The Mackenzie Mountains in Nahanni National Park are one of the three mountain ranges through which the South Nahanni River flows.
 

A group explores South Nahanni River in rubber "canoes". To the Slave tribe of Athabascan Indians the river was always Nahadeh -- Powerful River, a river whose magic force was able to connect the spirit of man with that or nature. Within the park's 4765 square kilometres (1840 square miles) there is much that is memorable and powerful : canyon systems among the deepest on Earth, hoodoos (mushroom-shaped rocks), hot springs, seemingly bottomless lakes, and extensive cave systems. In 1979 UNESCO proclaimed Nahanni National Park the first World Heritage Site, to be preserved for all mankind.

Virginia Falls is in Nahanni National Park. Untouched, unharnessed, Virginia Falls is one of the continent's superlatives. The South Nahanni River explodes over the falls, which are more than one and a half times the height of Niagara. The portion of the river on the south side plunges 90 metres (295 feet) straight down, while the centre smashes against a pillar of limestome, and the north falls 52 metres (171 feet). Often rainbow crosses rainbow in the resulting fury of water and mist.
 
 
 

Nunavut

On April 1, 1999, the new territory of Nunavut came into being, taking in the central and eastern portions of the Northwest Territories. Nunavut means "our land" in Inuktitut, the Inuit language.
 

Caribou gather at Repulse Bay, Nunavut. Herds as large as 100000 annually migrate 1900 kilometres (1180 miles) withing the Canadian and American North. This prehistoric trek takes them from winter to summer feeding grounds and back, and has convinced Canadian and United States governments to work out a joint caribou management policy. Caribou are admirably suited for the North because of their coarse, compact hair. Their fur is the warmest known.
Some of Canada's Inuit are returning to the challenge and the joy of the Hunt.

"In the spring when the sun never sets
And when calm glassy waters roamed the morning seas,
Oh, those were the happy times.

When birds and seals
Lived only for playing,
Oh, those were the happy times.

When we would stay up all night,
Looking for birds' nests,
Oh, those were the happy times.

When the sun began to warm the morning air
And my sister could no longer keep her eyes open,
Oh, those were the happy times.

When I, too, fought the coming sleep,
But my dreams would win in the end,
Oh, those were the happy times."

Lucy Evaloardjuak, Eskimo resident of Pond Inlet
 
 
 
 

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