Northwest Territories: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

Nov. 13, 2026

News •

Parks Canada to shut down 3 northern warden detachments, centralize in Yellowknife • Nov. 11, 2026, 12:06 PM ET (CBC)

Is the N.W.T. ready for the Mackenzie Valley Highway? • Nov. 8, 2026, 1:45 PM ET (CBC)

N.W.T. Speaker again tells MLAs to behave on social media • Nov. 7, 2026, 11:04 AM ET (CBC)

N.W.T. government releases new energy and climate change strategy • Nov. 6, 2026, 7:45 PM ET (CBC)

Federal budget funds team to manage N.W.T. major projects • Nov. 6, 2026, 10:32 AM ET (CBC)

Facts

Capital	Yellowknife
Population	(2021) 41,070; (2025 est.) 45,950
Date Of Admission	1870
Territorial Motto	none
Territorial Flower	mountain avens
Seats In House Of Commons	1 (of 337)
Time Zone	Mountain (GMT − 7 hours)
Premier	R.J. Simpson (no political affiliation)
Total Area (Sq Km)	1,346,106
Total Area (Sq Mi)	519,735

Photos

Northwest Territories flag

Political map of the Northwest Territories in northern Canada, showing major cities, towns, and political subdivision boundaries. The map highlights key locations such as Yellowknife (the capital), Inuvik, Fort Smith, and Tuktoyaktuk, as well as neighboring regions including Yukon, Nunavut, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Alaska. An inset locator map in the bottom left corner shows the position of the Northwest Territories within Canada.

Northwest Territories

Map of the Northwest Territories in northern Canada showing major physical features such as rivers, lakes, islands, peninsulas, and mountain ranges. The map includes boundaries with Alaska, Yukon, Nunavut, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, as well as the Arctic Ocean and Beaufort Sea to the north. Key features labeled include Mackenzie River, Great Bear Lake, Great Slave Lake, Victoria Island, Banks Island, and Nahanni National Park. A small locator map in the bottom left hi

Mackenzie
River

A woman in winter clothing rides a sled pulled by four dogs across a snowy trail on Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories, with trees and distant shoreline in the background.

caribou: migration

Oil rig, Northwest Territories, Canada.

Great Slave Lake: public ice road

residential school in Canada

See All Images →

Topics

William McDougall Sir John Richardson Alexander Morris Canada territory Yellowknife Fort Smith Inuvik Tuktoyaktuk Hay River Nunavut Yukon Greenland Isle of Man Guam Gibraltar Bermuda Faroe Islands Jersey Aruba

default image

William McDougall

Canadian politician

default image

Sir John Richardson

Scottish surgeon and explorer

Morris, Alexander

Alexander Morris

Canadian statesman

Rasmussen, Knud

Knud Rasmussen

Greenlander polar explorer

Stefansson

Vilhjalmur Stefansson

Canadian polar explorer

default image

Henry Youle Hind

Canadian educator, geologist, and explorer

Back; detail of a pencil and chalk drawing by W. Brockedon, 1824–29; in the National Portrait Gallery, London

Sir George Back

British explorer

Canada

country, North America

Yellowknife

Yellowknife

Northwest Territories, Canada

Wood Buffalo National Park

Fort Smith

Northwest Territories, Canada

Inuvik, Canada

Inuvik

Northwest Territories, Canada

pingo

Tuktoyaktuk

Northwest Territories, Canada

default image

Hay River

Northwest Territories, Canada

The Alaskan mountain ranges and the Mackenzie and Yukon river basins and their drainage networks.

Mackenzie River

river, Canada

dogsledding across Great Slave Lake

Great Slave Lake

lake, Canada

White pelicans on the Slave River, near Fort Smith, South Slave district, southern Northwest Territories, Canada.

Fort Smith

region, Northwest Territories, Canada

Kazan River

Barren Grounds

region, Canada

Thelon River

Thelon River

river, Canada

default image

Banks Island

island, Northwest Territories, Canada

Coppermine River

Coppermine River

river, Canada

default image

Prince Patrick Island

island, Canada

default image

Meighen Island

island, Northwest Territories, Canada