PRESENTS
Yukon Territory
Quick Fact Sheet
Yukon Territory Coat of Arms
Yukon Territory Flag
| Capital City: | Whitehorse |
| Date Entered Confederation: | June 13, 1898 |
| Area: | 483,450 Sq Km |
| Population: | Click Here for Population Page |
| Motto: | no official motto |
| Known As: | Canada's True North |
| Territory Flower: | Fireweed |
| Territory Bird: | Common Raven |
| Territory Tree: | Sub-Arctic Fir |
| Commissioner: | Hon. Doug Phillips |
| Premier: | Hon. Dennis G. Fentie |
| Political Party: | Yukon Party |
| Main Products: | Tourism is significant. Some furs are harvested. Mining is the basis of the economy. Lead, zinc, and copper have been mined, as well as gold. Fluctuation in world metal prices in the late 1970s and early 1980s sharply reduced the Yukon's mining activity, and many mines were shut down. |
The Yukon Territory in located in Canada's northwest. The perimeters of this mountainous territory form a rough triangle bordered on the south by British Columbia, on the west by the US state of Alaska and on the east by the Northwest Territory. The northern tip of the triangle meets the chilly waters of the Beaufort Sea. Mount Logan, Canada's highest peak at 6,000 m, is located in southwestern Yukon.
The Yukon can be divided into two broad geographical regions: taiga and tundra. Taiga is the boreal forest belt that circles the world in the subarctic zone, including most of the Yukon. Tundra is the vast, rocky plain in the arctic regions, where the extreme climate has stunted vegetation.
The Yukon has a subarctic climate. The high altitude of much of the territory and the semi-arid climate provide relatively warm summers with temperatures frequently reaching 25°C or more during the long summer days. In winter the temperature ranges between +4 and -50°C in the south and slightly colder farther north.
Above the Arctic Circle (latitude 66° north ), the Yukon is known as "the land of the midnight sun", because in the three months of summer, sunlight is almost continuous. In winter, however, darkness sets in, and the light of day is not seen for a quarter of the year.
(Text courtesy Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade)
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