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100-485: 74°08′51″N 086°18′49″W  /  74.14750°N 86.31361°W  / 74.14750; -86.31361  ( Baffin Region ) This Canadian Northwest Territories location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Qikiqtaaluk Region , Nunavut location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories

200-549: A suture zone between these cratons and the Trans-Hudson Orogen . The Western Churchill and Superior cratons collided at about 1.9–1.8 Ga in the Trans-Hudson orogeny. Because of the irregular shapes of the colliding cratons, this collision trapped between them large fragments of juvenile crust, a sizable microcontinent , and island arc terranes , beneath what is now the centre of modern Hudson Bay as part of

300-584: A commercial monopoly over Rupert's Land . Present day Northwest Territories laid northwest of Rupert's Land, and was known as the North-Western Territory . Although not formally part of Rupert's Land, the HBC made regular use of the region as a part of its trading area. The Treaty of Utrecht saw the British become the only European power with practical access to the North-Western Territory , with

400-525: A comparable position at 59°N on the Eurasian landmass in the Russian Far East and with a similar subarctic climate , has an annual average of −2.7 °C (27.1 °F). Vis-à-vis geographically closer Europe, contrasts stand much more extreme. Arkhangelsk at 64°N in northwestern Russia has an average of 2 °C (36 °F), while the mild continental coastline of Stockholm at 59°N on

500-753: A detailed history of the Hudson Bay basin has been reconstructed. During the majority of the Cambrian Period, this basin did not exist. Rather, this part of the Canadian Shield area was still topographically high and emergent. It was only during the later part of the Cambrian that the rising sea level of the Sauk marine transgression slowly submerged it. During the Ordovician, this part of

600-558: A dozen communities. Some of these were founded as trading posts in the 17th and 18th centuries by the Hudson's Bay Company, making them some of the oldest settlements in Western Canada . With the closure of the HBC posts and stores, although many are now run by The North West Company , in the second half of the 20th century, many coastal villages are now almost exclusively populated by Cree and Inuit . Two main historic sites along

700-646: A few miles south of the Arctic Circle ) as being part of the Arctic Ocean, specifically "Arctic Ocean Subdivision 9.11". Other authorities include it in the Atlantic, in part because of its greater water budget connection with that ocean. The search for a western route to Cathay and the East Indies , which had been actively pursued since the days of Christopher Columbus and John Cabot , in

800-593: A history of violent conflict between the Dene and the Inuit , who have now taken recent steps towards reconciliation. Hudson Bay Hudson Bay , sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of 1,230,000 km (470,000 sq mi). It is located north of Ontario , west of Quebec , northeast of Manitoba , and southeast of Nunavut , but politically entirely part of Nunavut. It

900-614: A large climate variance from south to north. The southern part of the territory (most of the mainland portion) has a subarctic climate , while the islands and northern coast have a polar climate . Summers in the north are short and cool, featuring daytime highs of 14–17 °C (57–63 °F) and lows of 1–5 °C (34–41 °F). Winters are long and harsh, with daytime highs of −20 to −25 °C (−4 to −13 °F) and lows of −30 to −35 °C (−22 to −31 °F). The coldest nights typically reach −40 to −45 °C (−40 to −49 °F) each year. Extremes are common, with summer highs in

1000-601: A long time thereafter. In May 1612, Sir Thomas Button sailed from England with two ships to look for Henry Hudson, and to continue the search for the Northwest Passage to Asia. In 1668, Nonsuch reached the bay and traded for beaver pelts, leading to the creation of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), which still bears the historic name. The HBC negotiated a trading monopoly from the English Crown for

1100-566: A minor amount of terrestrial fluvial sands and gravels of the Cretaceous period are preserved in the fill of a prominent ring-like depression about 325–650 km (202–404 mi) across created by the dissolution of Silurian evaporites during the Cretaceous period. From the large quantity of published geologic data that has been collected as the result of hydrocarbon exploration, academic research, and related geologic mapping ,

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1200-803: A population of 1,874, is the largest First Nations community, 1,696 (90.9%), and Inuvik with 3,243 people is the largest Inuvialuit community, 1,315 (40.5%). There is one Indian reserve in the NWT, Hay River Reserve , located on the south shore of the Hay River . The gross domestic product of the Northwest Territories was C$ 4.856 billion in 2017. It has the highest per capita GDP of all provinces and territories in Canada, totalling C$ 76,000 in 2009. The Territories' geological resources include gold, diamonds, natural gas and petroleum . BP

1300-483: A ring of subsided strata around the centre of this basin, strata representing this period of time are absent from the Hudson Bay basin and the surrounding Canadian Shield. The Precambrian Shield underlying Hudson Bay and in which Hudson Bay basin formed is composed of two Archean proto-continents, the Western Churchill and Superior cratons . These cratons are separated by a tectonic collage that forms

1400-678: A similar portion of the lowlands in Manitoba is contained in Wapusk National Park , the latter location being a significant maternity denning area for polar bears . In contrast, most of the eastern shores (the Quebec portion) form the western edge of the Canadian Shield in Quebec. The area is rocky and hilly. Its vegetation is typically boreal forest .The northern shores are tundra . Measured by shoreline, Hudson Bay

1500-481: A single MP represents an area that is almost 14 percent of the land area of all of Canada. The government of Northwest Territories comprises the following departments: The Northwest Territories is divided into five administrative regions (regional offices in parentheses): Aboriginal issues in the Northwest Territories include the fate of the Dene who, in the 1940s, were employed to carry radioactive uranium ore from

1600-512: A slightly warmer climate and is both boreal forest (taiga) and tundra , and its most northern regions form part of the Arctic Archipelago . The Northwest Territories has the most interprovincial and inter-territorial land borders among all provinces and territories of Canada. It is bordered by the territories of Nunavut to the east and Yukon to the west, and by the provinces of British Columbia , Alberta , and Saskatchewan to

1700-466: Is a federal territory of Canada . At a land area of approximately 1,127,711.92 km (435,412.01 sq mi) and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of the three territories in Northern Canada . Its estimated population as of the second quarter of 2024 is 44,920. Yellowknife is the capital, most populous community, and the only city in

1800-652: Is a privately owned port on Hudson Bay in Churchill, Manitoba , Canada. Routes from the port connect to the North Atlantic through the Hudson Strait . As of 2008, the port had four deep-sea berths capable of handling Panamax -size vessels for the loading and unloading of grain, bulk commodities, general cargo, and tanker vessels. The port is connected to the Hudson Bay Railway , which shares

1900-726: Is an inland marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean . The Hudson Strait provides a connection between the Labrador Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the northeast, while the Foxe Channel connects Hudson Bay with the Arctic Ocean in the north. The Hudson Bay drainage basin drains a very large area, about 3,861,400 km (1,490,900 sq mi), that includes parts of southeastern Nunavut, Alberta , Saskatchewan , Ontario , Quebec , all of Manitoba , and parts of

2000-402: Is located in neighbouring Alberta . Parks Canada also manages three park reserves: Nááts'ihch'oh , Nahanni National Park Reserve , and Thaidene Nëné National Park Reserve . As a territory, the NWT has fewer rights than the provinces. During his term, Premier Kakfwi pushed to have the federal government accord more rights to the territory, including having a greater share of the returns from

2100-627: Is named after Henry Hudson , an Englishman sailing for the Dutch East India Company , and after whom the river that he explored in 1609 is also named . Hudson Bay encompasses 1,230,000 km (470,000 sq mi), making it the second-largest water body using the term " bay " in the world (after the Bay of Bengal ). The bay is relatively shallow and is considered an epicontinental sea , with an average depth of about 100 m (330 ft) (compared to 2,600 m (8,500 ft) in

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2200-441: Is reasonable to expect it given the nature of the services requested. In practical terms, English language services are universally available, and there is no guarantee that other languages, including French, will be used by any particular government service, except for the courts. The 2016 census returns showed a population of 41,786. Of the 40,565 singular responses to the census question regarding each inhabitant's "mother tongue",

2300-629: Is the Belcher Islands . The Belcher Islands are located in the centre of the Nastapoka arc. Another group includes the Ottawa Islands which are located near the eastern shore of the Hudson Bay. Hudson Bay occupies a large structural basin , known as the Hudson Bay basin, that lies within the Canadian Shield . The collection and interpretation of outcrop, seismic and drillhole data for exploration for oil and gas reservoirs within

2400-632: Is the largest bay in the world (the largest in area being the Bay of Bengal). The distinctive arculate segment on the eastern shore of Hudson Bay is referred to as the Nastapoka arc . There are many islands in Hudson Bay, mostly near the eastern coast. All the islands, including those in James Bay, are part of Nunavut and lie in the Arctic Archipelago . Several are disputed by the Cree. One group of islands

2500-520: Is the only oil company currently producing oil there. Its diamonds are promoted as an alternative to purchasing blood diamonds . Two of the biggest mineral resource companies in the world, BHP and Rio Tinto mine many of their diamonds there. In 2010, Territories' accounted for 28.5% of Rio Tinto's total diamond production (3.9 million carats, 17% more than in 2009, from the Diavik Diamond Mine ) and 100% of BHP's (3.05 million carats from

2600-685: The 20th century . The HBC's trade monopoly was abolished in 1870, by a British Order in Council called the Deed of Surrender , ceded Rupert's Land to Canada, an area of approximately 3,900,000 km (1,500,000 sq mi), as part of the Northwest Territories . In 1912, the western shore south of 60° and, following the Quebec Boundaries Extension Act, 1912 , all the eastern shore were transferred to

2700-725: The Bay of Bengal ). It is about 1,370 km (850 mi) long and 1,050 km (650 mi) wide. On the east it is connected with the Arctic Ocean ( Davis Strait ) by Hudson Strait ; on the north, with the Arctic Ocean by Foxe Basin (which is not considered part of the bay), and Fury and Hecla Strait . Hudson Bay is often considered part of the Arctic Ocean: the International Hydrographic Organization , in its 2002 working draft of Limits of Oceans and Seas , defined Hudson Bay, with its outlet extending from 62.5 to 66.5 degrees north (just

2800-532: The Canadian Arctic , estimated to consist of approximately 54,473 individuals. Hudson Bay has a lower average salinity level than that of ocean water. The main causes are the low rate of evaporation (the bay is ice-covered for much of the year), the large volume of terrestrial runoff entering the bay (about 700 km (170 cu mi) annually, the Hudson Bay watershed covering much of Canada, many rivers and streams discharging into

2900-586: The EKATI mine ). The Eldorado Mine produced uranium for the Manhattan Project , as well as radium , silver, and copper (for other uses). During the winter, many international visitors go to Yellowknife to watch the auroras . Five areas managed by Parks Canada are situated within the territory: Aulavik and Tuktut Nogait National Parks are in the northern part. Portions of Wood Buffalo National Park are located within it, although most of it

3000-665: The Inuvialuit Settlement Region and belongs to the greater Inuit Nunangat . Amongst the other Inuit, there are also the Copper Inuit who inhabit their traditional territory, Inuinnait Nunangat , between the Kitikmeot and Inuvik Regions . To the south are the Cree First Nations and Métis . In 1670, the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) was formed from a royal charter, and was granted

3100-765: The Labrador coast, and the Arctic Islands (except the southern half of Baffin Island ). After the 1870 transfer, some of the North-West Territories was whittled away. The province of Manitoba was enlarged in 1881 to a rectangular region composing the modern province's south. By the time British Columbia joined Confederation on July 20, 1871, it had already (1866) been granted the portion of North-Western Territory south of 60 degrees north and west of 120 degrees west , an area that comprised most of

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3200-749: The Mackenzie River and the canyons of the Nahanni National Park Reserve , a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site . Territorial islands in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago include Banks Island , Borden Island , Prince Patrick Island , and parts of Victoria Island and Melville Island . Its highest point is Mount Nirvana near the border with Yukon at an elevation of 2,773 m (9,098 ft). The Northwest Territories extends for more than 1,300,000 km (500,000 sq mi) and has

3300-728: The Stickeen Territories (and a portion of the Peace River country). The North-West Territories Council was created in 1875 for more local government in the North-West Territories. At first wholly made up of appointed members, it got its first elected members in 1882 and became wholly elected in 1888 when the council was reorganized as the Legislative Assembly of the North-West Territories. Frederick Haultain , an Ontario lawyer who practised at Fort Macleod from 1884, became its chairman in 1891 and Premier when

3400-633: The T'satsąot'ınę (Ndé). Historically, Dene have lived across Denendeh and what is now the NWT since time immemorial and the era of Yamoria and Yamozha . Along the northern coast live one of the Inuit sudivisions: the Inuvialuit , a conglomerate of several Inuvialuit peoples, including the Uummarmiut , Kangiryuarmiut , and Siglit . Their country, variously called Inuvialuit Nunangit , Inuvialuit Nunungat , or Inuvialuit Nunangat corresponds to

3500-539: The American company OmniTRAX to run privately. In December 2015, OmniTRAX announced it was negotiating a sale of the port, and the associated Hudson Bay Railway, to a group of First Nations based in northern Manitoba. With no sale finalized by July 2016, OmniTRAX shut down the port and the major railroad freight operations in August 2016. The railway continued to carry cargo to supply the town of Churchill itself until

3600-623: The Assembly was reorganized in 1897. The modern provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta were created in 1905. Contemporary records show Haultain recommended that the NWT become a single province, named Buffalo, but the Canadian government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier acted otherwise. In the meantime, the British Arctic Territories were transferred to Canada and added to the North-West Territories in 1880. The province of Ontario

3700-600: The Canadian Shield continued to be submerged by rising sea levels except for a brief middle Ordovician marine regression . Only starting in the Late Ordovician and continuing into the Silurian did the gradual regional subsidence of this part of the Canadian Shield form the Hudson Bay basin. The formation of this basin resulted in the accumulation of black bituminous oil shale and evaporite deposits within its centre, thick basin-margin limestone and dolomite , and

3800-615: The Canadian Shield. The similarity in areal extent of the free-air gravity anomaly with the perimeter of the former Laurentide ice sheet that covered this part of Laurentia led to a long-held conclusion that this perturbation in the Earth's gravity reflected still ongoing glacial isostatic adjustment to the melting and disappearance of this ice sheet. Data collected over Canada by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission allowed geophysicists to isolate

3900-583: The French surrendering their claim to the Hudson Bay coast. Europeans have visited the region for the purposes of fur trading , and exploration for new trade routes, including the Northwest Passage . Arctic expeditions launched in the 19th century include the Coppermine expedition . In 1867, the first Canadian residential school opened in the region in Fort Resolution. The opening of the school

4000-518: The HBC built several factories ( forts and trading posts ) along the coast at the mouth of the major rivers (such as Fort Severn ; York Factory , Churchill ; and the Prince of Wales Fort ). The strategic locations were bases for inland exploration. More importantly, they were trading posts with Indigenous peoples who came to them with furs from their trapping season. The HBC shipped the furs to Europe and continued to use some of these posts well into

4100-520: The House." The NWT Legislative Assembly is composed of one member elected from each of the nineteen constituencies. After each general election , the new assembly elects the premier and the speaker by secret ballot. Seven MLAs are also chosen as cabinet ministers, with the remainder forming the opposition. The membership of the current legislative assembly was set by the 2023 Northwest Territories general election on November 14, 2023. R.J. Simpson

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4200-610: The Hudson Bay watershed , called Rupert's Land . In 1670, the English Crown granted a charter to facilitate fur trading within the Hudson Bay drainage basin . France contested this grant by sending several military expeditions to the region, but abandoned its claim in the Treaty of Utrecht (April 1713). The Treaty of Utrecht, signed on 11 April 1713, marked a significant agreement between Britain and France. The treaty

4300-413: The Hudson Bay basin found that it is filled by, at most, 2,500 m (8,200 ft) of Ordovician to Devonian limestone , dolomites, evaporites , black shales , and various clastic sedimentary rocks that overlie less than 60 m (200 ft) of Cambrian strata that consist of unfossiliferous quartz sandstones and conglomerates , overlain by sandy and stromatolitic dolomites. In addition,

4400-446: The Mainland. Northern Hudson Bay has a polar climate ( Köppen : ET ) being one of the few places in the world where this type of climate is found south of 60 °N, going farther south towards Quebec , where Inukjuak is still dominated by the tundra . From Arviat , Nunavut , to the west to the south and southeast prevails the subarctic climate (Köppen: Dfc ). This is because in the central summer months, heat waves can advance from

4500-455: The NWT. These range in size from Yellowknife with a population of 19,569 to Kakisa with 36 people. Governance of each community differs, some are run under various types of First Nations control, while others are designated as a city, town, village or hamlet, but most communities are municipal corporations . Yellowknife is the largest community and has the largest number of Aboriginal peoples, 4,520 (23.4%) people. However, Behchokǫ̀ , with

4600-435: The Russian port of Murmansk . The increase in ships traversing the proposed Arctic Bridge will result in an increase in accidents that will release pollutants into the environment, due to the freezing of the water in the winter cleanup will be harder and with a shorter window of time. The biggest port in the Hudson bay is the city of Churchill, which lies on the river with the same name, Churchill River. The Port of Churchill

4700-416: The Trans-Hudson Orogen. The Belcher Islands are the eroded surface of the Belcher Fold Belt, which formed as a result of the tectonic compression and folding of sediments that accumulated along the margin of the Superior Craton before its collision with the Western Churchill Craton. Hudson Bay and the associated structural basin lie within the centre of a large free-air gravity anomaly that lies within

4800-401: The U.S. states of North Dakota , South Dakota , Minnesota , and Montana . Hudson Bay's southern arm is called James Bay . The Eastern Cree name for Hudson and James Bay is Wînipekw (southern dialect) or Wînipâkw (northern dialect), meaning muddy or brackish water. Lake Winnipeg is similarly named by the local Cree , as is the location for the city of Winnipeg . The bay

4900-420: The adjacent provinces, but the bay and offshore islands remained part of the Northwest Territories. Starting in 1913, the bay was extensively charted by the Canadian government's CSS  Acadia to develop it for navigation. This mapping progress led to the establishment of Churchill, Manitoba, as a deep-sea port for wheat exports in 1929, after unsuccessful attempts at Port Nelson . The Port of Churchill

5000-400: The bay), and the limited connection with the Atlantic Ocean and its higher salinity. Sea ice is about three times the annual river flow into the bay, and its annual freezing and thawing significantly alters the salinity of the surface layer. Although its exact effects are not fully understood currently, the cyclonic storms in the bay are responsible for synoptic variability of salinity along

5100-445: The closure of an ancient ocean basin . The current general consensus is that it is an arcuate boundary of tectonic origin between the Belcher Fold Belt and undeformed basement of the Superior Craton created during the Trans-Hudson orogeny. This is because no credible evidence for such an impact structure has been found by regional magnetic, Bouguer gravity , or other geologic studies. However, other Earth scientists have proposed that

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5200-402: The coast were York Factory and Prince of Wales Fort . Communities along the Hudson Bay coast or on islands in the bay are (all populations are as of 2016): The Hudson's Bay Company built forts as fur trade strongholds against the French or other possible invaders. One example is York Factory with angled walls to help defend the fort. In the 1950s, during the Cold War , a few sites along

5300-486: The coast. One consequence of the lower salinity of the bay is that the freezing point of the water is higher than in the rest of the world's oceans, thus decreasing the time that the bay remains ice-free. The increase of river inflows during the winter has decreased the season of sea ice by more than one month since the 1960s. The lower salinity of the bay also has effects on the distribution and prevalence of common marine life such as micro algae. Research has shown that

5400-419: The day. Thunderstorms are not rare in the south. In the north, they are very rare but do occur. Tornadoes are extremely rare but have happened with the most notable one happening just outside Yellowknife that destroyed a communications tower. The Territory has a fairly dry climate due to the mountains in the west. About half of the territory is above the tree line . There are not many trees in most of

5500-429: The debates and proceedings of the legislature. However, the laws are legally binding only in their French and English versions, and the NWT government only publishes laws and other documents in the territory's other official languages when the legislature asks it to. Furthermore, access to services in any language is limited to institutions and circumstances where there is a significant demand for that language or where it

5600-460: The development of extensive reefs that ringed the basin margins that were tectonically uplifted as the basin subsided. During Middle Silurian times, subsidence ceased and this basin was uplifted. It generated an emergent arch, on which reefs grew, that divided the basin into eastern and western sub-basins. During the Devonian Period, this basin filled with terrestrial red beds that interfinger with marine limestone and dolomites. Before deposition

5700-422: The devolution of more powers to the elected assembly since 1967, the position has become symbolic. The commissioner had full governmental powers until 1980 when the territories were given greater self-government. The legislative assembly then began electing a cabinet and government leader , later known as the premier . Since 1985 the commissioner no longer chairs meetings of the executive council (or cabinet), and

5800-407: The eastern areas of the territory, or in the north islands. There are multiple Indigenous territories overlapping the current borders of the Northwest Territories. These include Denendeh , Inuvialuit Settlement Region ( Inuvialuit Nunangit Sannaiqtuaq ), and both Métis and Nêhiyawak countries (Michif Piyii and ᓀᐦᐃᔮᓈᕁ nêhiýânâhk , respectively). Of these, Denendeh and the Dene nations are

5900-404: The election, all Members meet as a Caucus to set priorities for that Assembly. The Caucus remains active throughout their term as the forum where all Members meet as equals.[...] Compared to the party system, there is much more communication between Regular Members and Cabinet. All legislation, major policies, and proposed budgets pass through the Regular Members' standing committees before coming to

6000-430: The entire bay is around 0 °C (32 °F) or below. In the extreme northeast, winter temperatures average as low as −29 °C (−20 °F). The Hudson Bay region has very low year-round average temperatures. The average annual temperature for Churchill at 59°N is −6 °C (21 °F) and Inukjuak, facing cool westerlies in summer at 58°N , an even colder −7 °C (19 °F). By comparison, Magadan , in

6100-472: The evidence of an Archean impact might have been masked by deformation accompanying the later formation of the Trans-Hudson orogen and regard an impact origin as a plausible possibility. The longer periods of ice-free navigation and the reduction of Arctic Ocean ice coverage have led to Russian and Canadian interest in the potential for commercial trade routes across the Arctic and into Hudson Bay. The so-called Arctic Bridge would link Churchill, Manitoba, and

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6200-420: The federal government has instructed commissioners to behave like a provincial lieutenant governor . Unlike lieutenant governors, the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories is not a formal representative of the King of Canada . Unlike provincial governments and the government of Yukon, the government of the Northwest Territories does not have political parties. It never has had political parties except for

6300-425: The gravity signal associated with glacial isostatic adjustment from longer–time scale process of mantle convection occurring beneath the Canadian Shield. Based upon this data, geophysicists and other Earth scientists concluded that the Laurentide Ice Sheet was composed of two large domes to the west and east of Hudson Bay. Modelling glacial isostatic adjustment using the GRACE data, they concluded that ≈25 to ≈45% of

6400-485: The hot land and make the weather milder, with the result that the average temperature surpasses 10 °C (50 °F). The bay receives water from various surrounding rivers and currents originating from the Foxe Basin in the north, resulting in a counterclockwise overall flow. At the extreme southern tip of the extension known as James Bay arises a humid continental climate with a longer and generally hotter summer. (Köppen: Dfb ). The average annual temperature in almost

6500-473: The ice over the winter, and the crew survived onshore at the southern tip of James Bay . In the spring, as the ice receded, Henry Hudson expressed a desire to continue exploring the uncharted region. However, on 22 June 1611, the crew mutinied. They left Hudson and others adrift in a small boat. The fate of Hudson and the other men stranded with him remains undetermined. Nevertheless, there is little evidence in historical documents to suggest that they persisted for

6600-402: The last 100 years has led to decreases in the extent of the sea ice in Hudson Bay by 19.5% per decade. As well as a lengthening of the ice-free period, which was as short as four months in the late 17th century. The polar climate of Hudson Bay means it is home for a variety of polar climate animals, in the Western Hudson Bay (WHB) beluga whale population is the most significant known group in

6700-424: The last addition to their modern landmass from the Northwest Territories in 1912. This left only the districts of Mackenzie , Franklin (which absorbed the remnants of Ungava in 1920) and Keewatin within what was then given the name Northwest Territories. In 1925, the boundaries of the Northwest Territories were extended all the way to the North Pole on the sector principle , vastly expanding its territory onto

6800-430: The latter part of the 15th century, directly resulted in the first sighting of Hudson Bay by Europeans. English explorers and colonists named Hudson Bay after Sir Henry Hudson who explored the bay beginning 2 August 1610, on his ship Discovery . On his fourth voyage to North America, Hudson worked his way around Greenland 's west coast and into the bay, mapping much of its eastern coast. Discovery became trapped in

6900-449: The line was damaged by flooding on 23 May 2017. The Port and the Hudson Bay Railway were sold to Arctic Gateway Group —a consortium of First Nations, local governments, and corporate investors—in 2018. On 9 July 2019, ships resupplying Arctic communities began stopping at the port for additional cargo, and the port began shipping grain again on 7 September 2019. The coast of Hudson Bay is extremely sparsely populated; there are only about

7000-403: The lower salinity of the Hudson Bay limits the growth of micro algae, which causes a notable change in biomass along the bay's salinity gradient. The western shores of the bay are a lowland known as the Hudson Bay Lowlands , covering 370,000 km (140,000 sq mi), and are Canada's largest continuous peatland . Much of the landform has been shaped by the actions of glaciers and

7100-401: The mines on Great Bear Lake. Of the thirty plus miners who worked at the Port Radium site, at least fourteen have died due to various forms of cancer. A study was done in the community of Deline , called A Village of Widows by Cindy Kenny-Gilday , which indicated that the number of people involved were too small to be able to confirm or deny a link. There has been racial tension based on

7200-505: The most prominent with the rest of the Dene country ("Dene-ndeh" or Deneland) covering much of what is now Alaska , British Columbia , and the northern regions of the prairie provinces . Some of its constituent territories include Tłı̨chǫ Country , Got'iné Néné , Dehchondéh , and Gwichʼin Nành, amongst others including those of the Dënë Sųłinë́ (Nëné, "land" ), Dane-z̲aa (Nanéʔ), and

7300-498: The most reported languages were the following (italics indicate an official language of the NWT): There were also 630 responses of both English and a "non-official language"; 35 of both French and a "non-official language"; 145 of both English and French, and about 400 people who either did not respond to the question, or reported multiple non-official languages, or else gave some other unenumerable response. (Figures shown are for

7400-612: The name the North-West Territories. This immense region comprised all of today's Canada except British Columbia, an early form of Manitoba (a small square area around Winnipeg ), early forms of present-day Ontario and Quebec (the coast of the Great Lakes , the Saint Lawrence River valley and the southern third of modern Quebec ), the Maritimes (Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick), Newfoundland ,

7500-422: The name, possibly to a term from an Indigenous language. One proposal was "Denendeh", as advocated by the former premier Stephen Kakfwi , among others. One of the most popular proposals for a new name—to name the territory "Bob"—began as a prank , but for a while it was at or near the top in the public-opinion polls . Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to

7600-437: The northern ice cap . Between 1925 and 1999, the Northwest Territories covered a land area of 3,439,296 km (1,327,920 sq mi)—larger than one-third of Canada in terms of area. On April 1, 1999, a separate Nunavut territory was formed from the eastern Northwest Territories to represent the Inuit. Visible minority and indigenous identity (2016): The NWT is one of two jurisdictions in Canada – Nunavut being

7700-582: The northern limit of Hudson Bay as follows: A line from Nuvuk Point ( 62°21′N 78°06′W  /  62.350°N 78.100°W  / 62.350; -78.100 ) to Leyson Point, the Southeastern extreme of Southampton Island , through the Southern and Western shores of Southampton Island to its Northern extremity, thence a line to Beach Point ( 66°03′N 86°06′W  /  66.050°N 86.100°W  / 66.050; -86.100 ) on

7800-485: The number of single language responses and the percentage of total single-language responses.) In the 2021 Census, 55.2% of the population followed Christianity (primarily Roman Catholicism ); this is down from 67.6% in the 2001 Census. At the same time, the population reported having no religious affiliation has more than doubled, from 17.4% in 2001 to 39.8% in 2021 census. About 5.0% reported other religious affiliations. As of 2014, there are 33 official communities in

7900-428: The observed free-air gravity anomaly was due to ongoing glacial isostatic adjustment, and the remainder likely represents longer time-scale effects of mantle convection. Earth scientists have disagreed about what created the semicircular feature known as the Nastapoka arc that forms a section of the shoreline of southeastern Hudson Bay. The Nastapoka arc forms a 155 degree curve and appears to be very circular. Noting

8000-549: The only language used in the assembly. After some conflict with the Confederation Government in Ottawa , and a decisive vote on January 19, 1892, the assembly members voted for an English-only territory. Currently, the Northwest Territories' Official Languages Act recognizes the following eleven official languages : NWT residents have a right to use any of the above languages in a territorial court, and in

8100-472: The other – where Indigenous peoples are in the majority, constituting 50.4% of the population. According to the 2016 Canadian census, the 10 major ethnic groups were: French was made an official language in 1877 by the then-territorial government. After a lengthy and bitter debate resulting from a speech from the throne in 1888 by Lieutenant Governor Joseph Royal , the members of the time voted on more than one occasion to nullify this and make English

8200-572: The paucity of impact structures on Earth in relation to the Moon and Mars, Carlyle S. Beals proposed that it is possibly part of a Precambrian extraterrestrial impact structure that is comparable in size to the Mare Crisium on the Moon. In the same volume, John Tuzo Wilson commented on Beals' interpretation and alternately proposed that the Nastapoka arc may have formed as part of an extensive Precambrian continental collisional orogen, linked to

8300-437: The period between 1898 and 1905. Its legislative assembly operates through the consensus government model. The website of the NWT government describes consensus government thusly: "The Northwest Territories is one of only two jurisdictions in Canada with a consensus system of government instead of one based on party politics. In our system, all Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) are elected as independents. Shortly after

8400-413: The rest of Rupert's Land . It has been shortened from North-Western Territory and then North-West Territories . In Inuktitut , the Northwest Territories are referred to as Nunatsiaq ( Inuktitut syllabics ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᖅ), "beautiful land". The northernmost region of the territory is home to the Inuvialuit , who primarily live in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (Inuvialuit Nunangit Sannaiqtuaq), while

8500-598: The same parent company, and cargo connections are made with the Canadian National Railway system at HBR's southern terminus in The Pas . It is the only port of its size and scope in Canada that does not connect directly to the country's road system; all goods shipped overland to and from the port must travel by rail. The port was originally owned by the Government of Canada but was sold in 1997 to

8600-463: The shore of an analogous large hyposaline marine inlet – the Baltic Sea – has an annual average of 8 °C (46 °F). Water temperature peaks at 8–9 °C (46–48 °F) on the western side of the bay in late summer. It is largely frozen over from mid-December to mid-June, when it usually clears from its eastern end westwards and southwards. A steady increase in regional temperatures over

8700-515: The shrinkage of the bay over long periods of time. The coastal area, located in a region characterized by permanently frozen layers of soil, known as permafrost , is a low-lying wetland that receives water from lakes and fast-flowing rivers. Signs of numerous former beachfronts can be seen far inland from the current shore. A large portion of the lowlands in the province of Ontario is part of the Polar Bear Provincial Park , and

8800-492: The south reaching 36 °C (97 °F) and lows reaching below 0 °C (32 °F). In winter in the south, it is not uncommon for the temperatures to reach −40 °C (−40 °F), but they can also reach the low teens during the day. In the north, temperatures can reach highs of 30 °C (86 °F), and lows into the low negatives. In winter in the north, it is not uncommon for the temperatures to reach −50 °C (−58 °F) but they can also reach single digits during

8900-484: The south; it also touches Manitoba to the southeast at a quadripoint that includes Nunavut and Saskatchewan. The land area of the Northwest Territories is roughly equal to that of France, Portugal and Spain combined, although its overall area is even larger because of its vast lakes. The name was originally descriptive, adopted by the British government during the colonial era to indicate where it lay in relation to

9000-569: The southern portion is called Denendeh (an Athabaskan word meaning "our land"). Denendeh is the vast Dene country, stretching from central Alaska to Hudson Bay , within which lie the homelands of the numerous Dene nations. Since the Yukon Territory was split from it in 1898, it is no longer the westernmost territory, and until Nunavut was split from it in 1999 it included territory extending as far east as Canada's Atlantic provinces . There has been some discussion of changing

9100-544: The territory has been divided four times to create new provinces and territories or enlarge existing ones. Its current borders date from April 1, 1999, when the territory's size was decreased again by the creation of a new territory of Nunavut to the east, through the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement . While Nunavut is mostly Arctic tundra , the Northwest Territories has

9200-564: The territory's natural resources go to the territory. Devolution of powers to the territory was an issue in the 20th general election in 2003, and has been ever since the territory began electing members in 1881. The Commissioner of the NWT is the chief executive and is appointed by the Governor-in-Council of Canada on the recommendation of the federal Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development . The position used to be more administrative and governmental, but with

9300-573: The territory; its population was 20,340 as of the 2021 census. It became the territorial capital in 1967, following recommendations by the Carrothers Commission . The Northwest Territories, a portion of the old North-Western Territory , entered the Canadian Confederation on July 15, 1870. At first, it was named the North-West Territories. The name was changed to the present Northwest Territories in 1906. Since 1870,

9400-539: The west and Nunavut to the east, as well as four provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south, and Manitoba (through a quadripoint ) to the extreme southeast. It has a land area of 1,183,085 km (456,792 sq mi). Geographical features include Great Bear Lake , the largest lake entirely within Canada, and Great Slave Lake , the deepest body of water in North America at 614 m (2,014 ft), as well as

9500-576: Was an important shipping link for trade with Europe and Russia until its closure in 2016 by owner OmniTRAX . The port and the Hudson Bay Railway were then sold to the Arctic Gateway Group —a consortium of First Nations , local governments, and corporate investors—in 2018. On 9 July 2019, ships resupplying Arctic communities began stopping at the port for additional cargo, and the port began shipping grain again on 7 September 2019. The International Hydrographic Organization defines

9600-528: Was enlarged north-westward in 1882. Quebec was also extended northwards in 1898. Yukon was also made a separate territory that year and eventually gained additional territorial powers with the 2003 Yukon Act . One year after the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were created in 1905, the Parliament of Canada renamed the "North-West Territories" as the Northwest Territories , dropping all hyphenated forms of it. Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec acquired

9700-574: Was followed by several others in regions across the territory, thus contributing to it reaching the highest percentage of students in residential schools compared to other area in Canada. The present-day territory came under the authority of the Government of Canada in July 1870, after the Hudson's Bay Company transferred Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory to the British Crown, which subsequently transferred them to Canada, giving it

9800-647: Was negotiated in Utrecht, Netherlands, and marked a crucial stage in the conclusion of the War of the Spanish Succession . Its provisions had a significant impact in shaping the postwar landscape and establishing a new order in both Europe and North America. French concessions in North America as outlined in the Treaty of Utrecht included: Hudson Bay region, Nova Scotia , and Newfoundland . During this period,

9900-433: Was selected as the new premier by his fellow MLAs on December 7, 2023. The member of Parliament for the Northwest Territories is Michael McLeod ( Liberal Party ). The Commissioner of the Northwest Territories is Gerald Kisoun . In the Parliament of Canada , the NWT comprises a single Senate division and a single House of Commons electoral district , titled Northwest Territories ( Western Arctic until 2014). Thus

10000-460: Was terminated by marine regression, Upper Devonian black bituminous shale accumulated in the south-east of the basin. The remaining history of the Hudson Bay basin is largely unknown as a major unconformity separates Upper Devonian strata from glacial deposits of the Pleistocene . Except for poorly known terrestrial Cretaceous fluvial sands and gravels that are preserved as the fills of

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