Klondike Gold Rush

C.E.1890s migration

Key facts

Other names: Alaska Gold Rush, Yukon Gold Rush
Centre: Dawson City at Klondike River, Yukon, Canada
Duration: 1896–1899 (stampede: 1897–98)
Discovery: August 16, 1896, Bonanza Creek
Discoverers: George Carmack and Skookum Jim
Prospectors: 100,000 of whom 30,000 - 40,000 arrived
Routes: Dyea / Skagway route and others
In literature of the period: The Call of the Wild , The Spell of the Yukon , The Cremation of Sam McGee

via Wikipedia infobox

Article

The Klondike Gold Rush was a migration by an estimated 100,000 prospectors to the Klondike region of Yukon in northwestern Canada, between 1896 and 1898. Gold was discovered there by local miners on August 16, 1896; 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 films, literature, and photographs.

To reach the gold fields, most prospectors took the route through the ports of Dyea and Skagway in southeast Alaska. Here, the "Klondikers" could follow either the Chilkoot or White Pass trail to the Yukon River and sail down to the Klondike. The Canadian authorities required each person to bring a year's supply of food in order to prevent starvation. In all, the Klondikers' equipment weighed close to a ton, which most carried themselves in stages. Performing this task and contending with the mountainous terrain and cold climate meant that most of those who persisted did not arrive until the summer of 1898. Once there, they found few opportunities, and many left disappointed.