The Klondike Gold Rush was a frenzy of immigration to and gold prospecting in the Klondike in Yukon Territory, Canada, after gold was discovered in the late 19th century.

On August 16, 1896, rich placer gold deposits were discovered by George Carmack in Bonanza (Rabbit) Creek, a tributary of the Klondike River near Dawson. News reached the United States on July 17, 1897 when the first successful prospectors arrived in Seattle, and within a month the Klondike stampede had begun. The population in the Klondike in 1898 may have reached 40,000, threatening to cause a famine.

Most prospectors landed at Skagway at the head of Lynn Canal and crossed by Chilkoot or White Pass to Bennett Lake. Here, prospectors built boats that would take them the final 500 miles down the Yukon River to the gold fields.

The Chilkoot Pass was steep and hazardous, rising a thousand feet in the last half mile. It was too steep for pack animals and prospectors had to pack their equipment and supplies to the top. Some 1,500 steps were carved into the ice to aid travel up the pass. (Photos)

Conditions on White Pass were even worse. It was known as the Dead Horse Trail with about 3,000 animals dying along the route. (Photos).

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.

Throughout this period, the North West Mounted Police, under the command of Sam Steele maintained a firm grip on the activities of the prospectors to ensure the safety of the population as well as enforcing the laws and sovereignty of Canada. As a result, this gold rush has been described as the most peaceful and orderly of its type in history. The effectiveness of the Mounties in this period made the police force famous around the world, and ensured the survival of the organization at a time when its continued operation was being debated in the Canadian Parliament.

The gold rush remains an important event in the history of the city of Edmonton, which to this day celebrates Klondike Days , an annual summer fair with a Klondike gold rush theme.

Among the many to take part in the gold rush was writer Jack London, whose books White Fang and The Call of the Wild were influenced by his northern experiences, and adventurer "Swiftwater" Bill Gates.

See also Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park.

External links

• Univ. Libraries, Univ. of Washington on Klondike Gold Rush
• Map of the Chilkoot and White Passes
• The Life of Jack London as Reflected in his Works