Yellowknife, Northwest Territories - Definition and Overview

Yellowknife (62°27′N, 114°21′W MST) is the territorial capital of Canada's Northwest Territories, and the only settlement in the territory to be legally a city. The city is located on the shore of Great Slave Lake. Its name derives from the copper knives used by the local Chipewyans and Dene who moved into the area in the early 1800s. The current population is ethnically mixed, and the territory government lists five languages as spoken in significant numbers: Chipewyan, Dogrib, South and North Slavey, English, and French.

In 1896 miners on their way to the Klondike discovered gold at Yellowknife Bay, but no "gold rush" occured until the 1930s, when aircraft travel made the place more accessible.

Gold was found on the east side of Yellowknife Bay in 1934, and by 1936 several companies were sinking shaft on gold claims.

The population grew quickly to 1000 by 1940.

By 1944 gold production has ceased. Due mainly to the fact than many men were now needed in the war effort.

On September 18, 1992, at the height of a labour dispute between the striking Canadian Association of Smelter and Allied Workers and Royal Oak Mines Incorporated, an explosion in the mine shaft of Giant Mine killed 9 replacement workers. Mine employee Roger Warren was later convicted of placing a bomb.

In 1998 a new mining rush began with the opening of the Ekati Diamond Mine 300 km northeast of the city. A second mine, Diavik Diamond Mine, began production in 2003.

The local, provincial, and federal governments are the largest employer, with gold mining second. It became the capital of the Northwest Territories in 1967. In Dogrib, the town is called Somba K'e (where the money is).

Community profile

According to the 2001 Statistics Canada census:

External link

• Official website (http://www.city.yellowknife.nt.ca/)