Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Downtown_Yellowknife.jpg
Author: Mark


Yellowknife is the capital and largest city in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Located at an elevation of 206 m (675 ft), it covers 136 sq km (53 sq mi) and has a population of approximately 20,000 people (2012 estimate).

Yellowknife is situated on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake. It is just 400 km (250 mi) south of the Arctic Circle. It got its name after the First Nations people living in the area, the Yellowknife Indians.

Yellowknife has quite a short history, having been established only in 1935, following the discovery of gold in the area. In 1967 it was made the capital of the Northwest Territories. By the 1980s, the gold was becoming exhausted, and the city shifted its focus from mining to government services. Then in 1991, diamonds were discovered, and the city revisited its mining role once again.

Yellowknife experiences a subarctic climate. July is the warmest month, when the average high temperature rises to 21.1°C (70°F). On the other hand the average low temperature in January may drop to -30.9°C (-23.6°F). The city receives only 164.5 mm (6.476 in) of rain a year, or 280.7 mm (11 in) of total precipitation. August is the wettest month while November receives the heaviest snowfall.

The Aurora Borealis as seen in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Northern_Lights_at_Yellowknife.jpg
Author: Xander

Visiting Yellowknife

Yellowknife Airport (YZF) gets regular daily flights from Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

Places of Interest in Yellowknife

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