While I was out in Alberta for my neice Amanda's wedding in 2008 (see Calgary for photos of this) I decided to hop up to Yellowknife, more or less because I hadn't been there before. There I spent a day and a half, on foot, wandering the town. These photos are divided into views of the built environment of this largest of Canada's territorial capitals, and of the surrounding scenery.
Photo List (Total 183 Photos)
Click bolded headers below to view, or click "just the best" for quick tour
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Yellowknife old city (70 photos) - The "old" city of Yellowknife, surrounding the big rock outcrop called, "The Rock", and nestled into the shores of Great Slave Lake. This area is home to most of the city's historical buildings, and some interesting houses. It is also where boats dock, and where floatplanes make their entrance into the city. These photos show most of these, plus houses along the famous Ragged Ass Road, and the many houseboats which dot Great Slave Lake.
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Yellowknife new city (64 photos) - In the 1960's, planners decided to extend Yellowknife to the west, up a long hill, and this is where a series of gridded streets currently house most of what would be called downtown (streets are north-south in orientation, avenues are east-west, and the numbers for both oddly begin in the late 40's, meaning that there is a 55th Street, but no 3rd Street). This section of town houses the city's few tall buildings, and housing that is mostly bungalows. It is oriented away from Great Slave Lake, but several of the most significant buildings (City Hall, the Legislature, and the Arts Centre) border on Frame Lake. These photos show all of those, including Franklin Street (or 50th Avenue, the main street) and the Lakeview Cemetery.
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Yellowknife setting (40 photos) - I was stunned by a large scale map of the NWT around Yellowknife that I came across in the public library, you couldn't put your fingertip anywhere on it without it hitting two or three lakes. Though I did not have a car and so my wandering was restricted to the city, I did take a hike around Frame Lake, which gave some small idea of the land surrounding Yellowknife in the territories: boggy ground, scraped mossy rocks, and stunted trees in a strangely beautiful setting. It reminded me of the Ottawa valley, but harder. These photos are of that walk, and also include Great Slave Lake.
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Yellowknife views (9 photos) - This small group of photos includes two panoramas of the city, and various other views, some from my walk around Frame Lake, and others from atop "The Rock" in the old city.
