Territory (pop., 2001 est.: 40,900), northern Canada.
Bounded by the Hudson Bay , and Nunavut , it stretches across the roof of the North American continent, reaching into the Arctic Circle. The capital is Yellowknife . It includes many islands, including Victoria Island ; the Mackenzie River ; and {{link=Great Bear Lake">Great Bear and Great Slave lakes. More than half the people are Inuit ( Eskimos ) and American Indians. In the 18th century the mainland was explored by Samuel Hearne for the Hudson's Bay Company and by Alexander Mackenzie . European settlers were mainly whalers, fur traders, and missionaries until the 1920s, when oil was discovered and the territorial administration was formed. Mining is the principal industry and centres on the petroleum and natural gas fields in the western Arctic coastal regions.