 1670, seasonal sea ice, polar bears waiting at Churchill, summer belugas, low saltiness from rivers, land still rising after the Ice Age and the port of Churchill.

Start Hudson Bay Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Where
Where is Hudson Bay?
Size
How large is Hudson Bay?
Explorer
Which explorer sailed into the bay in 1610?
Company
Which trading company was chartered in 1670?
Ice
What happens to the bay in winter?
Bears
Why do polar bears gather near Churchill in autumn?
Whales
Which whales crowd river mouths in summer?
Salt
Why is the bay's water less salty than the open ocean?
Land
What is the land around the bay still doing after the Ice Age?
Port
Which Manitoba town is the bay's best-known port?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Where is Hudson Bay?
Answer: In northern Canada
It is linked to the Atlantic and Arctic.
Q2: How large is Hudson Bay?
Answer: One of the largest bays in the world
It covers over a million square km.
Q3: Which explorer sailed into the bay in 1610?
Answer: Henry Hudson
His crew later set him adrift.
Q4: Which trading company was chartered in 1670?
Answer: Hudson's Bay Company
It traded furs across the north.
Q5: What happens to the bay in winter?
Answer: It freezes over
Ice melts again in summer.
Q6: Why do polar bears gather near Churchill in autumn?
Answer: They wait for sea ice to form
Ice lets them hunt seals.
Q7: Which whales crowd river mouths in summer?
Answer: Belugas
Thousands gather near Churchill.
Q8: Why is the bay's water less salty than the open ocean?
Answer: Many rivers pour fresh water into it
It is brackish near shore.
Q9: What is the land around the bay still doing after the Ice Age?
Answer: Slowly rising
The weight of ice was removed.
Q10: Which Manitoba town is the bay's best-known port?
Answer: Churchill
A railway reaches it.

Why Hudson Bay Freezes, Thaws and Draws Polar Bears

Hudson Bay is a vast inland sea in northern Canada, covering more than a million square kilometers. Explorer Henry Hudson sailed into it in 1610, searching for a route to Asia; his crew mutinied the next year and set him adrift. In 1670 the Hudson's Bay Company was chartered to trade furs across the region.

Many rivers pour fresh water into the bay, so it is less salty than the open ocean. Each winter it freezes over, and the ice melts in summer. The land around it is still slowly rising, rebounding after the weight of Ice Age glaciers was removed.

Polar bears spend summer on land and gather near Churchill, Manitoba, in autumn, waiting for sea ice so they can hunt seals. In summer, thousands of beluga whales crowd river mouths near Churchill. The town is the bay's best-known port and is linked to the south by railway.

What This Quiz Teaches

Geography fans will enjoy these questions.

Where the bay is
Who explored it
How the ice changes
Which animals live there
How the land is changing

Did You Know?

Inuit and Cree communities live around the bay.
Shorter ice seasons are affecting polar bears.
Hudson Bay connects to the Atlantic through Hudson Strait.
Northern lights are often seen in winter.
Tundra and boreal forest meet near its shores.