COPPERMINE RIVER, in British America, rises in Lake Providence, about lat. 65° N., lon. 112° W., flows a little W. of N. to just beyond the Arctic circle, when it bends abruptly W., after which its course is a little E. of N. to its mouth in the Duke of York's archipelago, an inlet of the Arctic ocean, at lat. 67° 40' N., lon. 115° 37' W. It flows through a very uneven region, and forms several lakes and many rapids and cataracts, but is navigable by canoes and boats. Its length is about 300 m. Fur-bearing animals, such as the bear, the fox, and the ermine, abound along its banks. The river derives its name from a copper mine discovered near its mouth. The region through which the Coppermine flows was first explored in 1821 by Sir John Franklin. Its mouth was the first point on the Arctic coast of America visited by Europeans.