Many Rivers to Cross – Klondike

Everybody’s heard of the Klondike, because in 1896 gold was discovered in a stream feeding the Klondike River, which is in turn a tributary of the Yukon. Word spread and would-be prospectors rushed to the Yukon River valley in what was called the Klondike Stampede.

This resulted in a strange economic boom. To move people and freight from Whitehorse: the nearest big city to Dawson City (actually quite a small town at this time), the railway company built a fleet of steam-powered, sternwheeler river boats. These tall, white boats were similar to those made famous on the Mississippi River in the United States but were twice the size and caused a form of economic genocide – as diseases, both sexually transmitted and infectious, tobacco, alcohol and logging to provide fuel for the boats all tore apart the native American communities who had lived in almost primal isolation until this time.

The Yukon was also the last waterway in North America whose riverside settlements depended on river boats, but once a year round road was built in 1955, the riverboats were forced out of business. Today, most of the river traffic on the Yukon is for pleasure. Canoeists come from all over the world to enjoy the Klondike and Yukon rivers and tourism has replaced mining as the Yukon's most important business.

While canoeing and rafting may be the usual activity of choice for many who visit this region, it’s also possible to take a prospecting holiday along the Klondike. You need to make a booking with a company that will provide you with a prospecting licence and equipment, and then you can spend your time standing hip deep in the river, trying to find your own golden nugget! You won’t strike it rich, but some lucky people have covered the cost of their holiday this way.

Klondike photograph by HandsLive, used under a creative commons attribution licence

 

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