Tara Sexton

Yukon or Yukon Territory or (usually) The Yukon is one of Canada's northern territories, in the country's extreme northwest. It has a population of about 31,000, and its capital is Whitehorse, with a population of 23,272. People from Yukon are known as Yukoners.

                         Yukon's  FlagThe Whitehorse Copper Belt extends for approximately 30 km in the hills just west of Whitehorse. Prospectors on their way to Dawson discovered copper there in 1897, the first year of the Klondike gold rush. Jack McIntyre staked the first claim on July 6, 1898, and called it the Copper King. By the following year there was a great deal of activity in the area, including the War Eagle, staked on July 16, 1899 by Sam McGee of Robert Service fame. Other people tried their luck with claims like Hoodoo, Excelsior, Little Comet, Crooked Doctor, Le Roi, Ben Hur and Empress of India. In 1900, the North-West Mounted Police reported that "copper has been the all-absorbing question."

      Ore shipments began in 1900, with encouraging results, and continued until 1920. Mining was slow and labour-intensive, and miners faced high costs for development, production and transportation, as well as fluctuating metal prices. In spite of this, however, the area continued to develop. Between 1902 and 1909 the Territorial government spent $45,000 on 36 miles of wagon roads in the area, and by 1909 the White Pass & Yukon Route had built a railway spur to the mines. The Pueblo was the most productive of all the claims, at one time employing 20 people.

THE YUKON - Y.T.

-one of three territories in Canada

-the smallest territory

-east - Northwest Territories, south - British Columbia

-north - Arctic Ocean, west - the state of Alaska

-capital city is Whitehorse

-flower - Fireweed, bird - Common Raven, tree - Sub-alpine Fir.

-name : from the Native word "Yu-kun-ah" meaning Great River

THE PEOPLE

-population about 31,587 (2005)

-Over 70 percent live in Whitehorse, the capital city (23,511 people).

-Some other communities are Dawson City (1,827); Watson Lake (1,544); Haines Junction (824); Carcross (446); Carmacks (408) populations as of Dec/05

-People have come from other parts of Canada to live in the Yukon.

-About 24 percent of the people are Aboriginal (2001 census).

-There are fourteen First Nations, speaking eight different languages.

HISTORY

-Aboriginal people may have migrated from Asia across a Bering Sea land bridge.

-They hunted, fished and trapped to survive.

-In 1840 Britsh fur trader and explorer Robert Campbell arrived.

-Forts were built so the Hudson's Bay Company could trade for furs with the trappers.

-Klondike Gold Rush in 1896 brought many people to the Yukon.

-Thousands of prospectors formed a "tent city" called Dawson.

-In 1898 the area became Canada's second territory.

-Dawson was the capital until 1951.

-By 1899 the gold was almost gone so people left the Yukon.

-Building of the Alaska highway in 1942 brought hundreds of workers.

-The highway (1,520 miles or 2,446 km) was constructed in eight months and twelve days.

-Whitehorse replaced Dawson as the capital.

-Canadian government opened the Dempster Highway in 1979.

-It is an all-weather road that crosses the Arctic Circle.

LAND AND WATER

-many rivers, lakes and streams in the Yukon

-main rivers : the Klondike, Peel, Pelly, Stewart, Porcupine and Yukon

-The Yukon River is 3,520 km (2,200 miles) long.

-part of the land is "tundra" : rocky, moss, tough grasses, small willow shrubs grow

-soil is frozen so growing crops is difficult

-part of the land is covered with forests

-There are three national parks in the Yukon.

-Mount Logan, the highest mountain in Canada (6000 m.) is in Kluane National Park.

RESOURCES

-People visit the Yukon to hike, raft, camp, rock climb, fish, see wildlife, and hunt.

-Tourism provides many jobs for people.

-The largest industry is mining (gold, lead, zinc and silver).

-They are drilling for oil in the Beaufort Sea.

-Factories package fish (grayling, northern pike, lake and rainbow trout, salmon, whitefish, and arctic char).

-Beaver, lynx, wolverine, muskrat, marten and fox are trapped and the furs are sold.

PEOPLE AND PLACES

-Audrey McLaughin was a member of parliament for the Yukon. She was the first woman to lead a national party (the N.D.P.)

-Robert W. Service (1874-1958) was "the poet of the Yukon". He wrote poems about life during the Klondike Gold Rush.

-Ted Harrison, an English artist, painted landscapes of the Yukon.

-Watson Lake is (near the southern border) the site of Signpost Forest.

There are over 30,000 signs from cities and towns around the world

-Dawson City has many historic places to see.