Natural Resources Canada > Earth Sciences Sector > Mapping Services Branch > Geographical Names of Canada
Geographical Names of the Northwest Territories
Hay River
The Hudson's Bay Company post was established about 1868 and appears on
the company lists in 1872. The name is descriptive, indicating an
abundance of grass or hay in the area.
Source: Hamilton William B. (1978): The Macmillan Book of
Canadian Place Names, Macmillan of Canada, Toronto, p. 320.
Related Sites:
Inuvik
Established in 1955 as an administrative centre for the Mackenzie Delta.
The name is from the Inuit for "the place of man".
Source: Hamilton William B. (1978): The Macmillan Book of
Canadian Place Names, Macmillan of Canada, Toronto, p. 321.
Related Site:
Fort Smith
The early site was known as both Fort York and Rapids of the Drowned.
The Hudson's Bay Company post dated from 1874 and honours Donald A.
Smith, Baron Strathcona (1820-1914), one-time governor of the Hudson's
Bay Company, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and a member of
the first Council of the Northwest Territories.
Source: Hamilton William B. (1978): The Macmillan Book of
Canadian Place Names, Macmillan of Canada, Toronto, p. 318.
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