The Northwest Territories is a territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately 1,127,711.92 square kilometres (435,412.01 sq mi) and a 2026 estimated population of 45,808, it is the second-largest and second-most populous of the three territories in Northern Canada. Under its modern borders, the Northwest Territories consists of a large part of Denendeh—traditional land of the Dene—and most of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (known as Inuvialuit Nunangit Sannaiqtuaq in Inuinnaqtun)—traditional land of the Western Canadian Inuit. The territory also contains some land traditionally used by Cree and Métis peoples. Its capital and most populous community is Yellowknife, the only city in the territory; its population was 20,340 as of the 2021 census. It became the territorial capital in 1967, following recommendations by the Carrothers Commission. The territory entered Canadian Confederation on July 15, 1870, replacing most of British North America's regions of North-Western Territory, Rupert's Land and, after 1880, the British Arctic Territories. At that time, it consisted of a vast but sparsely populated area covering a majority of modern Canada's land area, including most of Nunavut, the Canadian Prairies, Northern Ontario, Northern Quebec and Labrador. Since 1870, the territory has been divided four times to create new provinces and territories or enlarge existing ones. Its current borders date from April 1, 1999, when the territory's size was decreased again by the creation of a new territory of Nunavut to the east. While Nunavut is mostly Arctic tundra, the Northwest Territories has a slightly warmer climate and is both boreal forest (taiga) and tundra, and its most northern regions form part of the Arctic Archipelago. The Northwest Territories has the most interprovincial and inter-territorial land borders among all provinces and territories of Canada. It is bordered by the territories of Nunavut to the east and Yukon to the west, and by the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan to the south; it also touches Manitoba to the southeast at a quadripoint that includes Nunavut and Saskatchewan. The land area of the Northwest Territories is roughly equal to that of France, Portugal and Spain combined, although its overall area is even larger because of its vast lakes.
Name
At first, it was named the North-West Territories. The name was changed to the present Northwest Territories in 1906. The name was originally descriptive, adopted by the British government during the colonial era to indicate where it lay in relation to the rest of Rupert's Land. It has been shortened from North-Western Territory and then North-West Territories. In Inuktitut, the Northwest Territories are referred to as Nunatsiaq (Inuktitut syllabics: ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᖅ) 'beautiful land'. The northernmost region of the territory is home to the Inuvialuit, who primarily live in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (Inuinnaqtun: Inuvialuit Nunangit Sannaiqtuaq), while the southern portion is called Denendeh (an Athabaskan word meaning "our land"). Denendeh is the vast Dene country, stretching from central Alaska to Hudson Bay, within which lie the homelands of the numerous Dene nations. Since the Yukon Territory was split from it in 1898, it is no longer the westernmost territory, and until Nunavut was split from it in 1999 it included territory extending as far east as Canada's Atlantic provinces. There has been some discussion of changing the name, possibly to a term from an Indigenous language. One proposal was "Denendeh", as advocated by the former premier Stephen Kakfwi, among others. One of the most popular proposals for a new name—to name the territory "Bob"—began as a prank, but for a while it was at or near the top in the public-opinion polls.
Geography
Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, as well as four provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south, and Manitoba (through a quadripoint) to the extreme southeast. It has a land area of 1,183,085 km2 (456,792 sq mi). Geographical features include Great Bear Lake, the largest lake entirely within Canada, and Great Slave Lake, the deepest body of water in North America at 614 metres (2,014 ft), as well as the Mackenzie River and the canyons of the Nahanni National Park Reserve, a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Territorial islands in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago include Banks Island, Borden Island, Prince Patrick Island, and parts of Victoria Island and Melville Island. Its highest point is Mount Nirvana near the border with Yukon at an elevation of 2,773 m (9,098 ft).
Climate
The Northwest Territories extends for more than 1,300,000 km2 (500,000 sq mi) and has a large climate variance from south to north. The southern part of the territory (most of the mainland portion) has a subarctic climate, while the islands and northern coast have a polar climate. Summers in the north are short and cool, featuring daytime highs of 14–17 °C (57–63 °F) and lows of 1–5 °C (34–41 °F). Winters are long and harsh, with daytime highs of −20 to −25 °C (−4 to −13 °F) and lows of −30 to −35 °C (−22 to −31 °F). The coldest nights can reach up to −40 to −45 °C (−40 to −49 °F) each year. Extremes are common, with summer highs in the south reaching 36 °C (97 °F) and lows reaching below 0 °C (32 °F). In winter in the south, it is not uncommon for the temperatures to reach −40 °C (−40 °F), but they can also reach the low teens during the day. In the north, temperatures can reach highs of 30 °C (86 °F), and lows into the low negatives. In winter in the north, it is not uncommon for the temperatures to reach −50 °C (−58 °F) but they can also reach single digits during the day. Thunderstorms are not rare in the south. In the north, they are very rare but do occur. Tornadoes are extremely rare, however, an EF-1 tornado occurred in Fort Smith on June 2, 2019. The Territory has a fairly dry climate due to the mountains in the west. About half of the territory is above the tree line. There are not many trees in most of the eastern areas of the territory, or in the north islands.
History
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