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87-571: The longest river in Alaska and Yukon, it was one of the principal means of transportation during the 1896–1903 Klondike Gold Rush . A portion of the river in Yukon—"The Thirty Mile" section, from Lake Laberge to the Teslin River —is a national heritage river and a unit of Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park . Paddle-wheel riverboats continued to ply the river until the 1950s, when

174-577: A lake in Yukon and northern British Columbia , Canada. The lake is 119 kilometres (74 mi) long and averages 3.2 km (2 mi) wide with an area of 354.48 km (136.87 sq mi), about two thirds of which is in British Columbia. The average depth is 62 m (203 ft) and maximum depth is 307 m (1,007 ft). It has two arms, the Taku Arm in the east which

261-572: A cabin. Premiums of $ 100 ($ 2,700), however, were soon paid and the steamship companies hesitated to post their rates in advance since they could increase on a daily basis. Those who landed at Skagway made their way over the White Pass before cutting across to Bennett Lake . Although the trail began gently, it progressed over several mountains with paths as narrow as 2 feet (0.61 m) and in wider parts covered with boulders and sharp rocks. Under these conditions horses died in huge numbers, giving

348-542: A day. From Seattle or San Francisco, prospectors could travel by sea up the coast to the ports of Alaska. The route following the coast is now referred to as the Inside Passage . It led to the ports of Dyea and Skagway plus ports of nearby trails. The sudden increase in demand encouraged a range of vessels to be pressed into service including old paddle wheelers , fishing boats, barges, and coal ships still full of coal dust. All were overloaded and many sank. It

435-823: A remote area, made the control of the borders a sensitive issue. Early on in the gold rush, the US Army sent a small detachment to Circle City, in case intervention was required in the Klondike, while the Canadian government considered excluding all American prospectors from the Yukon Territory. Neither eventuality took place and instead the US agreed to make Dyea a sub-port of entry for Canadians, allowing British ships to land Canadian passengers and goods freely there, while Canada agreed to permit American miners to operate in

522-574: A well-known American scout and explorer, arrived from Africa, only to be called back to take part in the Second Boer War . Among those who documented the rush was the Swedish-born photographer Eric Hegg , who took some of the iconic pictures of Chilkoot Pass, and reporter Tappan Adney , who afterwards wrote a first-hand history of the stampede. Jack London , later a famous American writer, left to seek for gold but made his money during

609-460: A wheel, which pulled a rope running to the top and back; freight was loaded on sledges pulled by the rope. Five more tramways soon followed, one powered by a steam engine , charging between 8 and 30 cents ($ 2 and $ 8) per 1 pound (0.45 kg). An aerial tramway was built in the spring of 1898, able to move 9 tonnes of goods an hour up to the summit. At Lakes Bennett and Lindeman, the prospectors camped to build rafts or boats that would take them

696-512: Is accessible from the Yukon at Pitkas Point), and Mountain Village . After Mountain Village, the main Yukon channel frays into many channels, sprawling across the delta. There are a number of communities after the "head of passes," as the channel division is called locally: Nunum Iqua , Alakanuk , Emmonak , and Kotlik . Of those delta communities, Emmonak is the largest with roughly 760 people in

783-531: Is also performed along the river in summer by barge , enabling heavy goods, oil, and vehicles to be transported to communities along the Yukon, Tanana, Innoko, and Koyukuk rivers. This service is performed by Ruby Marine and reaches Tanana on the Yukon River and Nenana on the Tanana River. Some of the upper slopes of this watershed (e.g. Nulato Hills ) are forested by Black Spruce . This locale near

870-601: Is no vowel nasalization. In the 1840s, different tribes had different opinions as to the literal meaning of Yukon . In 1843, the Holikachuks had told the Russian-American Company that their name for the river was Yukkhana and that this name meant big river . However, Yukkhana does not literally correspond to a Holikachuk phrase that means big river . Then, two years later, the Gwich'ins told

957-488: Is very long and mostly in British Columbia and Windy Arm in the west, mostly in Yukon. The Klondike Highway runs along Windy Arm south of Carcross. Bennett Lake flows into Tagish Lake, so the northern portion of Tagish Lake was part of the route to the Klondike used by gold-seekers during the Klondike Gold Rush . On January 18, 2000, a carbonaceous chondrite meteorite now known as " Tagish Lake ", fell on

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1044-511: The Chilkat Pass some miles west of Chilkoot and turned north to the Yukon River, a distance of about 350 miles (560 km). This was created by Jack Dalton as a summer route, intended for cattle and horses, and Dalton charged a toll of $ 250 ($ 6,800) for its use. The Takou route started from Juneau and went north-east to Teslin Lake. From here, it followed a river to the Yukon, where it met

1131-679: The Hudson's Bay Company that their name for the river was Yukon and that the name meant white water river . White water river in fact corresponds to Gwich'in words that can be shortened to form Yukon . Because the Holikachuks had been trading regularly with both the Gwich’ins and the Yup'iks , the Holikachuks were in a position to borrow the Gwich'in contraction and to conflate its meaning with

1218-730: The Klondike Highway was completed. After the purchase of Alaska by the United States in 1867, the Alaska Commercial Company acquired the assets of the Russian-American Company and constructed several posts at various locations on the Yukon River. The Yukon River has a recent history of pollution from military installations, dumps, wastewater, and other sources. However, the Environmental Protection Agency does not list

1305-507: The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) introduced safety rules, vetting the boats carefully and forbidding women and children to travel through the rapids. Additional rules stated that any boat carrying passengers required a licensed pilot , typically costing $ 25 ($ 680), although some prospectors simply unpacked their boats and let them drift unmanned through the rapids with the intent of walking down to collect them on

1392-502: The Panic of 1893 and Panic of 1896 , which caused unemployment and financial uncertainty. There was a huge, unresolved demand for gold across the developed world that the Klondike promised to fulfil and, for individuals, the region promised higher wages or financial security. Psychologically, the Klondike, as historian Pierre Berton describes, was "just far enough away to be romantic and just close enough to be accessible". Furthermore,

1479-544: The Seward Peninsula represents the near westernmost limit of the Black Spruce, Picea mariana , one of the most widespread conifers in northern North America. The river flows into several parklands and refuges including: Yukon at Pilot Station (121 miles upstream of mouth) minimum, average and maximum discharge: for statistical calculation The Yukon River is home to one of the longest salmon runs in

1566-484: The saloons . The indigenous Hän , on the other hand, suffered from the rush; they were forcibly moved into a reserve to make way for the Klondikers, and many died. Beginning in 1898, the newspapers that had encouraged so many to travel to the Klondike lost interest in it. In the summer of 1899, gold was discovered around Nome in west Alaska , and many prospectors left the Klondike for the new goldfields, marking

1653-580: The "back door to the Klondike". One, the "overland route", headed north-west from Edmonton, ultimately meeting the Peace River and then continuing on overland to the Klondike, crossing the Liard River en route. To encourage travel via Edmonton, the government hired T.W. Chalmers to build a trail, which became known as the Klondike Trail or Chalmers Trail. The other two trails, known as

1740-609: The "water routes", involved more river travel. One went by boat along rivers and overland to the Yukon River system at Pelly River and from there to Dawson. Another went north of Dawson by the Mackenzie River to Fort McPherson , before entering Alaska and meeting the Yukon River at Fort Yukon , downstream to the Klondike. From here, the boat and equipment had to be pulled up the Yukon about 400 miles (640 km). An estimated 1,660 travellers took these three routes, of whom only 685 arrived, some taking up to 18 months to make

1827-484: The 2000 census. Emmonak's gravel airstrip is the regional hub for flights. Navigational obstacles on the Yukon River are the Five Finger Rapids and Rink Rapids downstream from Carmacks. Despite its length, there are only four vehicle-carrying bridges across the river, listed from upstream to downstream: A car ferry crosses the river at Dawson City in the summer; it is replaced by an ice bridge over

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1914-514: The Alaska Department of Fish & Game's Division of Commercial Fisheries banned all fishing of Chinook and chum salmon, including for subsistence. Various organizations are involved to protect healthy salmon runs into the future. The Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association was formed in 1990 by a consensus of fishers representing the entire drainage in response to recent disaster years. Its organizational goals include giving voice to

2001-613: The Alaskan side of the border, Circle City , a logtown , was established in 1893 on the Yukon River. In three years it grew to become "the Paris of Alaska", with about 1,200 inhabitants, saloons, opera houses, schools, and libraries. In 1896, it was so well-known that a correspondent from the Chicago Daily Record came to visit. At the end of the year, it became a ghost town , when large gold deposits were found upstream on

2088-488: The Chilkoot and White Passes. These units were armed with Maxim guns . Their tasks included enforcing the rules requiring that travellers bring a year's supply of food with them to be allowed into the Yukon Territory, checking for illegal weapons, preventing the entry of criminals and enforcing customs duties. This last task was particularly unpopular with American prospectors, who faced paying an average of 25 percent of

2175-614: The Dyea and Skagway route at a point halfway to the Klondike. It meant dragging and poling canoes up-river and through mud together with crossing a 5,000 feet (1,500 m) mountain along a narrow trail. Finally, there was the Stikine route starting from the port of Wrangell further south-east of Skagway. This route went up the uneasy Stikine River to Glenora, the head of navigation . From Glenora, prospectors would have to carry their supplies 150 miles (240 km) to Teslin Lake where it, like

2262-425: The Klondike before winter and of those 35 had to return, having thrown away their equipment en route to reach their destination in time. The remainder mostly found themselves stranded in isolated camps and settlements along the ice-covered river often in desperate circumstances. Most of the prospectors landed at the southeast Alaskan towns of Dyea and Skagway, both located at the head of the natural Lynn Canal at

2349-524: The Klondike during the gold rush. Instead, the miners relied on wood fires to soften the ground to a depth of about 14 inches (360 mm) and then remove the resulting gravel. The process was repeated until the gold was reached. In theory, no support of the shaft was necessary because of the permafrost although in practice sometimes the fire melted the permafrost and caused collapses. Fires could also produce harmful gases, which had to be removed by bellows or other tools. The resulting "dirt" brought out of

2436-450: The Klondike, a layer of hard permafrost lay only 6 feet (1.8 m) below the surface. Traditionally, this had meant that mining in the region only occurred during the summer months, but the pressure of the gold rush made such a delay unacceptable. Late 19th-century technology existed for dealing with this problem, including hydraulic mining and stripping, and dredging . Still, the heavy equipment required for this could not be brought into

2523-481: The Klondike. On August 16, 1896, an American prospector named George Carmack and two Tagish men, Skookum Jim (Keish), and Tagish Charlie (K̲áa Goox̱) were travelling south of the Klondike River. Following a suggestion from Robert Henderson , a Canadian prospector, they began looking for gold on Bonanza Creek , then called Rabbit Creek, one of the Klondike's tributaries. It is not clear who discovered

2610-463: The Klondike. Both decisions were unpopular among their domestic publics: American businessmen complained that their right to a monopoly on regional trade was being undermined, while the Canadian public demanded action against the American miners. The North-West Mounted Police set up control posts at the borders of the Yukon Territory or, where that was disputed, at easily controlled points such as

2697-472: The Klondike. The Canadian authorities required each person to bring a year's supply of food in order to prevent starvation. In all, the Klondikers' equipment weighed close to a ton, which most carried themselves in stages. Performing this task and contending with the mountainous terrain and cold climate meant that most of those who persisted did not arrive until the summer of 1898. Once there, they found few opportunities, and many left disappointed. To accommodate

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2784-554: The Native Tlingit and Tagish tribes, the early prospectors opened the important routes of Chilkoot and White Pass and reached the Yukon valley between 1870 and 1890. Here, they encountered the Hän people, semi-nomadic hunters and fishermen who lived along the Yukon and Klondike Rivers. The Hän did not appear to know about the extent of the gold deposits in the region. In 1883, Ed Schieffelin identified gold deposits along

2871-635: The Pacific ports closest to the gold strikes were desperate to encourage trade and travel to the region. The mass journalism of the period promoted the event and the human interest stories that lay behind it. A worldwide publicity campaign engineered largely by Erastus Brainerd , a Seattle newspaperman, helped establish that city as the premier supply centre and the departure point for the gold fields. The prospectors came from many nations, although an estimated majority of 60 to 80 percent were Americans or recent immigrants to America. Most had no experience in

2958-653: The Stikine River route at Glenora. From Glenora, prospectors would face the same difficulties as those who came from Wrangell. At least 1,500 men attempted to travel along the Ashcroft route and 5,000 along the Stikine. The mud and the slushy ice of the two routes proved exhausting, killing or incapacitating the pack animals and creating chaos amongst the travellers. Three more routes started from Edmonton , Alberta ; these were not much better – barely trails at all – despite being advertised as "the inside track" and

3045-550: The Tagish River). The Yukon River proper starts at the northern end of Marsh Lake, just south of Whitehorse . Some argue that the source of the Yukon River should really be Teslin Lake and the Teslin River , which has a larger flow when it reaches the Yukon at Hootalinqua. The upper end of the Yukon River was originally known as the Lewes River until it was established that it actually was the Yukon. North of Whitehorse,

3132-680: The Takou route, met the Yukon River system. An alternative to the South-east Alaskan ports were the All-Canadian routes, so-called because they mostly stayed on Canadian soil throughout their journey. These were popular with British and Canadians for patriotic reasons and because they avoided American customs. The first of these, around 1,000 miles (1,600 km) in length, started from Ashcroft in British Columbia and crossed swamps, river gorges , and mountains until it met with

3219-404: The White Pass trail, supplies needed to be broken down into smaller packages and carried in relay. Packers, prepared to carry supplies for cash, were available along the route but would charge up to $ 1 ($ 27) per lb (0.45 kg) on the later stages; many of these packers were natives: Tlingits or, less commonly, Tagish. Avalanches were common in the mountains and, on April 3, 1898, one claimed

3306-434: The Yukon River among its impaired watersheds, and water-quality data from the U.S. Geological Survey shows relatively good levels of turbidity, metals, and dissolved oxygen. The Yukon and Mackenzie rivers have much higher suspended sediment concentrations than the great Siberian Arctic rivers. The Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council , a cooperative effort of 70 First Nations and tribes in Alaska and Canada, has

3393-752: The Yukon River widens into Lake Laberge , made famous by Robert W. Service 's " The Cremation of Sam McGee ". Other large lakes that are part of the Yukon River system include Kusawa Lake (into the Takhini River ) and Kluane Lake (into the Kluane and then White River). The river passes through the communities of Whitehorse , Carmacks , (just before the Five Finger Rapids ) and Dawson City in Yukon , and crossing Alaska into Eagle , Circle , Fort Yukon , Stevens Village , Rampart , Tanana , Ruby , Galena , Nulato , Grayling , Holy Cross , Russian Mission , Marshall , Pilot Station , St. Marys (which

3480-467: The Yukon River, and an expedition up the Fortymile River in 1886 discovered considerable amounts of it and founded Fortymile City. The same year gold had been found on the banks of the Klondike River, but in small amounts and with no claims being made. By late 1886, several hundred miners were working their way along the Yukon valley, living in small mining camps and trading with the Hän. On

3567-586: The Yukon in the summer from the delta until a point called Whitehorse, above the Klondike. Travel, in general, was made difficult by both terrain and climate. The region was mountainous, the rivers winding and sometimes impassable; summers, albeit short, still brought heat, while during the long winters, temperatures could drop below −50 °C (−58 °F). Aids for the travellers to carry their supplies varied; some had brought dogs, horses, mules , or oxen, whereas others had to rely on carrying their equipment on their backs or on sleds pulled by hand. Shortly after

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3654-557: The Yukon include set gillnets , drift nets , dip nets , and fish wheels . The preference of certain gear is largely dependent on the river's varied characteristics in different areas. Some parts of the river do not have eddies to make set-nets successful, whereas in other places the tributaries are small enough to make drifting impractical. Over the last 20 years salmon recruitment, the number of returning adults, has taken several shocks. The late 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s have been marked by radically reduced runs for various salmon species. In

3741-454: The authorities by July 1898; a new prospector would have to look further afield to find a claim of his own. Geologically, the region was permeated with veins of gold, forced to the surface by volcanic action and then worn away by the action of rivers and streams, leaving nuggets and gold dust in deposits known as placer gold . Some ores lay along the creek beds in lines of soil, typically 15 feet (4.6 m) to 30 feet (9.1 m) beneath

3828-703: The border. The agreement is implemented through the Yukon River Panel, an international body of 12 members, equal-parts American and Canadian, that advises managers of Yukon River fisheries concerning restoration, conservation, and coordinated management. Tribal organizations such as the Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP), Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments (CATG), and Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) work to sustain Yukon River salmon to promote healthy people, cultures, and communities. The main river and tributaries are (sorted in order from

3915-454: The current, with an estimated 35–50% bound for Canada. As a result, Chinook salmon are noted for their especially rich and fatty meat and are the priciest of all Pacific salmon species. The villages along the Yukon have historically relied on and continue to rely on salmon for their cultural, subsistence, and commercial needs. Salmon are traditionally dried, smoked, and frozen for both human and sled dog consumption. Common methods of fishing on

4002-558: The effects of climate change on ocean food-supply & disease prevalence in returning adults, the methods of fishing used on the river, and the effects of the Bering Sea Pollock trawl fleet on food supply and salmon bycatch. In 2010, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game's Board of Fisheries issued the first-ever restriction for net mesh size on the Yukon, reducing it to 7.5 inches (190 mm). In 2021,

4089-485: The end of the Inside Passage. From there, they needed to travel over the mountain ranges into Canada's Yukon Territory, and then down the river network to the Klondike. Along the trails, tent camps sprung up at places where prospectors had to stop to eat or sleep or at obstacles such as the icy lakes at the head of the Yukon. At the start of the rush, a ticket from Seattle to the port of Dyea cost $ 40 ($ 1,100) for

4176-513: The end of the Klondike Rush. The boom towns declined, and the population of Dawson City fell. Gold mining production in the Klondike peaked in 1903 after heavier equipment was brought in. Since then, the Klondike has been mined on and off, and its legacy continues to draw tourists to the region and contribute to its prosperity. The indigenous peoples in north-west America had traded in copper nuggets prior to European expansion . Most of

4263-498: The end of the trail. Even using a heavy sled, a strong man would be covering 1,000 miles (1,600 km) and need around 90 days to reach Lake Bennett. Those who landed at Dyea, Skagway's neighbour town, travelled the Chilkoot Trail and crossed its pass to reach Lake Lindeman, which fed into Lake Bennett at the head of the Yukon River. The Chilkoot Pass was higher than the White Pass, but more used it: around 22,000 during

4350-613: The final 500 miles (800 km) down the Yukon to Dawson City in the spring. 7,124 boats of varying size and quality left in May 1898; by that time, the forests around the lakes had been largely cut down for timber. The river posed a new problem. Above Whitehorse , it was dangerous, with several rapids along the Miles Canyon through to the White Horse Rapids. After many boats were wrecked and several hundred people died,

4437-534: The following year, it triggered a stampede of prospectors . Some became wealthy, but the majority went in vain. It has been immortalized in films, literature, and photographs. To reach the gold fields, most prospectors took the route through the ports of Dyea and Skagway in southeast Alaska . Here, the "Klondikers" could follow either the Chilkoot or White Pass trail to the Yukon River and sail down to

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4524-636: The frozen river during the winter. Plans to build a permanent bridge were announced in March 2004, although they are currently on hold because bids came in much higher than budgeted. There are also two pedestrian-only bridges in Whitehorse, as well as a dam across the river and a hydroelectric generating station. The construction of the dam flooded the White Horse Rapids , which gave the city its name, and created Schwatka Lake . Transportation

4611-552: The frozen surface of the Taku Arm. A number of fragments were recovered and studied by researchers from the University of Calgary , University of Western Ontario , and NASA ; the meteorite currently resides in the University of Alberta meteorite collection. The lake is named for the Tagish people. Tagish means fish trap in the Tagish language , an Athabascan language. Other sources translate Tagish as "it (spring ice)

4698-423: The goal of making the river and its tributaries safe to drink from again by supplementing and scrutinizing government data. The name Yukon , or ųųg han , is a contraction of the words in the Gwich'in phrase chųų gąįį han , which means white water river and refers to "the pale colour" of glacial runoff in the Yukon River. The contraction is Ųųg Han , if the /ųų/ remains nasalized , or Yuk Han , if there

4785-511: The gold reached Circle City. Despite the winter, many prospectors immediately left for the Klondike by dog-sled, eager to reach the region before the best claims were taken. The outside world was still largely unaware of the news, and although Canadian officials had managed to send a message to their superiors in Ottawa about the finds and influx of prospectors, the government did not give it much attention. The winter prevented river traffic, and it

4872-435: The gold rush, only around 15,000 to 20,000 finally became prospectors. Of these, no more than 4,000 struck gold and only a few hundred became rich. By the time most of the stampeders arrived in 1898, the best creeks had all been claimed, either by the long-term miners in the region or by the first arrivals of the year before. The Bonanza, Eldorado, Hunker, and Dominion Creeks were all taken, with almost 10,000 claims recorded by

4959-493: The gold rush. The trail passed up through camps until it reached a flat ledge, just before the main ascent, which was too steep for animals. This location was known as the Scales, and was where goods were weighed before travellers officially entered Canada. The cold, the steepness and the weight of equipment made the climb extremely arduous and it could take a day to get to the top of the 1,000 feet (300 m) high slope. As on

5046-443: The gold: George Carmack or Skookum Jim, but the group agreed to let George Carmack appear as the official discoverer because they feared that authorities would not recognize an indigenous claimant. In any event, gold was present along the river in huge quantities. Carmack measured out four strips of ground for mining along the river - two for himself as the discoverer and one each for Jim and Charlie. These claims were registered

5133-400: The ground of vegetation and debris. Prospect holes were then dug in an attempt to find the ore or "pay streak". If these holes looked productive, proper digging could commence, aiming down to the bedrock, where the majority of the gold was found. The digging would be carefully monitored in case the operation needed to be shifted to allow for changes in the flow. In the sub-Arctic climate of

5220-435: The journey. An equivalent to the All-Canadian routes was the "All-American route", which aimed to reach the Yukon from the port of Valdez , which lay further along the Alaskan coast from Skagway. This, it was hoped, would evade the Canadian customs posts and provide an American-controlled route into the interior. From late 1897 onwards 3,500 men and women attempted it; delayed by the winter snows, fresh efforts were made in

5307-467: The lives of more than 60 people travelling over Chilkoot Pass. Entrepreneurs began to provide solutions as the winter progressed. Steps were cut into the ice at the Chilkoot Pass which could be used for a daily fee, this 1,500 step staircase becoming known as the "Golden Steps". By December 1897, Archie Burns built a tramway up the final parts of the Chilkoot Pass. A horse at the bottom turned

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5394-407: The meaning of Kuig-pak [River-big], which is the Yup'ik name for the same river. For that reason, the documentary evidence suggests that the Holikachuks had borrowed the contraction Ųųg Han [White Water River] from Gwich'in, and erroneously assumed that this contraction had the same literal meaning as the corresponding Yup'ik name Kuig-pak [River-big]. The Lewes River is the former name of

5481-401: The mines froze quickly in winter and could be processed only during the warmer summer months. An alternative, more efficient, approach called steam thawing was devised between 1897 and 1898; this used a furnace to pump steam directly into the ground, but since it required additional equipment it was not a widespread technique during the years of the rush. Tagish Lake Tagish Lake is

5568-404: The mining industry, being clerks or salesmen. Mass resignations of staff to join the gold rush became notorious. In Seattle, this included the mayor, twelve policemen, and a significant percentage of the city's streetcar drivers. Some stampeders were famous: John McGraw , the former governor of Washington, joined, together with the prominent lawyer and sportsman A. Balliot. Frederick Burnham ,

5655-535: The mouth heading upstream): tributary tributary (km) (km) (m/s) (distributary) Teslin Period: 1971–2000 Klondike Gold Rush The Klondike Gold Rush was a migration by an estimated 100,000 prospectors to the Klondike region of Yukon in northwestern Canada, between 1896 and 1899. Gold was discovered there by local miners on August 16, 1896; when news reached Seattle and San Francisco

5742-613: The next day at the police post at the mouth of the Fortymile River and news spread rapidly from there to other mining camps in the Yukon River valley. By the end of August, all of Bonanza Creek had been claimed by miners. A prospector then advanced up into one of the creeks feeding into Bonanza, later to be named Eldorado Creek . He discovered new sources of gold there, which would prove to be even richer than those on Bonanza. Claims began to be sold between miners and speculators for considerable sums. Just before Christmas, word of

5829-402: The northwest. Guidebooks were published, giving advice about routes, equipment, mining, and capital necessary for the enterprise. The newspapers of the time termed this phenomenon "Klondicitis". The Klondike could be reached only by the Yukon River, either upstream from its delta, downstream from its head, or from somewhere in the middle through its tributaries. River boats could navigate

5916-472: The other side. During the summer, a horse-powered rail-tramway was built by Norman Macaulay, capable of carrying boats and equipment through the canyon at $ 25 ($ 680) a time, removing the need for prospectors to navigate the rapids. There were a few more trails established during 1898 from South-east Alaska to the Yukon River. One was the Dalton trail: starting from Pyramid Harbour, close to Dyea, it went across

6003-401: The pass had to be done in stages. Most divided their belongings into 65 pounds (29 kg) packages that could be carried on a man's back, or heavier loads that could be pulled by hand on a sled. Ferrying packages forwards and walking back for more, a prospector would need about thirty round trips, a distance of at least 2,500 miles (4,000 km), before they had moved all of their supplies to

6090-439: The prospectors, boom towns sprang up along the routes. At their terminus, Dawson City was founded at the confluence of the Klondike and Yukon rivers. From a population of 500 in 1896, the town grew to house approximately 17,000 people by summer 1898. Built of wood, isolated, and unsanitary, Dawson suffered from fires, high prices, and epidemics. Despite this, the wealthiest prospectors spent extravagantly, gambling and drinking in

6177-540: The route the informal name of Dead Horse Trail. The volumes of travellers and the wet weather made the trail impassable and, by late 1897, it was closed until further notice, leaving around 5,000 stranded in Skagway. An alternative toll road suitable for wagons was eventually constructed and this, combined with colder weather that froze the muddy ground, allowed the White Pass to reopen, and prospectors began to make their way into Canada. Moving supplies and equipment over

6264-520: The rush mostly by working for prospectors. Seattle and San Francisco competed fiercely for business during the rush, with Seattle winning the larger share of trade. Indeed, one of the first to join the gold rush was William D. Wood, the mayor of Seattle, who resigned and formed a company to transport prospectors to the Klondike. The publicity around the gold rush led to a flurry of branded goods being marketed. Clothing, equipment, food, and medicines were all sold as "Klondike" goods, allegedly designed for

6351-580: The spring. In practice, the huge Valdez glacier that stood between the port and the Alaskan interior proved almost insurmountable and only 200 managed to climb it; by 1899, the cold and scurvy was causing many deaths amongst the rest. Other prospectors attempted an alternative route across the Malaspina Glacier just to the east, suffering even greater hardships. Those who did manage to cross it found themselves having to negotiate miles of wilderness before they could reach Dawson. Their expedition

6438-518: The stampede began in 1897, the Canadian authorities had introduced rules requiring anyone entering Yukon Territory to bring with them a year's supply of food; typically this weighed around 1,150 pounds (520 kg). By the time camping equipment, tools and other essentials were included, a typical traveller was transporting as much as a ton in weight. Unsurprisingly, the price of draft animals soared; at Dyea, even poor quality horses could sell for as much as $ 700 ($ 19,000), or be rented out for $ 40 ($ 1,100)

6525-444: The summer of 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service counted 58,500 Chinook salmon, the second lowest season on record. The United States Department of Commerce issued a Federal Disaster Declaration for the 2008 and 2009 Commercial Chinook Yukon River fisheries, calling for the complete closure of commercial fishing along with restrictions on subsistence fishing. The root cause of these poor returns remains debated, with questions about

6612-460: The surface. Others, formed by even older streams, lay along the hilltops; these deposits were called "bench gold". Finding the gold was challenging. Initially, miners had assumed that all the gold would be along the existing creeks, and it was not until late in 1897 that the hilltops began to be mined. Gold was also unevenly distributed, which made the prediction of good mining sites uncertain without exploratory digging. Mining began with clearing

6699-423: The tribes were aware that gold existed in the region, but the metal was not valued by them. The Russians and the Hudson's Bay Company had both explored the Yukon in the first half of the 19th century, but ignored the rumours of gold in favour of fur trading , which offered more immediate profits. In the second half of the 19th century, American prospectors began to spread into the area. Making deals with

6786-775: The upper course of the Yukon, from Marsh Lake to the confluence of the Pelly River at Fort Selkirk . The generally accepted source of the Yukon River is the Llewellyn Glacier at the southern end of Atlin Lake in British Columbia . Others suggest that the source is Lake Lindeman at the northern end of the Chilkoot Trail . Either way, Atlin Lake flows into Tagish Lake (via the Atlin River), as eventually does Lake Lindeman after flowing into Bennett Lake . Tagish Lake then flows into Marsh Lake (via

6873-422: The value of their goods and supplies. The Mounties had a reputation for running these posts honestly, although accusations were made that they took bribes. Prospectors, on the other hand, tried to smuggle prize items like silk and whiskey across the pass in tins and bales of hay: the former item for the ladies, the latter for the saloons. Of the estimated 30,000 to 40,000 people who reached Dawson City during

6960-536: The village fishers that have traditionally managed these resources, enabling communication between fishers and fishery managers, and helping to preserve the ecological integrity of salmon runs and local cultures' Traditional Ecological Knowledge In March 2001, the U.S. & Canadian governments passed the Yukon River Salmon Agreement to better manage an internationally shared resource and ensure that more Canadian-originated salmon return across

7047-500: The world. Each year Chinook , coho , and chum salmon return to their terminal streams in Alaska, the Yukon Territory , and British Columbia. As salmon do not eat during their spawning migration, Yukon River salmon must have great reserves of fat and energy to fuel their thousands-mile-long journey. The Chinook, which arrive at the mouth of the Yukon River in early June, have the longest journey – as many as 2,000 miles against

7134-487: Was expensive and long – 4,700 miles (7,600 km) in total – it had the attraction of speed and avoiding overland travel. At the beginning of the stampede a ticket could be bought for $ 150 ($ 4,050) while during the winter 1897–98 the fare settled at $ 1,000 ($ 27,000). In 1897, some 1,800 travellers attempted this route but the vast majority were caught along the river when the region iced over in October. Only 43 reached

7221-520: Was forced to turn back the same way they had come, with only four men surviving. The borders in South-east Alaska were disputed between the US, Canada and Britain since the American purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. The US and Canada both claimed the ports of Dyea and Skagway. This, combined with the numbers of American prospectors, the quantities of gold being mined and the difficulties in exercising government authority in such

7308-485: Was joined by outfitters, writers and photographers. Various factors lay behind this sudden mass response. Economically, the news had reached the US at the height of a series of financial recessions and bank failures in the 1890s. The gold standard of the time tied paper money to the production of gold and shortages towards the end of the 19th century meant that gold dollars were rapidly increasing in value ahead of paper currencies and being hoarded. This had contributed to

7395-503: Was not until June 1897 that the first boats left the area, carrying the freshly mined gold and the full story of the discoveries. In the resulting Klondike stampede, an estimated 100,000 people tried to reach the Klondike goldfields, of whom only around 30,000 to 40,000 eventually did. It formed the height of the Klondike gold rush from the summer of 1897 until the summer of 1898. It began on July 14, 1897, in San Francisco and

7482-465: Was possible to sail all the way to the Klondike, first from Seattle across the northern Pacific to the Alaskan coast. From St. Michael , at the Yukon River delta, a river boat could then take the prospectors the rest of the way up the river to Dawson, often guided by one of the Native Koyukon people who lived near St. Michael. Although this all-water route, also called "the rich man's route",

7569-487: Was spurred further three days later in Seattle , when the first of the early prospectors returned from the Klondike, bringing with them large amounts of gold on the ships Excelsior and Portland . The press reported that a total of $ 1,139,000 (equivalent to $ 1 billion at 2010 prices) had been brought in by these ships, although this proved to be an underestimate. The migration of prospectors caught so much attention that it

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