Permafrost and groundwater
Most of the Northwest Territories is covered by either the Canadian Shield or permafrost (permanently frozen ground), both of which inhibit the flow of groundwater. The major exceptions include the Mackenzie Mountains in the Northwest Territories and Yukon, and the limestone terrain southwest of Great Slave Lake, where soils, fractured rock, and glacial debris provide material that can store and release groundwater.
On a local scale, the seasonal development of a thawed "active layer" above the permafrost can provide permeable pathways for the subsurface movement of water contaminants.
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