Northwest Territories operates on Mountain Standard Time (MST) during winter months, which is 7 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC-7). During daylight saving time, observed from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, NWT switches to Mountain Daylight Time (MDT), which is UTC-6.
Most of Northwest Territories follows the same timezone. Yellowknife, the territorial capital, along with Hay River, Inuvik, and Fort Smith all observe MST/MDT. NWT shares the same timezone as Alberta, making coordination with southern Canada straightforward.
Northwest Territories is one of the best places in the world to see the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis), with Yellowknife often called the "Aurora Capital of North America." The territory is also home to Great Slave Lake, the deepest lake in North America at 614 meters (2,014 feet). NWT covers about 13% of Canada's total area but has fewer than 45,000 residents.