Yellowknife, the land of the Northern Lights

Sources

Works Cited

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MLA formatting by BibMe.org.

Why you should move to Yellowknife

If you are still hesitating whether you want to move to Yellowknife or not after reading all the wonders of the city, please don't. You won't regret your choice!

The Outdoors

Yellowknife offers a large amount of natural wonders everyday. The untouched wilderness showcases a variety of animals such as caribous, bison, foxes, moose, grizzly bears, and wolves. It is even said that some of these animals might appear lurking in your backyard.

Caribous in Wood Buffalo National Park

Of course, the animals in the area might not interest you. However, there is one event that no other cities in Canada can show: the Northern Lights. The northern lights (a.k.a aurora borealis) is a natural display in the sky caused by the collision of solar winds and magnetospheric charged particles in high altitude atmosphere. This spectacular view can only be beautifully displayed in Yellowknife. As the aurora magnificently sways changing from green, pink, red, and blue, you will forget about all about cold fingers and toes.

Community

With the low population of 19,234, the community will happily greet you to be a part Yellowknife. Due to its low population, you will be able to know most of the people in your area. You will be able to meet people you know by going practically anywhere in the city. This is a breath of fresh air from only hanging around with people you know because they are your neighbors and school friends.

Jobs

Now, even if you want to live in Yellowknife, it would be hard to live without a stable job in a new city. Well, you are in luck! Since there are only 19 thousand people living in the area, the competition for jobs is drastically lower than metropolitan areas, such as Toronto. Also, large amount of available jobs from major companies can be found in Yellowknife, for instance Mark's, Arctic Co-operatives, Stantec, Hak's Auto Body, Clark Builders, and Smart Street Legal Recruitment. High paid jobs such as Relief Aboriginal Cultural Liaison, Ministerial Review Specialist, and Stores officers are available for you.

The Government of Canada building in Yellowknife

Disasters in Yellowknife?

Yellowknife was never known for having the most earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, or volcanic eruption. The only disaster that can happen in Yellowknife is mainly hypothermia. However, these so-called "disasters" can easily prevent casualties or even deaths.

Hypothermia: the condition of having an abnormally low body temperature, typically one that is dangerously low.

How to prevent hypothermia:

1) Look at the weather outside before going out
Before going outside, check the weather outside. If it is -26 degrees outside, it won't be smart to wear shorts and a T-shirt. The weather in Yellowknife will sometimes be fairly harsh, so please stay inside during extreme temperatures unless it is an emergency.

2) Wear multiple layer of clothing
If you desperately need to get out, please wear 2 or more layers of clothing rather wearing 1 thick clothing. The air between the multiple layers will act like an insulation for you since the air will warm up due to your body heat. Here are some tips on what to wear.

1 Layer: Wear thick fabric so that your skin is kept dry
2 Layer: Wear wool or another warm fabric since it breathes and keeps you extremely warm
3 Layer: Wear a waterproof or a windproof on top to protect you from the harsh weather outside (rain, snow, etc)

3) Stay dry outside
Getting wet dramatically and quickly decreases your body temperature. When you are outside, avoid going to wet places to reduce the risk of getting hypothermia.

Map of Yellowknife

Map of Yellowknife (close)

Map of Yellowknife (far)

History of Yellowknife

The name of the city originated from a band of Athabaskan Indian that once lived in the current area before the gold was found. However, after discovering that there is a mass gold reservation in Yellowknife, a group of European prospectors moved to the area in 1935, creating a small town called "Yellowknife". The gold mined and sold from the area created a promising economy, which attracted more bandwagons to be part of the profit. Unfortunately, the gold demand decreased dramatically after the WWII and their economy suffered greatly. Thankfully, larger mines were discovered in 1945, such as the Giant Yellowknife. This boosted the economy greatly and created more major job opportunities, attracting even more immigrants than before. The people living in the area continuously built the city from then so that Yellowknife is what it is today.

The Giant Yellowknife

Water Drainage System in Yellowknife

Fiddler's Lake Lagoon

If you are worried about the water facilities in Yellowknife due to below 0°C temperatures, be happy! The water/waste drainage system is insulated with polystyrene foam so that the fluid will not freeze in the pipe. Yellowknife also has a network of gravity-fed sewage, which means that the sewage will not need any source of pressure to pump down the water. Due to the slanted sewage system, the city won't need to waste power on waste management. In addition, areas that is not covered with the sewage system is provided with trucked water and sewage in and out. The sewage and the waste is pumped to series of lakes called "Fiddler's Lake Lagoon", where it is held and allowed to naturally decompose

The water provided is refined and treated with disinfectants and fluoridation from Yellowknife River. It is then stored in a 9 million liter reservoir. After, it is distributed to the community through 62 km water pipes.
The storm-water system in Yellowknife prevents the water bodies around the city to its natural state. When rain or melted snow is carried away to storm drains or catch basins, it also collects pollutants from roofs, lawns, driveways, parking lots, and roads.

Climate in Yellowknife

Brutal winter in Yellowknife

A family avoiding the cold together

Yellowknife has a harsh reputation due to its extreme climate. It is true that the city has very cold winters (averaging -26°C in January) and warm summers (averaging 17 °C in June). However, the climate in the city is dramatically lower compared to other cites in the same regions, thanks to the Great Slave Lake's humidity. The humidity created by the lake allows the soil in Yellowknife to be "frost-free" for a certain period, which then people can grow local crops. Also, it is a great opportunity to huddle around with your family and staying cozy as well as improving the family's relationship. In addition, you won't need to check the weather outside to determine what to wear, since it will be always be "sweater weather". So no more getting frustrated because it gets too hot in day, and cold in the morning. It will be cold 24/7. Furthermore, Yellowknife offers the community to stay active longer than other regions in Canada. On average, the city is shined with 1034 hours of bright sunshine between June to August, which makes Yellowknife "the sunniest city in Canada". More daylight means more variety of activities enjoyed by both the kids and the parents.

A snowboarder enjoying the view in Yellowknife

As for precipitation, Yellowknife receives the most rain in August (40 mm of rain) and the most snow in November (35 cm of snow). The rain season begins in around May and ends in October, while the snow season starts in November to April. So, winter sports lovers, come over to Yellowknife and enjoy freshly-packed snow!

Thursday 18 September 2014