The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada, covering approximately 1,127,712 square kilometres in the northern part of the country. With a population of around 45,848, it is the second-largest and second-most populous of Canada’s three territories.
The territory encompasses much of Denendeh, traditional land of the Dene, and most of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, traditional land of the Western Canadian Inuit, along with areas used by Cree and Métis peoples. Its capital, Yellowknife, is the only city in the territory. The Northwest Territories joined Confederation on 15 July 1870, initially covering most of modern Canada’s land area before being divided four times to create new provinces and territories. Its current borders date from 1 April 1999, when Nunavut was created to the east. The territory shares borders with Nunavut, Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. While Nunavut is mostly Arctic tundra, the Northwest Territories contains both boreal forest and tundra, with its northernmost regions forming part of the Arctic Archipelago.
The territory features in Field Notes coverage of the declining Bathurst caribou herd and proposed Arctic road development.
