🗺️ Chapter 10: Canada's Regions
10.6.1 The Northern Territories
2 paragraphs · 4 questions
The Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon are the three territories. Together they take up one-third of Canada's land, yet in the 2012 figures only about 100,000 people lived there. The rock holds gold, lead, copper, diamonds and zinc, and mines bring all of these out. Oil and gas deposits are being developed too. People call the region the "Land of the Midnight Sun." At the height of summer, daylight can last a full 24 hours. In winter the sun disappears and three months of darkness follow.
Key Facts
- Three territories cover one-third of Canada's land mass
- Only about 100,000 people, as of the 2012 guide
- Mines produce gold, lead, copper, diamonds and zinc
- "Land of the Midnight Sun"; three months of winter darkness
Up in the territories, winters run long and cold while summers stay short and cool. Tundra covers much of the land - a vast rocky Arctic plain. Its climate is so cold that trees cannot grow there, and the ground never thaws. Hunting, fishing and trapping still provide a living for some people. Hunters prize the caribou, or reindeer, which also symbolises Canada's North. Inuit art finds buyers across Canada and right around the world.
Key Facts
- Winters are long and cold; summers short and cool
- Tundra: a rocky Arctic plain with no trees and frozen soil
- Caribou, or reindeer, are hunted and symbolise the North
- Inuit art is sold across Canada and worldwide
Test yourself on this topic
4 practice questions from “The Northern Territories”, each with the answer explained.
- How much of Canada's land mass do the three northern territories cover?
- About how many people live in Canada's three northern territories?
- Why is the North called the "Land of the Midnight Sun"?
- What is the tundra?
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