YELLOWKNIFE
Named after the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, Yellowknife the city grew from a small mining town to the seat of government in Canada's
Northwest Territories.
The Yellowknives mined copper from the area that surrounds today's town. Years later, non-natives would mine for gold and diamonds. After several gold and silver rushes ended, Yellowknife became the official seat of government and in 1967, the capital of the Northwest Territories.
Yellowknife hit the news in 1978 when Cosmos 954, a Soviet nuclear-powered satellite, crashed right outside of the city. There were no reported casualties, but radioactive fuel was released into the environment. Operation Morning Light, an attempt to reign in the fuel, was only partially successfully.
Today, Yellowknife is an ethnically diverse city with 11 official languages, including
English and
French. The recent discovery of diamonds north of Yellowknife may return the city to its original standing as a mining town.
Located on the north shore of Great Slave Lake and surrounded by many smaller lakes, Yellowknife provides the perfect setting for outdoor adventures. With
Alberta and
Saskatchewan to the south and
Yukon to the west and
Nunavut to the east, Yellowknife is a great central location for launching your northern Canada journey.
The city's position on the Canadian Shield creates rocky and mildly rolling surroundings. Canadian travelers and Northwest natives will experience a subarctic climate, minimal yearly precipitation and a short but productive frost-free growing season.
- In the summer, Yellowknife residents experience up to 20 hours of sunlight - a big difference from the average five hours in December!
- The original Lois Lane, Margaret Kidder, is a native of Yellowknife.
- Yellowknife was once known as the Canadian capital with the smallest population. That title has since been bestowed upon Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut.
Yellowknife, Northwest Territory
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