Which river, flowing through the Northwest Territories, is the second-longest river system in North America?
- The Fraser River
- The Mackenzie River
- The St. Lawrence River
- The Yukon River
Answer: The Mackenzie River
The Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories is 4,200 kilometres long. It is the second-longest river system in North America, after the Mississippi, and drains an area of 1.8 million square kilometres.
Learn more: Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Canadian Rangers
- The Northwest Territories were formed in 1870 from Rupert’s Land and the North-Western Territory.
- Yellowknife, the N.W.T. capital (about 20,000 people), is called the “diamond capital of North America.”
- More than half of the N.W.T. population is Aboriginal (Dene, Inuit and Métis).
- The Mackenzie River (4,200 km) is North America’s second-longest river system after the Mississippi. It drains 1.8 million km².
- Nunavut means “our land” in Inuktitut. It was created in 1999 from the eastern part of the N.W.T., including the former District of Keewatin.
- Iqaluit, Nunavut’s capital, was formerly Frobisher Bay, named after English explorer Martin Frobisher (1576, for Queen Elizabeth I).
- Nunavut’s 22-member Legislative Assembly chooses the premier and ministers by consensus.
- About 85% of Nunavut’s people are Inuit. Inuktitut is an official language and the first language in schools.
- The Canadian Rangers are part of the Canadian Forces Reserves (militia) and draw on indigenous knowledge and experience.
- Rangers travel by snowmobile in winter and all-terrain vehicle in summer, from Resolute to the Magnetic North Pole.