The Yukon

The Yukon

Yukon (formerly called the Yukon Territory and referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It is the third-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 45,148 as of 2023. However, Whitehorse, the territorial capital, is the largest settlement in any of the three territories. Yukon was split from the Northwest Territories in 1898 as the Yukon Territory. The federal government's Yukon Act, which received royal assent on March 27, 2002, established "Yukon" as the territory's official name, although Yukon Territory remains in popular usage. Canada Post uses the territory's internationally approved postal abbreviation of YT. In 2021, territorial government policy was changed so that "The Yukon" would be recommended for use in official territorial government materials. Although officially bilingual (English and French), the Yukon government recognizes First Nations languages. At 5,959 m (19,551 ft), Yukon's Mount Logan, in Kluane National Park and Reserve, is the highest mountain in Canada and the second-highest on the North American continent (after Denali in the U.S. state of Alaska). Most of the Yukon has a subarctic climate, characterized by long, cold winters and brief, warm summers. The coastal area along the Arctic Ocean has a tundra climate.

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