Yellowknife is situated
on the north shore of Great Slave Lake, the
fifth largest lake in North America and the
ninth largest lake in the world.
Yellowknife is home to over 19,000 people.
Interestingly, Yellowknife has almost half
of the population of the entire Northwest
Territories! Yellowknife boasts one of the
fastest growing populations in Canada. It
has twice been recognized by national surveys
as one of the top ten places to live in Canada.
The recent discovery of diamonds north of
Yellowknife rivals the early boom days of
gold, earning Yellowknife the title…Diamond
Capital of North America. In addition, Yellowknife
is the business, political, transportation
and communications center of the Northwest
Territories.
A
little bit of history
Yellowknife is a town built
on a rich gold mining heritage. Yellowknife
began in the 1930’s when gold was discovered.
In fact, the city of Yellowknife is built
on gold with mine tunnels burrowing deep beneath
the city streets.
Despite it’s strong ties to gold, the
name Yellowknife does not derive from gold
but from copper. So how did Yellowknife get
its name? It actually goes back much further
than the 1930s. In 1770, when Samuel Hearne
was exploring the Great Slave Lake area, he
encountered a tribe of Aboriginal people who
used copper-bladed, yellow-colored knives.
Fur traders soon began to refer to these people
as the Yellowknives, and the tribe’s
home become known as Yellowknife.
It wasn’t until 1896 that gold was discovered
but because of the inaccessibility of the
land, the rush did not begin until the 1930s.
Aviation opened the North and the city began
to grow and expand its boundaries in the 1940s
and 1950s.
Yellowknife became the capital in 1967 and
was declared a city in 1970. In fact, it is
actually the only ‘city’ in the
Northwest Territories.
Home
to the ‘Northern Lights’
Yellowknife is one of the best locations
in the world for viewing the aurora borealis
or northern lights. People come from all over
the world to Yellowknife during the winter
months to see the unique and beautiful northern
lights.
You may wonder why these northern lights occur?
Well, to put it simply, the aurora or northern
lights result from forms of electromagnetic
energy that are drawn to the earths’
poles, literally charging the atmosphere and
causing it to glow.
Some
fun facts
For
those into fishing, lake trout have tipped
the scales at over 70 lbs and Northern
Pike at over 30 lbs.
Who
says Yellowknife doesn’t have its
share of celebrity ties? A piece of Hollywood
can actually be found in Yellowknife.
A small street in Old Town, Lois Lane,
was named after Superman’s girlfriend
played by Margot Kidder, who was born
in Yellowknife. Also, Ragged Ass Road,
which inspired Tom Cochrane’s album,
is located in Yellowknife.
Yellowknife
sits on the North shore of Great Slave
Lake. The Mackenzie River, originating
from this lake, drains into the Arctic
Ocean. Together with its tributaries,
it is the longest river in the world.
Yellowknife
ranks #1 among all Canadian cities for
summer sunshine. In June alone, there
are over 375 hours of sunshine.
.
Local
Yellowknife Map
Need to find a specific
place in Yellowknife? Just click
here to view a map of Yellowknife
