Klondike

The Klondike is a region of the Yukon Territory in northwest Canada, just east of the Alaska border. It lies around the Klondike River[?], a small stream that enters the Yukon River from the east at Dawson[?].

In 1896, rich placer gold deposits were discovered in Bonanza (Rabbit) Creek, a tributary of the Klondike. News reached the United States in July, 1897, and within a month the Klondike stampede had begun. The population in the Klondike in 1898 reached 25,000, threatening to cause a famine.

Most prospectors landed at Skagway[?] at the head of Lynn Canal[?] and crossed by Chilkoot[?] or White Pass[?] to the upper Yukon, which they descended to Dawson. Others took the Copper River Trail[?] or the Teslin Trail[?] by Stikine River[?] and Teslin Lake[?], and some used the all-Canadian Ashcroft[?] and Edmonton[?] trails. The other main route was by steamer about 2600 kilometers (1600 miles) up the Yukon River. Many using this route late in 1897 were caught by winter ice below Fort Yukon[?] and had to be rescued.

Gold is still mined in the area.

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Klondike is also the name of a very popular solitaire card game. See Klondike solitaire.