The Pilots Monument is a popular viewpoint to visit when in the community of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. The Pilot Monument is located high up on "The Rock" in Old Town (a historical section of Yellowknife) surrounded by history, islands, boats, floatplanes and water.
From the Pilots Monument viewing deck travelers will enjoy views of Great Slave Lake, Back Bay, Yellowknife Bay, Old Town, Jolliffe Island, Frame Lake and the community of Yellowknife. There are colorful houseboats, some anchored others moving along, sharing the coastline with boats and floatplanes off the coast of Jolliffe Island and Back Bay.
The monument attraction is dedicated to the bush pilots and engineers whos lives were lost as they flew the wilderness skies of the Northwest Territory during the 1920s and 30s. An original plaque was first created in 1967. In 1999 a new plaque was created to better remember all the cultures who played a part in the emergence of the Northwest Territory.
The Bush Pilot and engineer played an instrumental role in the early development stages of the Northwest Territory. Bush Pilots transported supplies and people to remote villages, mining camps and oil operations. The engineers mapped out rivers, lakes and mountain passages. The same routes we use today for our NWT highways, flight paths and roads.
The Pilot Monument sits on "The Rock". The massive rock outcropping has always been a landmark since the beginning days of Yellowknife. When flat land was hard to come by, every rocky corner of Old Town was occupied with either a tent, shack or building. The water tanks supplying fresh water to Old Town use to be stored up on "The Rock". Today, "The Rock" is the site of one of Yellowknife's sightseeing natural attractions.
Photo: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Bush_pilots_monument_close_up.JPG