Territorial North Flashcards
Represents which territories
Yukon
Northwest Territories
Nunavut
represent Canada’s last frontier
rich in natural resources but slow to develop
how is the population of territorial north?
largest in area, smallest in pop
- one of the most sparsely populated areas on Earth
- Indigenous Peoples are the majority of Pop
It extends over which 4 physiographic regions
Canadian shield
Interior Plains Cordillera
Arctic Archipelago
What is the vegetation consist of?
tundra, mosses, some grasses and shrubs
What is the area classified as?
desert bc precipitation is less than 250mm per year
how is the climate like?
summers are short + snowfall anytime of the year
Where is this region located?
most of it located north of Arctic Circle (66.5N line of latitude)
significance of this line
- any location north of it will experience at least one day in a year when the sun does not rise and one day when the sun does not set
How has climate change affected these regions?
- temps expected to warm more in polar regions
- summers forecasted to mostly be ice-free in Arctic Ocean and Hudson Bay by 2050
- pop of polar bears + caribou likely be greatly reduced
- melting ice and snow leads to even more warming; positive feedback cycle
What was the area in this region formerly known as?
Rupert’s Land
Who declared ownership of this land as a result of early discovery and exploration?
Britian
What happened to this region?
Until end of WW2 fed govt generally ignored the Territorial North leaving Indigenous Peoples there to live off the land
Territorial North served as buffer zone btwn soviet union and rest of NA after WW2, RADAR stations were constructed along 70 N line of latitude. What did they do?
To detect potential Soviet bombers + allow sufficient response time for US fighter planes to destroy them
How is the Indigenous population?
high birth rate , low death rate, accounting for high population growth is entirely natural increase
What is Territorial North dependent on
non-renewable resources
- region is vulnerable to sharp fluctuations in both prices + global demand for its exports
- economy has been subjected to boom-and-bust cycles
Who found Baffin island while searching for a route to Asia
Martin Frobisher
- battle btwn his crew and Inuit
- many of inuit succumbed to disease soon after
- Community of Frobisher Bay was renamed Iqaluit but bay through which he travelled retains his name
What is the continuous pass to Asia through Territorial North
waterway referred to as Northwest Passage
Who are the 2 groups of Indigenous Peoples that inhabited the region
Inuit and Dene
Where do Dene live?
areas in NWT
historically hunted caribou in tundra-boreal transition vegetation region
EU whalers pushing farther west had to spend Winter on nearby land, they met Unit and traded what?
Inuit hunt and provide meat for whalers in return for knives and rifles
What led to the establishment of trading posts in Territorial North?
Demand for Arctic fox pelt in EU
- Inuit heavily involved in fur trade, it dominated their economy
Continued arrivals brought what diseases?
measles
smallpox
other spreadable diseases Inuit had no immunity to
why did Inuit relocate to settlements
- seen as necessary to protect them from hardships living off the land
- concentrating people in settlements allowed the fed govt to provide them w/ services efficiently
how did relocation of Inuit positively affect them
- food security
-access to medical services - public education
how did relocation of Inuit negatively impact them
-sense of cultural devaluation due to loss of traditional hunting culture
- social issues related to poverty + unemployment
Inuit settlements in Nunavut have the highest rates of waht in Canada
suicide and alcoholism
What is a positive outcome of settlement life for Inuit
educated Indigenous leaders helped lead negotiations for land claim agreements across Canada
What does Nunavut mean in Inuktitut
our land
what are the offical languages in Nunavut
English, French, Inuktitut
What form of govt did the Inuit establish?
public form
- such that both Inuit and non-Inuit residents have equal political rights
- as objective of nunavut govt is to promote inuit traditional culture
What is Inuit Traditional Culture?
values include:
- strong attachment to land
- country food (food obtained directly from land or water by means of hunting or fishing)
- ethic of sharing
Why have the European Union banned import of seal pelts
they believe it is inhumane killing; this has negatively affected the Inuit economy
What are the main commercial elements of the economy
energy and mining
- based on 2 components:
- extration of natural resources
- transfer payments from fed govt
Where are the transportation routes?
few transportation routes due to high cost of construction and sparse population
- nunavut does not have any highways or railroads
- winter roads connect some mining sites with year-round highways
what are winter roads
temporary road over frozen river or lake
What are megaprojects
resource development projects controlled by large multinational corporations
Why do megaprojects in this region have limited life span
all megaproejcts in this region are based on non-renewable resources
Why arent megaprojects necessarily beneficial to Territorial North even if megaprojects create development?
- construction equipment + supplies are manufactured outside the reigon
- negative impact on landscape
- many workers live in provinces + spend their wages in their home communities there
- workers form the provinces pay income tax to provincial rather than territorial govt
