District of Keewatin - Definition

The District of Keewatin was a distinct entity from Keewatin Region, Northwest Territories, although much of their territory overlapped.

The District of Keewatin was a portion of Canada's Northwest Territories. The District was created in 1876 and eliminated in 1999. It covered 228,160 square miles.

The District of Keewatin was one of three districts in the Northwest Territories. The other two were the District of Mackenzie and the District of Franklin. Keewatin covered the portion of the Northwest Territories north of Manitoba on the mainland, and all isles with Hudson, James, and Ungava bays.

Because of the harsh winters and lack of inland roads, settlement of the isolated district by whites was poor, and even the native Inuit population was sparse: in 1950, there were just 2,000 persons in the entire district.

On April 1, 1999, the Keewatin Region was formally dissolved, as the Nunavut Territory was created from eastern parts of the Northwest Territories, including all of Keewatin.

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