# Dettah

Dettah, sometimes spelled incorrectly as Detah, is a First Nations community in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Located just southeast of the capital of Yellowknife, it is a 6.5 km (4.0 mi) drive from that city by ice road across the north arm of Great Slave Lake in winter or a 27 km (17 mi) drive via the Ingraham Trail, year-round. The name T'é?ehdaá means 'Burnt Point' in the Wíílíídeh dialect and was simplified to Dettah when non-indigenous people could not pronounce it. The place was a common fishing spot for the Tetsǫ́tʼine (Yellowknives) people and is home to nearly 200 indigenous people.

## Demographics

In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Dettah recorded a population of 192 living in 79 of its 85 total private dwellings, a change of -12.3% from its 2016 population of 219. With a land area of 1.12 km$^2$ (0.43 sq mi), it had a population density of 171.4/km$^2$ in 2021.
Both it and Ndilǫ are the communities of the Yellowknives. Dettah is represented by the Yellowknives Dene First Nation (Dettah) and are part of the Akaitcho Territory Government.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 2001 | 214 | — |
| 2002 | 219 | +2.3% |
| 2003 | 214 | −2.3% |
| 2004 | 230 | +7.5% |
| 2005 | 235 | +2.2% |
| 2006 | 254 | +8.1% |
| 2007 | 250 | −1.6% |
| 2008 | 245 | −2.0% |
| 2009 | 222 | −9.4% |
| 2010 | 221 | −0.5% |
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 2011 | 216 | −2.3% |
| 2012 | 217 | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 226 | +4.1% |
| 2014 | 234 | +3.5% |
| 2015 | 244 | +4.3% |
| 2016 | 247 | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 245 | −0.8% |
| 2018 | 235 | −4.1% |
| 2019 | 234 | −0.4% |
Sources: NWT Bureau of Statistics (2008 - 2019), NWT Bureau of Statistics (2001 - 2017) :

## Gallery

* Bear skin drying
* Kateri Tekakwitha church
* First Nation Band Office
* Kaw Tay Whee School
* The Great Slave Lake at Dettah

## Climate

Dettah has a subarctic climate (Dfc) with long, severely cold winters and short but mild, sometimes warm summers. Dettah and Yellowknife experience the sunniest springs and summers out of all of Canada's cities.
Weather records are from Yellowknife Airport, approximately 9 km (5.6 mi) northwest of Dettah.
Climate data for Yellowknife (Yellowknife Airport) WMO ID: 71936; coordinates 62°27′46″N 114°26′25″W﻿ / ﻿62.46278°N 114.44028°W﻿ / 62.46278; -114.44028﻿ (Yellowknife Airport); elevation: 205.7 m (675 ft); 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1942–present :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high humidex | 2.9 | 6.1 | 8.9 | 20.2 | 25.7 | 34.0 | 35.4 | 34.3 | 27.2 | 18.1 | 6.3 | 1.6 | 35.4 |
| Record high °C (°F) | 3.4 (38.1) | 6.2 (43.2) | 9.3 (48.7) | 20.4 (68.7) | 26.3 (79.3) | 31.1 (88.0) | 32.5 (90.5) | 32.6 (90.7) | 26.1 (79.0) | 19.0 (66.2) | 7.8 (46.0) | 2.8 (37.0) | 32.6 (90.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −21.6 (−6.9) | −18.0 (−0.4) | −10.6 (12.9) | 0.3 (32.5) | 10.4 (50.7) | 18.6 (65.5) | 21.5 (70.7) | 18.4 (65.1) | 10.9 (51.6) | 1.5 (34.7) | −9.0 (15.8) | −18.0 (−0.4) | 0.4 (32.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −25.5 (−13.9) | −22.7 (−8.9) | −16.6 (2.1) | −5.5 (22.1) | 5.3 (41.5) | 13.8 (56.8) | 17.1 (62.8) | 14.5 (58.1) | 7.6 (45.7) | −1.0 (30.2) | −12.6 (9.3) | −21.8 (−7.2) | −4.0 (24.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −29.4 (−20.9) | −27.4 (−17.3) | −22.5 (−8.5) | −11.3 (11.7) | 0.1 (32.2) | 9.0 (48.2) | 12.6 (54.7) | 10.5 (50.9) | 4.2 (39.6) | −3.6 (25.5) | −16.2 (2.8) | −25.6 (−14.1) | −8.3 (17.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −51.2 (−60.2) | −51.2 (−60.2) | −43.3 (−45.9) | −40.6 (−41.1) | −22.8 (−9.0) | −4.4 (24.1) | 0.6 (33.1) | −0.6 (30.9) | −9.7 (14.5) | −28.9 (−20.0) | −44.4 (−47.9) | −48.3 (−54.9) | −51.2 (−60.2) |
| Record low wind chill | −64.0 | −61.0 | −56.8 | −53.2 | −31.8 | −11.2 | 0.0 | −4.8 | −16.4 | −36.3 | −54.7 | −58.9 | −64.0 |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 15.0 (0.59) | 11.0 (0.43) | 14.1 (0.56) | 11.6 (0.46) | 16.3 (0.64) | 28.9 (1.14) | 40.4 (1.59) | 44.0 (1.73) | 43.0 (1.69) | 28.8 (1.13) | 25.8 (1.02) | 15.1 (0.59) | 293.9 (11.57) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.2 (0.01) | 2.9 (0.11) | 12.2 (0.48) | 28.0 (1.10) | 40.4 (1.59) | 44.0 (1.73) | 39.9 (1.57) | 12.0 (0.47) | 0.5 (0.02) | 0.0 (0.0) | 180.2 (7.09) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 21.7 (8.5) | 16.1 (6.3) | 19.2 (7.6) | 9.9 (3.9) | 4.5 (1.8) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 3.0 (1.2) | 20.1 (7.9) | 36.9 (14.5) | 23.7 (9.3) | 155.0 (61.0) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 11.1 | 9.3 | 8.6 | 4.8 | 5.7 | 7.0 | 9.5 | 11.2 | 12.2 | 13.7 | 14.6 | 11.5 | 119.1 |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 0.09 | 0.04 | 0.25 | 1.2 | 4.4 | 6.8 | 9.5 | 11.2 | 11.6 | 5.8 | 0.82 | 0.13 | 51.9 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 12.4 | 10.3 | 9.5 | 4.1 | 1.9 | 0.04 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 9.6 | 16.0 | 13.2 | 78.2 |
| Average relative humidity (%) (at 15:00 LST) | 68.5 | 64.6 | 56.4 | 52.8 | 46.0 | 45.3 | 49.0 | 57.1 | 64.7 | 75.9 | 80.7 | 73.0 | 61.2 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 50.6 | 107.3 | 188.4 | 276.4 | 335.7 | 373.8 | 358.0 | 276.2 | 157.7 | 65.0 | 42.7 | 24.6 | 2,256.5 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 26.8 | 43.5 | 51.8 | 62.2 | 60.8 | 63.0 | 61.2 | 55.5 | 40.3 | 21.0 | 20.2 | 15.4 | 43.5 |
| Average ultraviolet index | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Source 1: Environment and Climate Change Canada (sun 1981–2010) ||||||||||||||
| Source 2: Weather Atlas ||||||||||||||