Canada Guide

Yellowknife is the capital of The Northwest Territories are situated in Canada’s northern part. This territory borders Nunavut in the east, Yukon in the west, British Columbia in the southwest and Saskatchewan and Alberta in the south.

Geography
Northwest territories has a total land area of 1,140,835 square kms and a total population of 41,464. The capital of these territories is Yellowknife. Geographical features of the Northwest Territories include, the Great Slave Lakes, the Great Bear which is Canada’s largest lake, the Mackenzie River and Canyons in the Nahanni National Park Reserve which is also one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The territorial islands in the region include, the Border Island, Banks Island, Prince Patrick Island, parts of Melville Island and Victoria Island. The region’s highest point is situated in Mount Nirvana at a height of 9100 ft near Yukon’s border.

History
In June 1870, the present day northwest territory was created when it was transferred by the Hudson’s Bay Company to the Canadian Government. In 1882 and 1896, the territory was devided into 8 districts which were, Alberta, Assiniboia, Athabasca, Franklin, Mackenzie, Saskatchewan, Ungava and Yukon. In 1898, Yukon was separated into another territory and in 1905, the Saskatchewan and Alberta provinces were created. This only left the districts of Franklin, Keewatin and Mackenzie in the territory. Between the years 1925 and 1999, the area of the Northwest Territories measured 3,439,296 square kms. Lastly, on 1st April, 1999, the territories’, eastern three fifth which included the districts of Keewatin, Franklin and Mackenzie were separated to become another territory called Nanavut.

Economy
The Northwest Territories’ geological resources include, natural gas, petroleum, diamonds and gold. The territories’ low population and vast natural resources has made the region’s per capita GDP, the highest of all the provinces in Canada. The per capita GDP of the NWT is C$97,923.

Culture
The Northwest Territory’s aboriginal issues includes the future of the ‘Dene’ community who were employed in uranium ore mines in the 1940s. Social tension exists between the ‘Inuit’ and ‘Dene’ communities, but recently steps have been taken towards their reconciliation. Land claims by the Inuit in NWT have resulted in the creation of the province called Nunavut which is the Inuit Homeland. Another land claim by the Dogribs has resulted in a region within the territories called Tli Cho, which gives the Dogribs their own resource royalties, taxes, legislative bodies, etc, though the health and education sector will still be controlled by the NWT.

Attractions
A major tourist attraction in the Northwest Territories include, the Fort Macpherson which is located on the narrow land slope rising above the Peel river. On the winding routes of the Peel River, canoeists can paddle to reach the Mackenzie Delta. The capital of the territories, Yellowknife has many attractions for tourists like Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Northern Frontier Visitor’s Centre, the Legislative Assembly, the Diavik Diamond Display, the Yellowknife Cultural Crossroads, etc. National Parks like the Aulavik National Park, The Tutut Nogail National Park, etc, are also present in the region.

Yellowknife City

This entry was posted on Monday, February 16th, 2009 at 4:54 pm and is filed under Northwest Territories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.