Northwest Territories
Bear Country
The Northwest Territories is a land of contrasts. It is 1.17 million suquare kilometres of mountains, forest and tundra threaded by wild, clean rivers feeding thousands of pristine lakes. Over 40,000 people live amid this rugged natural beauty. Nature is in balance here. You can view rare wildlife species, from white wolves to white whales, and see herds of bison, prowling bears, moose and caribou by the thousands. This is the land where the world's best northern lights dance during the dark winter months and where the sun never sets during the summer. This is bear country.
Some Facts...
- N.W.T.-second-largest of the three territories in Canada
-the Yukon is to the west and Arctic Ocean is north.
-Nunavut is east, British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan are south.
-flower - Mountain Avens, tree - Tamarack, bird - Gyrfalcon
Pictured to the Left: Mountain Avens- Northwest Territories provincial flower
www.douglloydphotography.com/8628.html
Flag
Ordinance of the Territorial Council assented to
January 1, 1969
www.pch.gc.ca/PROGS/CPSC-CCSP/atc-ac/nt_e.cfm
Land and Water
-Mackenzie and Franklin Mountain Ranges are in the western area of the N.W.T.
-Mackenzie River is the longest river in Canada.
-Great Bear Lake is eighth-largest in the world.
-Great Slave Lake is the deepest lake in Canada and tenth-largest in the world.
-Part of the land is rocky, where moss, tough grasses and small willows grow.(tundra)
-Part of the N.W.T. has trees like black spruce, white spruce, birch, poplar.(taiga)
-Nahanni National Park - hot springs, glaciers and mountains.
-Wood Buffalo National Park - home of the wood bison, nesting site for whooping cranes.
Pictured Above:
Yellowknife, on the Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories, Can. by George Hunter
www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/243729...
The People
-population - about 43,000 people (2005)
-Almost half are aboriginal (Dene, Inuvialuit and Metis)
-Others have come from other parts of Canada.
-The largest community is the city of Yellowknife (the capital), population 20,000.
-Other communities include Hay River, Fort Smith and Inuvik.
-Most people are living in the Mackenzie River Valley
Pictured Above: Mackenzie River Valley, Northwest Territories, Canada by Fritz Mueller
www.naturecanada.ca/take_action_raise_voice_p...
Resources
-mining gold, zinc, iron ore, lead, silver and diamonds (near Lac de Gras)
-oil and natural gas exploration
-hunting and trapping of beaver, lynx, fox, marten, muskrat, polar bear
-tourism - people come to see the wildlife and natural beauty.
Pictured to the Left: Aerial view of the Panda Pit, Ekati diamond mine, Northwest Territories.
(Courtesy of BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc.)
http://cgc.rncan.gc.ca/cogmaps/prov/nt_e.php?p=1
History
-The first people were the Dene and the Inuit.
-Dene lived along the Mackenzie Valley ten thousand years ago.
-The first Inuit may have crossed the Bering Strait about five thousand years ago.
-Am explorer named Martin Frobisher came in 1576.
-Alexander Mackenzie discovered the Mackenzie River in 1789.
-Fur trading posts were built along the river.
-Communities grew around the trading posts.
-Yukon, Nunavut, Alberta, Saskatchewan, parts of Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec were once part of the N.W.T.
-In 1870 the area became Canada's first territory.
Pictured Above: Sir Alexander Mackenzie- who discovered the Mackenzie River
en.wikipedia.org/?title=Sir_Alexander_Mackenzie