Hamilton Inlet is a fjord

Fjord

Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...

-like inlet on the Labrador

Labrador

Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...

 coast of the Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 province of Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

. Together with Lake Melville

Lake Melville

Lake Melville is a saltwater tidal extension of Hamilton Inlet on the Labrador coast in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Comprising 3,069 square kilometres, and stretching 140 kilometres inland to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, it forms part of the largest estuary in the province,...

, it forms the province's largest estuary

Estuary

An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....

, extending over 140 kilometres inland to Happy Valley-Goose Bay

Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador

Happy Valley – Goose Bay is a Canadian town in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.Located in the central part of Labrador, the town is the largest population centre in that region. Incorporated in 1973, the town composes the former town of Happy Valley and the Local Improvement District of...

 and primarily draining the Churchill River

Churchill River (Atlantic)

The Churchill River is a river in Newfoundland and Labrador which flows east from the Smallwood Reservoir in Labrador into the Atlantic Ocean via Lake Melville. The river is long and drains an area of ; it is the longest river in the province...

 and Naskaupi River watershed

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

s. Lake Melville is considered a part of Hamilton Inlet and extends west of the deep, narrow passage at the community of Rigolet

Rigolet, Newfoundland and Labrador

Rigolet is a remote, coastal Labrador Inuit community established in 1735 by French-Canadian trader Louis Fornel....

.