YUKON

-the smallest of the three territories in Canada
-the four Atlantic provinces are smaller
-located in the northwest corner of Canada
-east - Northwest Territories, south - British Columbia
-north - Beaufort Sea (Arctic Ocean), west - the U.S. state of Alaska
-capital city is Whitehorse
-flower - Fireweed, bird - Common Raven, tree - Sub-alpine Fir.
-"Yukon" is from the native word "Yu-kun-ah" meaning "great river"

THE PEOPLE

-The population is about 33,294 (2008).
-About 75 percent live in the capital city of Whitehorse (24,890 people in 2008).
-Some other communities are Dawson City (1,889); Watson Lake (1,596); Haines Junction (818); Mayo (460); Carmacks (453);Carcross (431). note-populations as of June 2008
-People have come from other parts of Canada and Europe to live in the Yukon.
-About 26 percent of the people are Aboriginal (2006 census).
-There are fourteen First Nations, speaking eight different languages.
-Yukon has a strong and active Francophone community.

HISTORY

-Aboriginal people may have migrated from Asia across a Bering Sea land bridge.
-They hunted, fished and trapped to survive.
-Russian traders visited the area in the 18th century.
-In 1825 John Franklin followed the Arctic coastline and reached Yukon.
-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.
-In 1870 the Government of Canada acquired the territory from the Hudson's Bay Company.
-The entire area became known as the Northwest Territories.
-In 1895 boundaries were drawn and Yukon became a district of the Northwest Territories.
-Klondike Gold Rush in 1897-1898 brought many people.
-Thousands of prospectors formed a "tent city" called Dawson.
-In 1898 the area became Canada's second territory.
-Dawson was the capital city until 1953.
-By 1899 the gold was almost gone so people left.
-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 in 1953.
-Canadian government opened the Dempster Highway in 1979.
-It is an all-weather road that crosses the Arctic Circle.

CLIMATE

-arctic climate in the far north and the mountainous areas
-subarctic climate in the rest of the territory
-summer temperatures reach 25º C or more
-winter temperatures range from +4º C to as low as -51º C
-short summers and the days are long in the area above the Arctic Circle
-short frost free season
-light precipitation, averaging only 250 mm annually at Whitehorse

-Above the Arctic Circle, Yukon is known as "the land of the midnight sun".
-For three months in the summer sunlight is almost continuous.
-In the winter there is darkness for three months.

LAND AND WATER

-There are many rivers, lakes and streams.
-The main rivers are the Klondike, Peel, Pelly, Stewart, Porcupine and Yukon.
-Yukon River is 3,700 km (2,300 miles) long, making it Canada's second longest river.
-The northern region is "tundra" : rocky, moss, tough grasses, small willow shrubs
-The soil is frozen so growing crops is difficult
-Farther south there are forests.
-Kluane National Park in the southwest corner contains large icefields and high mountains.
-Mount Logan in Kluane National Park is the highest mountain in Canada (nearly 6000 m.).
-The volcanoes in the Yukon are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.
-Three of Canada's national parks are in the Yukon.

INDUSTRY and RESOURCES

-Mining accounts for more than 30% of the economy (gold, zinc and lead)
-There are large undeveloped deposits of zinc-lead, silver, iron ore, copper, nickel and coal.
-The second largest industry is tourism.
-People come to hike, raft, camp, rock climb, fish, see the wildlife and to hunt.
-Beaver, lynx, wolf, wolverine, muskrat, marten, mink, otter, weasel and fox are trapped and the furs are sold.

TRANSPORTATION

-The Alaska Highway goes through the Yukon.
-The Klondike Highway connects Whitehorse and Dawson and goes to mining communities.
-The Robert Campbell Highway connects to the Alaska Highway and the Klondike Highway.
-The Dempster Highway extends from Dawson to Inuvik NWT.
-Several trucking companies operate in Yukon.
-Greyhound Canada provides bus service along the Alaska Highway.
-There are several airports.

PEOPLE AND PLACES

-Audrey McLaughlin was a member of parliament for the Yukon and 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 (near the southern border)is the site of Signpost Forest.
There are over 30,000 signs from cities and towns around the world.
-Dawson City has several historic sites.

-Yukon Quest (known as the toughest sled dog race in the world) runs more than a thousand miles between Fairbanks, Alaska and Whitehorse, Yukon.



BACK to GET THE FACTS ABOUT ........

link - The Canadian Encyclopedia - YUKON
link - Government of Yukon website

updated March 2009
http://www.saskschools.ca/~gregory/