The Klondike Gold Rush[n 1] was a migration by an estimated 100,000 prospectors to the Klondike region of the Yukon in north-western Canadabetween 1896 and 1899. Gold was discovered there by local miners on August 16, 1896, and, when news reached Seattle and San Francisco the following year, it triggered a stampede of prospectors. Some became wealthy, but the majority went in vain. It has been immortalized in photographs, books, films, and artifacts.
Klondike Gold Rush
Prospectors ascending the Chilkoot Pass, 1898
Other namesAlaska Gold Rush, Yukon Gold RushCentreDawson City at Klondike River, Yukon, CanadaDuration1896–99 (stampede: 1897–98)DiscoveryAugust 16, 1896, Bonanza CreekDiscoverersGeorge Carmack and Skookum JimProspectors100,000 of whom 30,000 arrivedRoutesDyea/Skagway route and othersLegacyThe Call of the Wild, The Gold Rush
To reach the gold fields, most took the route through the ports of Dyea and Skagway in Southeast Alaska. Here, the Klondikers could follow either the Chilkoot or the White Pass trails to the Yukon River and sail down to the Klondike. Each of them was required to bring a year's supply of food by the Canadian authorities in order to prevent starvation. In all, their equipment weighed close to a ton, which for most had to be carried in stages by themselves. Together with mountainous terrain and cold climate, this meant that those who persisted did not arrive until summer 1898. Once there, they found few opportunities, and many left disappointed.
Mining was challenging as the ore was distributed in an uneven manner and digging was made slow by permafrost. As a result, some miners chose to buy and sell claims, building up huge investments and letting others do the work. To accommodate the prospectors, boom towns sprang up along the routes and at their end Dawson City was founded at the confluence of the Klondike and the Yukon River. From a population of 500 in 1896, the town grew to house around 30,000 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 the saloons. The Native Hän people, on the other hand, suffered from the rush, being moved into a reserve to make way for the stampeders, and many died.
From 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 the end of the rush. The boom towns declined and the population of Dawson City fell. Gold mining activity lasted until 1903 when production peaked after heavier equipment was brought in. Since then the Klondike has been mined on and off, and today the legacy draws tourists to the region and contributes to its prosperity.
