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35-924: Many of today's Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin, or people of the river, are descendants of the Hän-speaking people who have lived along the Yukon River for thousands of years. They traveled extensively throughout their traditional territory harvesting salmon from the Yukon River and caribou from the Fortymile and Porcupine Herds. Moose , small game, and a variety of plants and berries provided additional food sources. Other raw materials needed to make tools, clothing and shelter were procured from this diverse and rich environment. The Hän traded with neighboring First Nations people and maintained interrelations through family connections and frequent gatherings. In

70-664: A Holikachuk phrase that means big river . Then, two years later, the Gwich'ins told 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 ,

105-665: A major watercourse of northwestern North America. From its source in British Columbia , it flows through Canada's territory of Yukon (itself named after the river). The lower half of the river continues westward through the U.S. state of Alaska . The river is 3,190 kilometres (1,980 mi) long and empties into the Bering Sea at the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta . The average flow is 6,400–7,000 m /s (230,000–250,000 cu ft/s). The total drainage area

140-558: Is 854,700 km (330,000 sq mi), of which 323,800 km (125,000 sq mi) lies in Canada. The total area is more than 25% larger than Texas or Alberta . 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

175-512: 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

210-473: 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

245-546: Is growing and evolving to support citizens in ensuring a strong and healthy future while maintaining connections to traditional knowledge and the land. Promoting the Hän language, learning traditional skills from the Elders, and investing in youth have all strengthened Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin development. This respect for their heritage and dedication to the future is reflected in a variety of ways. The biennial Moosehide Gatherings,

280-634: 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 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

315-549: 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

350-674: 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

385-553: 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, 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

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420-714: 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 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

455-561: The 1880s gold was discovered in the Chʼ;ëdäh Dëk, or Fortymile River , area – a site used by the Hän as a caribou interception point and grayling fishing spot. In 1896 more gold was discovered near Tr'ochëk , at the confluence of the Yukon and Klondike Rivers . The Klondike River hosted abundant salmon stocks and the Hän had an encampment at Tr'ochëk that was used seasonally for hundreds of years. The ensuing rush brought thousands of people to Tr'ochëk and surrounding areas. Recognizing

490-416: 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

525-516: 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

560-472: The Holikachuks were in a position to borrow the Gwich'in contraction and to conflate its meaning with 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

595-528: The Hän worked to find a balance between their traditional lifestyle and the ways of the newcomers. Yukon First Nations set the Land Claims process in motion during the 1970s. Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin began negotiating their individual Land Claim in 1991. The Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin Final Agreement was signed on July 16, 1998, and came into effect on September 15, 1998. The government

630-653: The Trʼ;ondëk Hwëchʼin. The Tr’ondëk-Klondike World Heritage Site , a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Canada , protects a series of eight properties that attest to the effects of the rapid colonization of the area, including the Gold Rush, on the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in people. The World Heritage Site was designated in 2023. All but one of the properties ( Dawson City ) are on Trondëk Hwëch’in settlement lands or co-managed lands. The nomination had been spearheaded by

665-460: The Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin people. In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , Moosehide Creek 2 had a population of 0 living in 0 of its 0 total private dwellings, no change from its 2016 population of 0 . With a land area of 8.5 km (3.3 sq mi), it had a population density of 0.0/km (0.0/sq mi) in 2021. Yukon River The Yukon River is

700-491: The Yukon River. The contraction is Ųųg Han , if the /ųų/ remains nasalized , or Yuk Han , if there 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

735-555: 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 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

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770-557: 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

805-705: 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

840-538: The corresponding Yup'ik name Kuig-pak [River-big]. The Lewes River is the former name of 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

875-455: 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

910-561: 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,

945-431: The establishment of Dänojà Zho Cultural Centre, the designation of Trʼochëk National Historic site, and the return of the traditional songs, which were once entrusted to Alaskan First Nations people, all reflect Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin investment in their future and pride in their rich heritage. In 2022, the mummified body of a young woolly mammoth was discovered during a mining operation on land belonging to

980-636: 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

1015-488: 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 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

1050-557: The influences that the newcomers would have on his people, Hän leader Chief Isaac, worked with the Government of Canada and the Anglican Church to move his people from Tr'ochëk to Moosehide – 5 km (3.1 mi) downriver at 64°05′40″N 139°26′12″W  /  64.09444°N 139.43667°W  / 64.09444; -139.43667 . Chief Isaac was respected among his own people and newcomers alike. While he welcomed

1085-408: The mid-19th century, European fur traders and missionaries established a presence in the territory. Contact with the newcomers presented new challenges and opportunities for the Hän. Trade increased and new goods and economic practices were introduced. The Hän used a combination of traditional and newly introduced skills, goods and materials to maintain their survival and assist the newcomers. In

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1120-525: The stampeders, "he never failed to remind them that they prospered at the expense of the original inhabitants by driving away their game and taking over their land." Chief Isaac envisioned the impact that new lifestyles would have on Hän traditional culture. In response he entrusted many songs and dances to First Nations people living in Alaska . During the years following the Klondike Gold Rush ,

1155-446: 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

1190-537: 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

1225-500: 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

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