Northwest Territories

Canada · Northern Lights · Indigenous lands · wilderness

Second-largest territory. The Northwest Territories covers about 1.1 million square kilometers, making it one of Canada's biggest regions, though fewer than 46,000 people live there because much of it is remote wilderness and tundra.

Yellowknife is the capital. The only city in the territory, Yellowknife, became the capital in 1967 and is home to about 20,000 people who are drawn by opportunities and stunning views of the northern sky.

Indigenous homelands. The Northwest Territories is the traditional territory of the Dene, Inuvialuit, Cree, and Métis peoples, who have lived and thrived there for centuries with deep connections to the land and its resources.

Aurora borealis center. The far northern location makes the Northwest Territories one of the best places on Earth to see the Northern Lights dancing across the sky in brilliant greens and purples during winter nights.

Extreme weather and seasons. Winter temperatures can drop far below freezing, and the territory experiences midnight sun in summer (when the sun barely sets) and polar darkness in winter (when the sun barely rises).