Description: The combined NWT and Nunavut West grid, section and Unit boundaries in a geographic coordinate system (GCS) North American Datum 1983 (NAD83), is for reference purposes to determine the legal land description references for oil and gas land tenure in the NWT and for mineral and oil and gas land tenure in Nunavut. The grid, section and unit boundaries have a 1 grid cell overlap into Nunavu to ensure complete reference coverage in the easter portion of the NWT.
The land division system used for describing the extent of oil and gas interests located in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut or in Canada's offshore area is defined in the Canada Oil and Gas Land Regulations. This land division system consists of a grid system divided into Grid Areas, Sections, and Units – all referenced to the North American Datum of 1927 (NAD27). This data provides the geo-spatial representation of the NAD27 Oil and Gas Grid Areas referenced to NAD83 Datum. The creation of the Oil and Gas Grid Areas geo-spatial file covers areas that are situated in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut or Sable Island as well as submarine areas, not within a province, in the internal waters of Canada, the territorial sea of Canada or the continental shelf of Canada beyond 200 nm zone. The NAD83 grid area boundaries are defined by geodesics joining the four grid area corners. For sections and units, the eastern and western grid area geodesic boundaries are partitioned into 40 equal segments. The northern and southern grid area geodesic boundaries are partitioned into 40, 32 or 24 equal segments, depending on latitude. All internal corners at the section and unit level are defined by the intersections of north-south and east-west geodesics joining corresponding partition points along the northern and southern, and eastern and western, grid area geodesic boundaries.