Imagine a cold northern land where there are more
caribou than people. Giant piles of stones in the shape of people, called Inukshuk,
dot the treeless plains. Built by native people known as the Inuit, these stone
figures have been used as landmarks for centuries.
Can you imagine such a place? Then you have an
idea what Canada’s Northwest Territories is like!
|
Facts About the Northwest Territories
|
|
|
Capital
|
Yellowknife
|
|
Population
|
42,600
people
|
|
Rank
among provinces and territories in population
|
11th
|
|
Major
cities
|
Yellowknife,
Hay River
|
|
Area
|
520,000
square miles
1,350,000 square kilometers |
|
Rank
among provinces and territories in area
|
3rd
|
|
Entry
into federation
|
July
15, 1870
|
|
Provincial
bird
|
Gyrfalcon
|
|
Provincial
flower
|
Mountain
Avens
|
|
Abbreviation
|
NT
|
A BIG PLACE
The Northwest Territories is in northwestern Canada. In
the south, it touches the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and
Saskatchewan. In the north, it reaches all the way to the North Pole and
includes some large islands in the Arctic Ocean.
All this land makes the Northwest Territories
a big place. In fact, it’s about as big as the states of Texas, California, and
Oregon combined. Yet the Northwest Territories is not nearly as large as it was
when it became a part of Canada in 1870. Over time, it gradually shrank as some
of its land was given to other provinces.
Then, on April 1, 1999, the Canadian government
split the Northwest Territories into two parts. The bigger part in the east
became the new territory of Nunavut. The western part is what remains of the
Northwest Territories.
While large in size, the Northwest Territories
has very few people. In 2007, just 42,600 people lived there.
NOW THAT’S COLD!
The Northwest Territories is so cold that most of its
land is frozen all year round. Such land is called permafrost, and it makes
farming virtually impossible.
Because of the permafrost, most houses in the
Northwest Territories don’t have basements. Instead, they have stilts! The
stilts keep the houses off the ground. That way, when the houses are heated,
there’s no chance of the ground below them melting!
In the far north are the Arctic lands of
the Northwest Territories. They include the islands inside the Arctic Circle,
the area around the North Pole. It’s so cold there that hardly any trees will
grow.
NORTHERN LIGHTS
Because it’s so far north, the Northwest
Territories has long summer days and long winter nights. During winter, amazing
streaks of color called the northern lights, or aurora borealis,
sometimes glow in the night sky.
THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE
Beginning in the late 1400s, European sailors began
looking for a Northwest Passage. They were hoping to find a northern water
route that would allow them to sail through or around North America.
For centuries, sailors searched for a way through the
icy seas and narrow channels of the Arctic region of the Northwest Territories.
Sometimes, they captured and ate caribou, musk ox, moose, and other native
animals living on the mainland and many islands.
Despite numerous efforts, no one succeeded in sailing
all the way through the passage until 1906. That year, Norwegian explorer Roald
Amundsen finally made it.
THE FUR TRADE
European fur traders began arriving in the
Northwest Territories in the late 1700s. By the early 1800s, fur traders and
prospectors searching for gold began settling in the region.
Fur-trading posts were set up along the Mackenzie,
Canada’s longest river. The beaver pelts from this cold land were thicker than
those found in warmer areas to the south, so fur traders could charge top
prices for their pelts. The fur trade still goes on today in the Northwest
Territories, though it’s not as important as it once was.
NATIVE PEOPLES
Over time, contact between native people in the
area and the outside world increased. Missionaries went to the Northwest
Territories to convert native people to Christianity.
Today, native people make up about 50 percent of
the population in the Northwest Territories. Many still live off the land,
hunting wild animals or catching fish.
The Northwest Territories has nine official languages.
Seven come from the native people. The other two are French and English. The
Northwest Territories has more official languages than any other province or
territory in Canada!
YELLOWKNIFE
Yellowknife is the capital and biggest city of the
Northwest Territories. Almost half of the territory’s entire population lives
there.
Yellowknife is located on the north shore of Great Slave
Lake, the deepest lake in North America. The Mackenzie River flows from the
lake. The lake got its name from the Slavey, a native people who live nearby.
In summer, supplies are ferried into Yellowknife on
the Mackenzie River. But in winter the river freezes over. Then, supplies are
trucked in or flown in on small bush planes. Bush pilots are important for
transportation throughout the territory.
Where did Yellowknife get its name? Europeans first gave
the name to a native people who once lived in the area. They were known for
making yellow knife blades hammered out of copper.
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