100-714: Keele Peak , in Yukon , Canada is the highest peak in the Mackenzie Mountains at 2,952 metres (9,685 ft). With a prominence measure of 2,157 m (7,077 ft) it is one of Canada's most prominent peaks. It is located about 25 km from the Canol Road not far from the Northwest Territories border. The peak was named for Joseph Keele, an explorer and geologist who had moved to Canada from his native Ireland. This article related to
200-633: A humid continental climate with widely variable precipitation. For example, the average daily low in Prince George (roughly in the middle of the province) in January is −12 °C (10 °F). Small towns in the southern interior with high elevation such as Princeton are typically colder and snowier than cities in the valleys. Heavy snowfall occurs in all elevated mountainous terrain providing bases for skiers in both south and central British Columbia. Annual snowfall on highway mountain passes in
300-472: A federal agency of the Government of Canada , also maintains three national parks and reserves within the territory: Kluane National Park and Reserve , Ivvavik National Park , and Vuntut National Park . The Yukon is also home to twelve National Historic Sites of Canada . The sites are also administered by Parks Canada , with five of the twelve sites being located within national parks. The territory
400-703: A large presence in the Metro Vancouver region. The Franco-Columbian community is an officially recognized linguistic minority, and around one percent of British Columbians claim French as their mother tongue . British Columbia is home to at least 34 distinct Indigenous languages . Major sectors of British Columbia's economy include forestry , mining , filmmaking and video production , tourism , real estate , construction , wholesale , and retail . Its main exports include lumber and timber , pulp and paper products, copper , coal , and natural gas . British Columbia exhibits high property values and
500-466: A mountain, mountain range, or peak in Canada is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a Yukon location is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Yukon Yukon is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories . It is the most densely populated of the three territories, with an estimated population of 46,704 as of 2024, though it has
600-409: A role in appointing the territory's Executive Council , served as chair, and had a day-to-day role in governing the territory. The elected Territorial Council had a purely advisory role. In 1979, a significant degree of power was devolved from the commissioner and the federal government to the territorial legislature which, in that year, adopted a party system of responsible government . This change
700-528: A series of devastating epidemics of diseases the people had no immunity to. The population dramatically collapsed, culminating in the 1862 smallpox outbreak in Victoria that spread throughout the coast. European settlement did not bode well for the remaining native population of British Columbia. Colonial officials deemed colonists could make better use of the land than the First Nations people, and thus
800-787: A shareholder vote. If provided for by a unanimous shareholders agreement, a corporation is not required to have directors at all. There is increased flexibility regarding the location of corporate records offices, including the ability to maintain a records office outside of the Yukon so long as it is accessible by electronic means. The Yukon's tourism motto is "Larger than life". The Yukon's tourism industry relies heavily on Yukon's natural environment, and there are many organized outfitters and guides available for activities such as hunting , angling , canoeing / kayaking , hiking , skiing , snowboarding , ice climbing , and dog sledding . These activities are offered both in an organized setting or in
900-838: A small island off the coast of Haida Gwaii . Many healthy populations of fish are present, including salmonids such as several species of salmon , trout , steelhead , and char . Besides salmon and trout, sport-fishers in BC also catch halibut , bass , and sturgeon . On the coast, harbour seals and river otters are common. Cetacean species native to the coast include the orca , humpback whale , grey whale , harbour porpoise , Dall's porpoise , Pacific white-sided dolphin and minke whale . Some endangered species in British Columbia are: Vancouver Island marmot , spotted owl , American white pelican , and badgers. White spruce or Engelmann spruce and their hybrids occur in 12 of
1000-572: A smaller population than all provinces. Whitehorse , the territorial capital, is the largest settlement in any of the three territories. Yukon was split from the Northwest Territories in 1898 as the Yukon Territory . The federal government's Yukon Act , which received royal assent on March 27, 2002, established "Yukon" as the territory's official name, although Yukon Territory remains in popular usage. Canada Post uses
1100-660: A very wide range of birds, has long been popular. Bears ( grizzly , black —including the Kermode bear or spirit bear) live here, as do deer , elk , moose , caribou , big-horn sheep , mountain goats , marmots , beavers , muskrats , coyotes , wolves , mustelids (such as wolverines , badgers and fishers ), cougars , eagles , ospreys , herons , Canada geese , swans , loons , hawks , owls , ravens , harlequin ducks , and many other sorts of ducks. Smaller birds ( robins , jays , grosbeaks , chickadees , and so on) also abound. Murrelets are known from Frederick Island,
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#17327766410631200-455: A wholly unorganized area of British North America under the de facto jurisdiction of HBC administrators; however, unlike Rupert's Land to the north and east, the territory was not a concession to the company. Rather, it was simply granted a monopoly to trade with the First Nations inhabitants. All that was changed with the westward extension of American exploration and the concomitant overlapping claims of territorial sovereignty, especially in
1300-608: A wide array of cultural and sporting events that attract artists, local residents, and tourists. Annual events include the Adäka Cultural Festival , Dawson City Music Festival , Yukon International Storytelling Festival , Yukon Quest dog sled race, Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous , as well as Klondike Gold Rush memorials and the Northern Lights Centre. The Yukon's Aboriginal culture is also strongly reflected in such areas as winter sports, as in
1400-462: Is Canada's third-largest province in terms of total area, after Quebec and Ontario . The first known human inhabitants of the area settled in British Columbia at least 10,000 years ago. Such groups include the Coast Salish , Tsilhqotʼin , and Haida peoples, among many others. One of the earliest British settlements in the area was Fort Victoria , established in 1843, which gave rise to
1500-649: Is a significant centre for maritime trade : the Port of Vancouver is the largest port in Canada and the most diversified port in North America . Although less than 5 percent of the province's territory is arable land , significant agriculture exists in the Fraser Valley and Okanagan due to the warmer climate. British Columbia is home to 45% of all publicly listed companies in Canada. The province's name
1600-561: Is generally in the subarctic climate zone, but even there, milder air can penetrate far inland. The coldest temperature in British Columbia was recorded in Smith River , where it dropped to −58.9 °C (−74.0 °F) on January 31, 1947, one of the coldest readings recorded anywhere in North America. Atlin in the province's far northwest, along with the adjoining Southern Lakes region of Yukon , get midwinter thaws caused by
1700-485: Is home to First Nations groups that have a deep history with a significant number of indigenous languages. There are more than 200 First Nations in BC. Prior to contact (with non-Aboriginal people), human history is known from oral histories, archaeological investigations, and from early records from explorers encountering societies early in the period. The arrival of Paleoindians from Beringia took place between 20,000 and 12,000 years ago. Hunter-gatherer families were
1800-812: Is host to a number of museums , including the Copperbelt Railway & Mining Museum , the SS Klondike boat museum, the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre in Whitehorse; as well as the Keno City Mining Museum in Keno City . The territory also holds a number of enterprises that allows tourists to experience pre-colonial and modern cultures of Yukon's First Nations and Inuit. The Yukon has
1900-525: Is mining (lead, zinc , silver, gold, asbestos and copper). The federal government acquired the land from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1870 and split it from the Northwest Territories in 1898 to fill the need for local government created by the population influx of the gold rush. Thousands of these prospectors moved to the territory, ushering a period of Yukon history recorded by authors such as Robert W. Service and Jack London . The memory of this period and
2000-656: Is named after the Yukon River , the longest river in the Yukon. The name itself is from a contraction of the words in the Gwich'in phrase chųų gąįį han , which means "white water river" and refers to "the pale colour" of glacial runoff in the Yukon River. Historically, the name of the Yukon Territory has been abbreviated to "The Yukon" in informal speech. In 2003, the territorial government announced that
2100-543: Is now the United States include Vancouver, Washington ( Fort Vancouver ), formerly the "capital" of Hudson's Bay operations in the Columbia District, Colville, Washington and Walla Walla, Washington (old Fort Nez Percés ). With the amalgamation of the two fur trading companies in 1821, modern-day British Columbia existed in three fur trading departments. The bulk of the central and northern interior
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#17327766410632200-554: Is the highest mountain in Canada and the second-highest on the North American continent (after Denali in the U.S. state of Alaska ). Most of the Yukon has a subarctic climate , characterized by long, cold winters and brief, warm summers. The coastal area along the Arctic Ocean has a tundra climate . Notable rivers include the Yukon , Pelly , Stewart , Peel , White , Liard , and Tatshenshini . The territory
2300-469: Is the only province in Canada that borders the Pacific Ocean. British Columbia's highest mountain is Mount Fairweather ; the highest mountain entirely within the province is Mount Waddington . British Columbia's capital is Victoria , located at the southeastern tip of Vancouver Island . Only a narrow strip of Vancouver Island, from Campbell River to Victoria, is significantly populated. Much of
2400-427: The 2016 Canada Census the majority of the territory's population was of European descent, although it has a significant population of First Nations communities across the territory. The 2011 National Household Survey examined the Yukon's ethnocultural diversity and immigration. At that time, 87.7% of residents were Canadian-born and 24.2% were of Indigenous origin. The most common countries of birth for immigrants were
2500-560: The British Isles , many British Columbians also trace their ancestors to continental Europe , East Asia , and South Asia . Indigenous Canadians constitute about 6 percent of the province's total population. Christianity is the largest religion in the region, though the majority of the population is non-religious. English is the common language of the province, although Punjabi , Mandarin Chinese , and Cantonese also have
2600-1059: The Chinook effect, which is also common (and much warmer) in more southerly parts of the Interior. During winter on the coast, rainfall , sometimes relentless heavy rain, dominates because of consistent barrages of cyclonic low-pressure systems from the North Pacific. Average snowfall on the coast during a normal winter is between 25 and 50 centimetres (10 and 20 in), but on occasion (and not every winter) heavy snowfalls with more than 20 centimetres (8 in) and well below freezing temperatures arrive when modified arctic air reaches coastal areas, typically for short periods, and can take temperatures below −10 °C (14 °F), even at sea level. Arctic outflow winds can occasionally result in wind chill temperatures at or even below −17.8 °C (0.0 °F). While winters are very wet, coastal areas are generally milder and dry during summer under
2700-690: The Columbia in the name Columbia Rediviva came from the name Columbia for the New World or parts thereof , a reference to Christopher Columbus . The governments of Canada and British Columbia recognize Colombie-Britannique as the French name for the province. British Columbia is bordered to the west by the Pacific Ocean and the American state of Alaska , to the north by Yukon and
2800-646: The Dakelh (Carrier) and the Tsilhqotʼin . The inlets and valleys of the British Columbia coast shelter large, distinctive populations, such as the Haida , Kwakwakaʼwakw and Nuu-chah-nulth , sustained by the region's abundant salmon and shellfish. These peoples developed complex cultures dependent on the western red cedar that included wooden houses, seagoing whaling and war canoes and elaborately carved potlatch items and totem poles . Contact with Europeans brought
2900-597: The Fraser Canyon , close to the confluence of the Fraser and Thompson rivers, where the terrain is rugged and covered with desert-type flora. Semi-desert grassland is found in large areas of the Interior Plateau , with land uses ranging from ranching at lower altitudes to forestry at higher ones. The northern, mostly mountainous, two-thirds of the province is largely unpopulated and undeveloped, except for
3000-467: The Inside Passage 's many inlets provide some of British Columbia's renowned and spectacular scenery, which forms the backdrop and context for a growing outdoor adventure and ecotourism industry. 75 percent of the province is mountainous (more than 1,000 m [3,300 ft] above sea level ); 60 percent is forested; and only about 5 percent is arable. The province's mainland away from
3100-823: The Klondike Gold Rush trail is a lake flowing into Nares Lake, with the greater part of its area within Yukon. Other watersheds in the territory include the Mackenzie River, the Peel Watershed and the Alsek – Tatshenshini , and a number of rivers flowing directly into the Beaufort Sea. The two main Yukon rivers flowing into the Mackenzie in the Northwest Territories are the Liard River in
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3200-644: The Municipal Act include cities and towns . Whitehorse is the capital of the Yukon and its only city. The remaining seven municipalities are towns, of which four were villages that were continued as towns upon adoption of the 2001 Municipal Act . The usage is somewhat confusing: according to the Municipal Act of 2001 villages are legally given the status of towns, but may call themselves villages in English. In French they are called villages, and
3300-531: The North Coast just south of Southeast Alaska . The exception to British Columbia's wet and cloudy winters is during the El Niño phase. During El Niño events, the jet stream is much farther south across North America, making the province's winters milder and drier than normal. Winters are much wetter and cooler during the opposite phase, La Niña . There are 14 designations of parks and protected areas in
3400-694: The North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), effectively established a permanent British presence in the region. The Columbia District was broadly defined as being south of 54°40 north latitude, (the southern limit of Russian America ), north of Mexican-controlled California, and west of the Rocky Mountains . It was, by the Anglo-American Convention of 1818 , under the "joint occupancy and use" of citizens of
3500-586: The Northwest Territories , to the east by the province of Alberta , and to the south by the American states of Washington , Idaho , and Montana . The southern border of British Columbia was established by the 1846 Oregon Treaty, although its history is tied with lands as far south as California . British Columbia's land area is 944,735 square kilometres (364,800 sq mi). British Columbia's rugged coastline stretches for more than 27,000 kilometres (17,000 mi), and includes deep, mountainous fjords and about 6,000 islands, most of which are uninhabited. It
3600-581: The Oroville–Osoyoos Border Crossing , is one of several wine and cider -producing regions in Canada. Other wine regions in British Columbia include the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island and the Fraser Valley . The Southern Interior cities of Kamloops and Penticton have some of the warmest and longest summer climates in Canada (while higher elevations are cold and snowy), although their temperatures are often exceeded north of
3700-408: The Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains , the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, forests, lakes, mountains, inland deserts and grassy plains. British Columbia borders the province of Alberta to the east; the territories of Yukon and Northwest Territories to the north; the U.S. states of Washington , Idaho and Montana to
3800-585: The U.S. state of Alaska to the west and northwest for 1,210 kilometres (752 mi) mostly along longitude 141° W , the Northwest Territories to the east and British Columbia to the south mostly along latitude 60° N . Its northern coast is on the Beaufort Sea . Its ragged eastern boundary mostly follows the divide between the Yukon Basin and the Mackenzie River drainage basin to
3900-716: The Yukon Quest sled dog race. The modern comic-book character Yukon Jack depicts a heroic aboriginal persona. Similarly, the territorial government also recognizes that First Nations and Inuit languages plays a part in cultural heritage of the territory; these languages include Tlingit , and the less common Tahltan , as well as seven Athapaskan languages, Upper Tanana , Gwich'in , Hän , Northern Tutchone , Southern Tutchone , Kaska , and Tagish , some of which are rare. Notable Yukon artists include Jim Robb and Ted Harrison , whose paintings have become iconic for their depictions of historic and contemporary life and culture in
4000-632: The backcountry , which is accessible by air or snowmobile . The Yukon's festivals and sporting events include the Adäka Cultural Festival , Yukon International Storytelling Festival , and the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous . The Yukon's latitude enables the view of aurora borealis . The Yukon Government maintains a series of territorial parks, including parks such as Herschel Island Qikiqtaruk Territorial Park , Tombstone Territorial Park , Fishing Branch Ni'iinlii'njik Park , and Coal River Springs Territorial Park. Parks Canada ,
4100-628: The fur trade , rather than political considerations. In 1794, by the third of a series of agreements known as the Nootka Conventions , Spain conceded its claims of exclusivity in the Pacific. This opened the way for formal claims and colonization by other powers, including Britain, but because of the Napoleonic Wars , there was little British action on its claims in the region until later. The establishment of trading posts by
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4200-565: The united colony's capital. In 1871, British Columbia entered Confederation as the sixth province of Canada, in enactment of the British Columbia Terms of Union . British Columbia is a diverse and cosmopolitan province, drawing on a plethora of cultural influences from its British Canadian , European , and Asian diasporas , as well as the Indigenous population . Though the province's ethnic majority originates from
4300-1101: The 14 biogeoclimatic zones of British Columbia . Common types of trees present in BC's forests include western redcedar , yellow-cedar , Rocky Mountain juniper , lodgepole pine , ponderosa or yellow pine , whitebark pine , limber pine , western white pine , western larch , tamarack , alpine larch , white spruce , Engelmann spruce , Sitka spruce , black spruce , grand fir , Amabilis fir , subalpine fir , western hemlock , mountain hemlock , Douglas-fir , western yew , Pacific dogwood , bigleaf maple , Douglas maple , vine maple , arbutus , black hawthorn , cascara , Garry oak , Pacific crab apple , choke cherry , pin cherry , bitter cherry , red alder , mountain alder , paper birch , water birch , black cottonwood , balsam poplar , trembling aspen . First Nations peoples of British Columbia used plants for food, and to produce material goods like fuel and building products. Plant foods included berries, and roots like camas . Environment Canada subdivides British Columbia into six ecozones : The area now known as British Columbia
4400-582: The 14 different designations that includes over 800 distinct areas. British Columbia contains seven of Canada's national parks and National Park Reserves: British Columbia contains a large number of provincial parks , run by BC Parks under the aegis of the Ministry of Environment. British Columbia's provincial parks system is the second largest parks system in Canada, the largest being Canada's National Parks system. Another tier of parks in British Columbia are regional parks , which are maintained and run by
4500-427: The French word ville, which means town, is not used for them. Instead larger settlements are called ville and even bigger ones grande ville, apart from Dawson which is called a cité, and in English is also called a city. Keno City , though unincorporated, also bears city in its name. In the 19th century, the Yukon was a segment of North-Western Territory that was administered by the Hudson's Bay Company , and then of
4600-665: The Interior during mid-summer, with the record high of 49.6 °C (121.3 °F) being held in Lytton on June 29, 2021, during a record-breaking heat wave that year . The extended summer dryness often creates conditions that spark forest fires, from dry-lightning or man-made causes. Many areas of the province are often covered by a blanket of heavy cloud and low fog during the winter months, in contrast to abundant summer sunshine. Annual sunshine hours vary from 2200 near Cranbrook and Victoria to less than 1300 in Prince Rupert , on
4700-485: The Northwest Territories administered by the federal Canadian government. It only obtained a recognizable local government in 1895 when it became a separate district of the Northwest Territories . In 1898, it was made a separate territory with its own commissioner and an appointed Territorial Council. Prior to 1979, the territory was administered by the commissioner who was appointed by the federal Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development . The commissioner had
4800-544: The Pacific Ocean, inscribing a stone marking his accomplishment on the shoreline of Dean Channel near Bella Coola . His expedition theoretically established British sovereignty inland, and a succession of other fur company explorers charted the maze of rivers and mountain ranges between the Canadian Prairies and the Pacific. Mackenzie and other explorers—notably John Finlay , Simon Fraser , Samuel Black , and David Thompson —were primarily concerned with extending
4900-585: The United Kingdom (15.9%), the Philippines (15.0%), and the United States (13.2%). Among very recent immigrants (between 2006 and 2011) living in the Yukon, 63.5% were born in Asia. Visible minority and indigenous identity (2016): As of the 2016 census, the top ten ancestries in the Yukon were: The most commonly reported mother tongue among the 33,145 single responses to the 2011 Canadian census
5000-797: The United States and subjects of Britain (which is to say, the fur companies). This co-occupancy was ended with the Oregon Treaty of 1846. The major supply route was the York Factory Express between Hudson Bay and Fort Vancouver . Some of the early outposts grew into settlements, communities, and cities. Among the places in British Columbia that began as fur trading posts are Fort St. John (established 1794); Hudson's Hope (1805); Fort Nelson (1805); Fort St. James (1806); Prince George (1807); Kamloops (1812); Fort Langley (1827); Fort Victoria (1843); Yale (1848); and Nanaimo (1853). Fur company posts that became cities in what
5100-706: The Yukon Party forming the government as premier . In 2003, the old Yukon Act was repealed and replaced by a new Yukon Act , which continued the existing powers of the Yukon Government, and devolved additional powers to the territorial government such as control over land and natural resources. At the federal level, the Yukon is represented in the Parliament of Canada by one member of Parliament (MP) and one senator . MPs from Canadian territories are full and equal voting representatives and residents of
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#17327766410635200-503: The Yukon hold some of the earliest evidence of the presence of human habitation in North America. The sites safeguard the history of the first people and the earliest First Nations of the Yukon. The volcanic eruption of Mount Churchill in approximately 800 AD in what is now the U.S. state of Alaska blanketed the southern Yukon with a layer of ash which can still be seen along the Klondike Highway , and which forms part of
5300-426: The Yukon in January 1979. The Yukon New Democratic Party (NDP) formed the government from 1985 to 1992 under Tony Penikett and again from 1996 under Piers McDonald until being defeated in 2000. The conservatives returned to power in 1992 under John Ostashek after having renamed themselves the Yukon Party . The Liberal government of Pat Duncan was defeated in elections in November 2002, with Dennis Fentie of
5400-456: The Yukon, and permits their use in Legislative Assembly proceedings, although only English and French are available for laws and court proceedings. The 2021 Canadian census reported that 59.7% of Yukoners reported having no religious affiliation, the highest percentage in Canada . The most frequently reported religious affiliation was Christianity, reported by 35.0% of residents, followed by Sikhism at 1.0%. The Yukon's major industry
5500-519: The Yukon, though, local level governance is provided by municipalities . The Yukon's eight municipalities cover only 0.2% of the territory's land mass but are home to 80.9% of its population. Municipal governments are created by the Yukon Government in accordance with the Municipal Act of 2001. Municipal governments provide "jurisdiction services, facilities, or things that a local government considers necessary or desirable for all or part of its community". Classifications of municipalities under
5600-400: The Yukon. With the Klondike Gold Rush , a number of folk songs from the Yukon became popular, including "Rush to the Klondike" (1897, written by W. T. Diefenbaker), "The Klondike Gold Rush", "I've Got the Klondike Fever" (1898), and "La Chanson du Klondyke". A notable cultural and tourist feature is the legacy of the Klondike Gold Rush (1897–1899), which inspired contemporary writers of
5700-423: The abandoned town of Snag dropped down to −63.0 °C (−81.4 °F). Unlike most of Canada where the most extreme heat waves occur in July, August, and even September, the Yukon's extreme heat tends to occur in June and even May. The Yukon has recorded 36 °C (97 °F) three times. The first time was in June 1969 when Mayo recorded a temperature of 36.1 °C (97 °F). 14 years later this record
5800-484: The area east of the Rockies , where the Peace River Country contains BC's portion of the Canadian Prairies , centred at the city of Dawson Creek . British Columbia is considered part of the Pacific Northwest and the Cascadia bioregion , along with the American states of Alaska, Idaho, (western) Montana, Oregon , Washington, and (northern) California . Because of the many mountain ranges and rugged coastline, British Columbia's climate varies dramatically across
5900-429: The blocking presence of successive mountain ranges, the climate of some of the interior valleys of the province (such as the Thompson, parts of the Fraser Canyon, the southern Cariboo and parts of the Okanagan) is semi-arid with certain locations receiving less than 250 millimetres (10 in) in annual precipitation. The annual mean temperature in the most populated areas of the province is up to 12 °C (54 °F),
6000-475: The city of Victoria, the capital of the Colony of Vancouver Island . The Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) was subsequently founded by Richard Clement Moody , and by the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment , in response to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush . Moody selected the site for and founded the mainland colony's capital New Westminster . The colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia were incorporated in 1866, subsequent to which Victoria became
6100-429: The coast in 1775. In doing so, Pérez and Quadra reasserted the Spanish claim for the Pacific coast , first made by Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513. The explorations of James Cook in 1778 and George Vancouver in 1792 and 1793 established British jurisdiction over the coastal area north and west of the Columbia River. In 1793, Sir Alexander Mackenzie was the first European to journey across North America overland to
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#17327766410636200-426: The coastal regions is somewhat moderated by the Pacific Ocean. Terrain ranges from dry inland forests and semi-arid valleys, to the range and canyon districts of the Central and Southern Interior , to boreal forest and subarctic prairie in the Northern Interior. High mountain regions both north and south have subalpine flora and subalpine climate . The Okanagan wine area , extending from Vernon to Osoyoos at
6300-412: The corporation, a practice off-limits in most other jurisdictions due to the inherent potential for conflicts of interest. One of the changes will allow a corporation to serve as a director of a subsidiary registered in Yukon. The legislation also allows companies to add provisions in their articles of incorporation giving directors blanket approval to sell off all of the company's assets without requiring
6400-400: The early days of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police , as well as the territory's scenic wonders and outdoor recreation opportunities, makes tourism the second most important industry in the territory. Manufacturing, including furniture, clothing, and handicrafts, follows in importance, along with hydroelectricity . The traditional industries of trapping and fishing have declined. As of 2012,
6500-413: The east in the Mackenzie mountains. Most of the territory is in the watershed of its namesake, the Yukon River. The southern Yukon is dotted with a large number of large, long and narrow glacier-fed alpine lakes, most of which flow into the Yukon River system. The larger lakes include Teslin Lake , Atlin Lake , Tagish Lake , Marsh Lake , Lake Laberge , Kusawa Lake and Kluane Lake . Bennett Lake on
6600-466: The electoral district of Porter Creek South as its MLA. Pillai took office on January 14, 2023. After the 2021 Yukon general election , the Liberals were reduced to a minority government , though they were able to continue governing due to a formal agreement with the NDP. The vast majority of the Yukon's land mass is unorganized , with no defined municipal or otherwise supralocal level of government like in other parts of Canada. For most individuals in
6700-411: The government sector directly employs approximately 6,300 out of a labour force of 20,800, on a population of 27,500. On May 1, 2015, the Yukon modified its Business Corporations Act, in an effort to attract more benefits and participants to its economy. One amendment to the BCA lets a proxy be given for voting purposes. Another change will allow directors to pursue business opportunities declined by
6800-400: The highest among Canada's three territories. Statistics Canada has estimated Yukon's 2024 population to be 45,750, an increase of 17.5% from the 2016 census. This is the largest percentage increase for any Canadian province or territory. Unlike in other Canadian provinces and territories , Statistics Canada uses the entire territory as a single at-large census division. According to
6900-427: The influence of stable anti-cyclonic high pressure. Southern Interior valleys are hot in summer; for example, in Osoyoos , the July maximum temperature averages 31.7 °C (89.1 °F), making it the hottest month of any location in Canada; this hot weather sometimes spreads towards the coast or to the far north of the province. Temperatures often exceed 40 °C (104 °F) in the lower elevations of valleys in
7000-425: The islands of southern Alaska and northern British Columbia. The Na-Dene language group is believed to be linked to the Yeniseian languages of Siberia: the Dene of the western Arctic may represent a distinct wave of migration from Asia to North America. The Interior of British Columbia is home to the Salishan language groups such as the Shuswap (Secwepemc) , Okanagan and Athabaskan language groups, primarily
7100-423: The land should be owned by the colonists. To ensure colonists would be able to settle properly and make use of the land, First Nations were forcibly relocated onto reserves , which were often too small to support their way of life. By the 1930s, British Columbia had over 1500 reserves. Lands now known as British Columbia were added to the British Empire during the 19th century. Colonies originally begun with
7200-492: The legislature are known as members of the Legislative Assembly and may use the post nominal letters "MLA". The three parties presently represented are the centre-leaning Yukon Liberal Party (8 seats) – who currently form government, the centre-right leaning Yukon Party (8), and the centre-left leaning Yukon New Democratic Party (3). The 10th and current premier of Yukon is Ranj Pillai , who represents
7300-559: The main social structure from 10,000 to 5,000 years ago. The nomadic population lived in non-permanent structures foraging for nuts, berries and edible roots while hunting and trapping larger and small game for food and furs. Around 5,000 years ago individual groups started to focus on resources available to them locally. Coast Salish peoples had complex land management practices linked to ecosystem health and resilience. Forest gardens on Canada's northwest coast included crabapple, hazelnut, cranberry, wild plum, and wild cherry species. Thus with
7400-673: The mildest anywhere in Canada. The valleys of the Southern Interior have short winters with only brief bouts of cold or infrequent heavy snow, while those in the Cariboo , in the Central Interior , are colder because of increased altitude and latitude, but without the intensity or duration experienced at similar latitudes elsewhere in Canada. Outside of the driest valleys, the Southern and Central Interior generally have
7500-478: The native population of what became British Columbia. The arrival of Europeans began around the mid-18th century, as fur traders entered the area to harvest sea otters . While it is thought Sir Francis Drake may have explored the British Columbian coast in 1579, it was Juan Pérez who completed the first documented voyage, which took place in 1774. Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra explored
7600-608: The neighbouring Northwest Territories. As a result of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement, the island is now a territorial park and is known officially as Qikiqtaruk Territorial Park, Qikiqtaruk being the name of the island in Inuvialuktun . British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC ) is the westernmost province of Canada . Situated in the Pacific Northwest between
7700-423: The oral tradition of First Nations peoples in the Yukon and further south in Canada. Coastal and inland First Nations had extensive trading networks. European incursions into the area began early in the 19th century with the fur trade , followed by missionaries . By the 1870s and 1880s, gold miners began to arrive. This drove a population increase that justified the establishment of a police force, just in time for
7800-584: The passage of time there is a pattern of increasing regional generalization with a more sedentary lifestyle . These indigenous populations evolved over the next 5,000 years across a large area into many groups with shared traditions and customs. To the northwest of the province are the peoples of the Na-Dene languages , which include the Athapaskan-speaking peoples and the Tlingit , who live on
7900-401: The province that reflect the different administration and creation of these areas in a modern context. There are 141 ecological reserves, 35 provincial marine parks, 7 provincial heritage sites, 6 National Historic Sites of Canada , 4 national parks and 3 national park reserves. 12.5 percent of the province's area (114,000 km or 44,000 sq mi) is considered protected under one of
8000-536: The province's regional districts . The Ministry of Forests operates forest recreation sites. In addition to these areas, over 47,000 square kilometres (18,000 sq mi) of arable land are protected by the Agricultural Land Reserve . Much of the province is undeveloped, so populations of many mammalian species that have become rare in much of the United States still flourish in British Columbia. Watching animals of various sorts, including
8100-561: The province. Coastal southern British Columbia has a mild and rainy climate influenced by the North Pacific Current . Most of the region is classified as oceanic , though pockets of warm-summer Mediterranean climate also exist in the far-southern parts of the coast. Precipitation averages above 1,000 mm (39 in) in almost all of the coastal region, and Hucuktlis Lake on Vancouver Island receives an average of 6,903 mm (271.8 in) of rain annually. Due to
8200-508: The south, and Alaska to the northwest. With an estimated population of over 5.6 million as of 2024, it is Canada's third-most populous province . The capital of British Columbia is Victoria , while the province's largest city is Vancouver . Vancouver and its suburbs together make up the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada , with the 2021 census recording 2.6 million people in Metro Vancouver . British Columbia
8300-607: The southeast and the Peel River and its tributaries in the northeast. Canada's highest point, Mount Logan (5,959 m or 19,551 ft), is in the territory's southwest. Mount Logan and a large part of the Yukon's southwest are in Kluane National Park and Reserve , a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Other national parks include Ivvavik National Park and Vuntut National Park in the north. A second UNESCO World Heritage Site, Tr'ondëk-Klondike World Heritage Site ,
8400-536: The southern Columbia Basin (within present day Washington and Oregon ). In 1846, the Oregon Treaty divided the territory along the 49th parallel to the Strait of Georgia , with the area south of this boundary (excluding Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands ) transferred to sole American sovereignty. The Colony of Vancouver Island was created in 1849, with Victoria designated as the capital. New Caledonia, as
8500-472: The southern interior rivals some of the snowiest cities in Canada, and freezing rain and fog are sometimes present on such roads as well. This can result in hazardous driving conditions, as people are usually travelling between warmer areas such as Vancouver or Kamloops , and may be unaware that the conditions may be slippery and cold. Winters are generally severe in the Northern Interior which
8600-427: The start of the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897. The increased population coming with the gold rush led to the separation of the Yukon district from the Northwest Territories and the formation of the separate Yukon Territory in 1898. The 2021 census reported a Yukon population of 40,232. With a land area of 474,712.64 km (183,287.57 sq mi), it had a population density of 0.1/km (0.2/sq mi) in 2011,
8700-561: The support of the Hudson's Bay Company (Vancouver Island, the mainland) were amalgamated, then entered Confederation as British Columbia in 1871 as part of the Dominion of Canada. During the 1770s, smallpox killed at least 30 percent of the Pacific Northwest First Nations . This devastating epidemic was the first in a series; the 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic killed about half to two-thirds of
8800-444: The territory enjoy the same rights as other Canadian citizens. One Yukon MP, Erik Nielsen , served as Deputy Prime Minister under Brian Mulroney , while another, Audrey McLaughlin , was the leader of the federal New Democratic Party (NDP) from 1989 to 1995. The territory once had an Inuit settlement, located on Herschel Island off the Arctic Ocean coast. This settlement was dismantled in 1987 and its inhabitants relocated to
8900-529: The territory should be referred to as "Yukon", but the change in name sparked discussion amongst Yukoners. In the 2021 election, the leader of the Yukon NDP , Kate White , campaigned on returning to using "The Yukon". Following the election, the Yukon Party government announced that "The Yukon" would again be used by the government. The territory is the approximate shape of a right triangle , bordering
9000-431: The territory's internationally approved postal abbreviation of YT . In 2021, territorial government policy was changed so that " The Yukon" would be recommended for use in official territorial government materials. Although officially bilingual (English and French), the Yukon government recognizes First Nations languages. At 5,959 m (19,551 ft), Yukon's Mount Logan , in Kluane National Park and Reserve ,
9100-691: The territory, the Commissioner generally acts on the advice of the Premier of Yukon , who commands the confidence of the elected Legislative Assembly . Unlike lieutenant governors, commissioners are not direct representatives of the King but are instead appointed by the federal government. The Yukon has numerous political parties and candidates who stand for election to the 19 seats in the Yukon Legislative Assembly . Those elected to
9200-588: The time such as Jack London , Robert W. Service , and Jules Verne , and which continues to inspire films and games, such as Mae West's Klondike Annie and The Yukon Trail (see Cultural legacy of the Klondike Gold Rush ) . Executive power in the Yukon is formally vested in the Territorial Commissioner , who plays an analogous role to that of a provincial lieutenant governor . As guarantor of responsible government in
9300-561: The western part of Vancouver Island and the rest of the coast is covered by temperate rainforest . The province's most populous city is Vancouver, which is at the confluence of the Fraser River and Georgia Strait , in the mainland's southwest corner (an area often called the Lower Mainland ). By land area, Abbotsford is the largest city. Vanderhoof is near the geographic centre of the province. The Coast Mountains and
9400-417: Was English at 28,065 ( 85%). The second-most common was 1,455 ( 4%) for French. Among 510 multiple respondents, 140 of them ( 27%) reported a mother tongue of both English and French, while 335 ( 66%) reported English and a " non-official language" and 20 ( 4%) reported French and a " non-official language". The Yukon's Language Act "recognises the significance" of the territory's aboriginal languages in
9500-399: Was accomplished through a letter from Jake Epp , Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, rather than through formal legislation. In preparation for responsible government , political parties were organized and ran candidates to the Yukon Legislative Assembly for the first time in 1978. The Progressive Conservatives won these elections and formed the first party government of
9600-618: Was almost beaten when Forty Mile recorded 36 °C (97 °F) in May 1983. The old record was finally broken 21 years later in June 2004 when the Mayo Road weather station, located just northwest of Whitehorse , recorded a temperature of 36.5 °C (97.7 °F). Long before the arrival of Europeans, the central and southern Yukon was populated by First Nations people, and the area escaped glaciation . Sites of archeological significance in
9700-734: Was chosen by Queen Victoria , when the Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) , i.e., "the Mainland", became a British colony in 1858. It refers to the Columbia District , the British name for the territory drained by the Columbia River , in southeastern British Columbia, which was the namesake of the pre- Oregon Treaty Columbia Department of the Hudson's Bay Company . Queen Victoria chose British Columbia to distinguish what
9800-584: Was designated in 2023. Notable widespread tree species within the Yukon are the black spruce and white spruce . Many trees are stunted because of the short growing season and severe climate. While the average winter temperature in the Yukon is mild by Canadian arctic standards, no other place in North America gets as cold as the Yukon during extreme cold snaps. The temperature has dropped down to −60 °C (−76 °F) three times, 1947, 1952, and 1968. The most extreme cold snap occurred in February 1947 when
9900-872: Was organized into the New Caledonia district, administered from Fort St. James. The interior south of the Thompson River watershed and north of the Columbia was organized into the Columbia District, administered from Fort Vancouver on the lower Columbia River. The northeast corner of the province east of the Rockies, known as the Peace River Block, was attached to the much larger Athabasca District , headquartered in Fort Chipewyan , in present-day Alberta. Until 1849, these districts were
10000-536: Was the British sector of the Columbia District from the United States' ("American Columbia" or "Southern Columbia"), which became the Oregon Territory on August 8, 1848, as a result of the treaty. Ultimately, the Columbia in the name British Columbia is derived from the name of the Columbia Rediviva , an American ship which lent its name to the Columbia River and later the wider region;
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