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Alberta/British Columbia/ Manitoba/Newfoundland/New Brunswick/North West Territories/Nova Scotia/Nunavut/Ontario/Prince Edward Island/Quebec/Saskatchewan/Yukon
Northwest Territories
Capital City: Yellowknife
Find the 60th parallel on a map of North America, look northward, and you will
see the Northwest Territories, bordered by the Yukon to the west, the prairies
to the south, and Canada's newest territory, Nunavut, to the north and east.
With the creation of Nunavut on April 1, 1999, the area of Northwest Territories
was reduced
from close to three and a half million km² to less than two million km².
Approximately 40,000 people inhabit this region, and most live in small
communities.
Yellowknife, the capital, has a population of more than 16,000. Mining drives
the territory's economy. Because of its northern locale, the Northwest
Territories is often referred to as 'the land of the midnight sun'. During the
summer months, there is almost continuous daylight as the sun seldom sets, while
winter sees almost
complete darkness. The aurora borealis or Northern Lights brighten the night sky
from late August until January.
The Northwest Territories offers many opportunities for enjoying the outdoors,
including canoeing, hiking, snowmobiling and dog sledding. Nahanni National Park
features a dramatic landscape of deep canyons, waterfalls, and a unique
limestone cave system. Wolves, grizzly bears, caribou and mountain goats make
their home in this park.
Alberta/British Columbia/
Manitoba/Newfoundland/New Brunswick/North West
Territories/Nova
Scotia/Nunavut/Ontario/Prince Edward
Island/Quebec/Saskatchewan/Yukon
