Boreal forests in the south fade to barren tundra in the north of this back-of-beyond spanning two time zones. The short growing season of only about 70 frost-free days makes commercial agriculture impossible.

Native peoples make up more than half the sparse population and continue to support themselves by trapping muskrat, lynx, mink, beaver, and marten. Inuit, who live in the northern reaches of the territories, have suffered economically since the collapse of the sealskin market. Great Slave Lake, rich in whitefish and trout, is the major center for fishing.

In 1999 the region divided into two territories—the smaller, western area continues to be known as Northwest Territories; the eastern portion, which incorporates 60 percent of the original area, became Nunavut.