Northwest Territories

Geographical situation: 60°-82° latitude north/102°-142° longitude west

Area: 1,526,320 sq. km (589,159 sq. mi.)

Population: 41,000. Capital: Yellowknife

Almost six times the area of the United Kingdom, the Northwest Territories cover a large tract of north-western Canada. They extend from the high Mackenzie Mountains in the west, to the tundra regions of the east Mackenzie catchment area, where today they share a border with the newly established (1999) Nunavut Territory. Their southern boundary is defined by the 60th parallel, while in the north they stretch to within a few hundred kilometres of the North Pole. The tree line, cutting right across the Northwest Territories, constitutes a striking feature which can be followed all the way from the Mackenzie delta in the extreme north-west, to Lake Dubawnt on the border with Nunavut. South-east of this line sparse forests of fir, spruce and birch predominate; to the north and north-east, in the so-called Barren Grounds and the western Canadian archipelago, there is treeless tundra with dwarf shrubs, grasses, moss and lichen. From a topographical point of view there are three major regions. In the far west near the border with the Yukon Territory are the northern foothills of the Rockies - the Mackenzie Mountains, up to 2972 m (9754 ft) in height, and the Franklin Mountains (average height 1600 m (5250 ft)) and Richardson Mountains. To the east is a lowland region drained by the Mackenzie River, a landscape of numerous lakes including the Great Bear Lake (31,200 sq. km (12,040 sq. mi.)) and Great Slave Lake (28,44 sq. km (10,960 sq. mi.)). Off the northernmost extremity of the mainland are the generally flat islands of the Canadian archipelago, the best-known of which are Victoria Island (the greater part of which is now in Nunavut Territory) and Banks Island. The polar region north of the Arctic Circle is characterised by deep fiords and extensive glacial fields.

The area covered by the Northwest Territories has a predominately cool, sub-Arctic or Arctic climate, with very pronounced regional and local variations. Winter temperatures of -30°C (-22°F) are recorded in virtually all parts. By contrast during the short summer, which lasts only a few weeks, temperatures at the Great Slave Lake sometimes exceed 20°C (68°F); even in the Arctic on Banks Island for instance, they can reach 12°C (53°F).

The long winter passes almost imperceptibly into the short summer. The Great Slave Lake may still be ice-covered even though the air temperature has reached 20°C (68°F) or more. North of the Arctic Circle the summer sun barely sets - hence "land of the midnight sun" - while in winter it remains dark virtually round the clock, the so-called "polar night".

Cut off by the mountains in the west from the moderating influence of the Pacific, the climate of the Northwest Territories is of an extreme continental type, manifest not least in the relatively low levels of precipitation.

About 12,000 years ago, following the recession of the last Ice Age, the ancestors of the present-day Indians migrated across the Bering Strait from Siberia to mainland North America. Several thousand years later, the Dene Indians would follow the vast herds of caribou northwards on their summer migrations to the Arctic, then back again to winter in the forest country further south.

In contrast to the mainland, the islands of the Canadian archipelago were settled only about 10,000 years ago, when the forebears of the present-day Inuit also crossed from northern Asia to Alaska and the coastal regions of the Beaufort Sea. They produced the pre-Dorset culture. A few thousand years later their descendants migrated to the Canadian Arctic, establishing the Dorset culture. A final great migration took place about 1000 years ago, bringing the Thule culture from Alaska to northern Canada.

In the mid 17th c. the first white men penetrated the Canadian north-west, reconnoitring on behalf of the big fur trading companies (the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company). Samuel Hearne travelled west from the Hudson Bay to the Great Slave Lake. In 1789 Alexander Mackenzie made his way down the river which today bears his name, to its outlet in the Beaufort Sea.

Prior to the formation of the Canadian confederation in 1867, large areas of northern Canada, known collectively as Rupert's Land, were administered by the Hudson's Bay Company on behalf of the British Crown. From then until the late 19th c., the Northwest Territories comprised not only what has been the Nunavut Territory since April 1999, but also Labrador, the northern parts of the present-day provinces of Québec, Ontario and Manitoba, the whole of present-day Saskatchewan and Alberta, and the entire Yukon Territory. The boundaries of the Northwest Territories in force up to the establishment of Nunavut were drawn up in 1912. Until 1921 the region was administered by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; since then it has had its own parliament and administration.From the 1970s onwards a series of disputes erupted involving members of the First Nations (as the Indians and Inuit are now generally known), who vociferously demanded recognition of their traditional rights. The most recent and crowning achievement of this movement for self-determination has been the establishment, as from April 1st 1999, of the Nunavut Territory, hived off from the rest of the Northwest Territories.

The Northwest Territories have a population of approximately 41,000, a density of less that 0.03 per sq. km (0.01 per sq. mi.)! Two thirds of the population are Indians and Inuit, making the Northwest Territories the only Canadian region, apart from the newly-created Nunavut, in which the so-called First Nations form the majority. Europeans were very late arrivals. In the 1920s the white population numbered only a few hundred, a figure which has since risen to about 20,000.

Half a century ago the fur trade was still by far the most important contributor to the region's economy, now superseded by exploitation of the Territories' mineral resources. There are large reserves of copper, zinc, silver, lead, uranium and other minerals. Gold has been mined at the Great Slave Lake since 1896. Just a few decades ago rich deposits of oil and natural gas were discovered in the Far North, but these have proved difficult to exploit because of the hostile climate. Among the activities most impervious to crisis are freshwater fishing in the large rivers and lakes, forestry in the south of the Mackenzie District, and the rearing of animals for furs. Recently introduced developments include the cultivation of renewable resources and fish farming. Also expanding is the small business sector, producing goods for marketing locally. Crafts and handicrafts (leather goods, jewellery, etc.) are thriving, being particularly popular with tourists.

Principal access to the still largely unspoilt landscape of the Northwest Territories is via the Mackenzie Highway from Peace River (Alberta) to Yellowknife and/or Fort Simpson and Wrigley. The Liard Highway, opened in 1983, goes from Fort Nelson (British Columbia) or the Alaska Highway (Yukon Territory) to the Nahanni National Park and thence to Fort Simpson. The Dempster Highway runs north from Dawson City (Yukon territory) into the vast Mackenzie River delta and on to Inuvik.