Yukon ( (listen); French: [jykɔ̃]; also commonly called the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three federal territories (the other two are the Northwest Territories and Nunavut). It has the smallest population of any province or territory in Canada, with 35,874 people. Whitehorse is the territorial capital and Yukon's only city.
Yukon was split from the Northwest Territories in 1898 and was originally named the Yukon Territory. The federal government's Yukon Act, which received royal assent on March 27, 2002, established Yukon as the territory's official name, though Yukon Territory is also still popular in usage and Canada Post continues to use the territory's internationally approved postal abbreviation of YT. Though officially bilingual (English and French), the Yukon Government also recognizes First Nations languages.
At 5,959 m (19,551 ft), Yukon's Mount Logan, in Kluane National Park and Reserve, is the highest mountain in Canada and the second-highest on the North American continent (after Denali in the U.S. state of Alaska). Most of Yukon has a subarctic climate, characterized by long cold winters and brief warm summers. The Arctic Ocean coast has a tundra climate.
Notable rivers include the Yukon River (after which the territory was named), as well as the Pelly, Stewart, Peel, White, and Tatshenshini rivers.