Editing Klondike, Yukon

{{Short description|Region of Yukon, Canada}}
{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
  |image=Hunker Creek Valley.JPG
  |caption=Hunker Creek Valley, Klondike
  |official_name=Tr’ondëk-Klondike
  |Year = 2023
  |ID = 1564
  |Criteria = Cultural: iv
  |Area= 334.54 ha
  |Buffer_zone = 351.7 ha
  }}

The '''Klondike''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|l|ɒ|n|d|aɪ|k}}; {{etymology|haa|Tr'ondëk|[[hammerstone]] water}}) is a region of the territory of [[Yukon]], in northwestern [[Canada]]. It lies around the [[Klondike River]], a small river that enters the [[Yukon River]] from the east at [[Dawson City]]. The area is merely an informal geographic region, and has no function to the territory as any kind of [[Administrative division|administrative region]].

The Klondike is famed due to the [[Klondike Gold Rush]], which started in 1896 and lasted until 1899. Since then, [[gold]] has been mined continuously in that area, except for a pause in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

In 2023, the cultural landscape of the Tr’ondëk-Klondike was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, because of its testimony to the adaptation of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in people to the European colonization that began in the late 19th century.<ref name = "unesco">{{cite web |author1=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |title=Tr'ondëk-Klondike |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1564/ |access-date=20 September 2023 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref>

==Climate and ecology==
Klondike has a [[subarctic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''Dfc''), bordering on a [[tundra climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''ET''). The climate is warm in the short summer, and very cold during the long winter. By late October, ice forms over the rivers. For the majority of the year, the ground is frozen to a depth of {{convert|1|to|3|m|ft|0}}.<ref>{{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Klondike, The}}</ref> The landscape is dominated by [[spruce]], [[aspen]], and [[birch]] trees interspersed with [[riparian]] vegetation.<ref name = "nominate"/>

[[Salmon]] have likely been migrating from the Pacific Ocean to the Klondike River to spawn for at least 65,000 years, and archeological evidence suggests that they have been fished as early as 11,500 years ago.<ref name = "nominate">{{cite report |title = Tr’ondëk-Klondike World Heritage Site |publisher = United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization |date = December 2020 |url = https://whc.unesco.org/document/186497}}</ref><ref name = "Halffman">{{cite journal |last1=Halffman |first1=Carrin M. |last2=Potter |first2=Ben A. |last3=McKinney |first3=Holly J. |last4=Finney |first4=Bruce P. |last5=Rodrigues |first5=Antonia T. |last6=Yang |first6=Dongya Y. |last7=Kemp |first7=Brian M. |title=Early human use of anadromous salmon in North America at 11,500 y ago |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=6 October 2015 |volume=112 |issue=40 |pages=12344–12348 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1509747112|pmc=4603495 }}</ref> [[Caribou]] also migrate through the Klondike region during their seasonal migrations. Other species found in the region include [[moose]], [[American black bear|black bear]], [[grizzly bear]], [[lynx]], [[marten]], [[wolf]], [[wolverine]], [[Dall's sheep]], and [[beaver]].<ref name = "nominate"/>

There is a weather station for Klondike located along the [[Dempster Highway]], near the southern entrance of [[Tombstone Territorial Park]], at an elevation of 973 m (3192 ft).<ref name = "klondikeweather">{{cite web|url = https://weather.service.yukon.ca/stations/KLOH/ |publisher = YukonWeather |title = Klondike Highway Camp (KLOH) Basic Station Information |access-date = February 7, 2024}}</ref>
{{Weather box
|single line = yes
|metric first = yes
|location = Klondike, Yukon, 1981-2006 normals, 1966-2010 extremes: 3192ft (973m)
|Jan record high F = 44
|Feb record high F = 46
|Mar record high F = 42
|Apr record high F = 59
|May record high F = 86
|Jun record high F = 86
|Jul record high F = 82
|Aug record high F = 82
|Sep record high F = 78
|Oct record high F = 65
|Nov record high F = 50
|Dec record high F = 44
|year record high F =

|Jan avg record high F = 29.0
|Feb avg record high F = 32.5
|Mar avg record high F = 36.5
|Apr avg record high F = 49.3
|May avg record high F = 65.5
|Jun avg record high F = 75.2
|Jul avg record high F = 76.2
|Aug avg record high F = 72.0
|Sep avg record high F = 59.3
|Oct avg record high F = 44.8
|Nov avg record high F = 31.0
|Dec avg record high F = 32.0
|year avg record high F = 78.5

|Jan high F = 5.2
|Feb high F = 11.9
|Mar high F = 19.8
|Apr high F = 34.7
|May high F = 50.0
|Jun high F = 63.0
|Jul high F = 65.3
|Aug high F = 59.2
|Sep high F = 46.2
|Oct high F = 28.5
|Nov high F = 11.8
|Dec high F = 10.7
|year high F =

|Jan mean F = -6.0
|Feb mean F = -0.4
|Mar mean F = 6.1
|Apr mean F = 21.6
|May mean F = 38.3
|Jun mean F = 49.7
|Jul mean F = 52.6
|Aug mean F = 46.8
|Sep mean F = 35.7
|Oct mean F = 19.3
|Nov mean F = 1.9
|Dec mean F = -0.4
|year mean F =

|Jan low F = -16.4
|Feb low F = -12.5
|Mar low F = -7.2
|Apr low F = 8.8
|May low F = 27.1
|Jun low F = 36.8
|Jul low F = 40.1
|Aug low F = 34.8
|Sep low F = 25.6
|Oct low F = 10.6
|Nov low F = -7.6
|Dec low F = -11.0
|year low F =

|Jan avg record low F = -40.7
|Feb avg record low F = -36.3
|Mar avg record low F = -30.9
|Apr avg record low F = -12.0
|May avg record low F = 13.9
|Jun avg record low F = 27.1
|Jul avg record low F = 30.9
|Aug avg record low F = 25.2
|Sep avg record low F = 11.4
|Oct avg record low F = -13.0
|Nov avg record low F = -30.0
|Dec avg record low F = -35.7
|year avg record low F = -46.3

|Jan record low F = −61
|Feb record low F = −55
|Mar record low F = −44
|Apr record low F = −31
|May record low F = -9
|Jun record low F = 19
|Jul record low F = 26
|Aug record low F = 16
|Sep record low F = -13
|Oct record low F = -31
|Nov record low F = −49
|Dec record low F = −50
|year record low F =

|precipitation colour= green
|Jan precipitation inch = 0.96
|Feb precipitation inch = 0.86
|Mar precipitation inch = 1.16
|Apr precipitation inch = 0.71
|May precipitation inch = 0.84
|Jun precipitation inch = 1.80
|Jul precipitation inch = 2.94
|Aug precipitation inch = 2.64
|Sep precipitation inch = 1.94
|Oct precipitation inch = 1.53
|Nov precipitation inch = 1.15
|Dec precipitation inch = 1.78
|year precipitation inch =

|Jan snow inch = 9.6
|Feb snow inch = 8.6
|Mar snow inch = 11.6
|Apr snow inch = 6.9
|May snow inch = 1.6
|Jun snow inch = 0.1
|Jul snow inch = trace
|Aug snow inch = 0.2
|Sep snow inch = 3.3
|Oct snow inch = 12.7
|Nov snow inch = 11.2
|Dec snow inch = 17.8
|year snow inch =

|source 1 = XMACIS2 (normals, extremes & 1991-2006 precip/snow)<ref name = XMACIS2>
{{cite web
|url = https://xmacis.rcc-acis.org/
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|title = xmACIS
|access-date = February 7, 2024
}}
</ref>
}}

== Politics ==
[[Klondike (electoral district)|Klondike]] is a district of the [[Yukon Legislative Assembly|Legislative Assembly of Yukon]]. The former Premier of the Yukon, Liberal [[Sandy Silver]], represents the electoral district of Klondike.

== History ==
{{See also|Klondike Gold Rush}}
{{See also|Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin First Nation}}
{{Expand section|date=September 2023}}
The Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in people have continuously occupied the Klondike region for over 9000 years, and [[UNESCO]] has stated this was "fundamentally transformed during the colonial occupation of these lands."<ref name = "unesco"/> European traders began to arrive in the region in the mid 19th century, and in 1874, the first trading post in the Klondike ([[Fort Reliance]]) was established. Soon after, in 1876, the [[Indian Act]] was passed (without Indigenous negotiation), which restricted the ability of Indigenous Canadians to continue their cultural practices and live in their original lands.<ref name = "nominate"/> This act and the discovery of precious metals in the area led to a steady increase in the arrival of colonists during the 1880s, and in 1893, the first permanent non-Indigenous settlement was founded at [[Forty Mile, Yukon|Ch’ëdähdëk (Forty Mile)]], at the site of an ancient indigenous hunting spot.<ref name = "nominate"/> When gold was discovered nearby in 1896, several boomtowns were founded and the landscape around the Klondike transformed into an industrial hub.<ref name = "unesco"/> Nearly 30,000 people arrived in [[Dawson City]] over the next few years.<ref name = "nominate"/> In mid-1901 an expedition left California hoping to prove that the Klondike was the site of the Biblical [[Garden of Eden]]. It was sponsored ($50,000) by [[Morris Ketchum Jesup]] with an American naturalist (Norman Buxton) and two Russian scientists ([[Vladimir Bogoraz|Waldemar Bogoras]] and [[Vladimir Jochelson|Waldemar Jochelson]]).<ref>{{cite web|url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DTN19010723.2.18?end_date=31-07-1901&items_per_page=10&query=Klondike+Jessup+Adam&snippet=true&start_date=01-07-1901&title=BA%2cDTN%2cHAST%2cHBH%2cHBT%2cHBTRIB%2cHBWT%2cWAIPM%2cDOM |title= Notes (page down)  |publisher=  Papers Past (NZ) |date= 1901}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/HAST19010930.2.7?end_date=31-07-1902&items_per_page=10&query=Klondike+Jessup&snippet=true&start_date=01-07-1901&title=BA%2cDTN%2cHAST%2cHBH%2cHBT%2cHBTRIB%2cHBWT%2cWAIPM%2cDOM |title= Local and General (page down) |publisher=  Papers Past (NZ) |date= 1901}}</ref> The Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in were forced to relocate downriver to an ancestral camp called [[Moosehide]], where it became the center of the Indigenous community until the 1950s.

After the Klondike Gold Rush ended near the turn of the 20th century, many of the boomtowns quickly became ghost towns, but Dawson City remained the capital of the Yukon until 1953 (when the capital was moved to [[Whitehorse]]).<ref name = "unesco"/>

==Tr’ondëk-Klondike World Heritage Site==

Several archaeological sites in the Klondike were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023 as a cultural landscape, described as follows: {{blockquote|Located along the Yukon River in the sub-arctic region of Northwest Canada, Tr’ondëk-Klondike lies within the homeland of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation. It contains archaeological and historic sources that reflect Indigenous people’s adaptation to unprecedented changes caused by the Klondike Gold Rush at the end of the 19th century. The series illustrates different aspects of the colonization of this area, including sites of exchange between the Indigenous population and the colonists, and sites demonstrating the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in’s adaptations to colonial presence.}}The site contains eight subsites:<ref>{{cite web |author1=Tr’ondëk-Klondike Stewardship Committee, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Government |title=Executive Summary |url=https://whc.unesco.org/document/186497 |access-date=20 September 2023 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre}}</ref>

These sites show archaeological evidence of the transition from Indigenous to European land use, and the interactions between the two cultures.<ref name = "nominate"/> In total, the World Heritage Site includes 8 distinct properties.

* [[Fort Reliance]]: the first trading post in the Klondike, built in 1874.
* [[Forty Mile, Yukon|Ch’ëdähdëk (Forty Mile)]]: A traditional hunting location and the oldest European settlement in the Yukon, which was abandoned during the nearby Klondike Gold Rush.
* Ch’ëdähdëk Tth’än K’et (Dënezhu Graveyard): A First Nations cemetery with approximately 22 graves.
* Fort Cudahy and Fort Constantine: Forts established in 1893 and 1895 and abandoned shortly thereafter.<ref name = "nominate"/>
* [[Tr'ochëk]]: A traditional fishing camp
* [[Dawson City]]: The major city and industrial hub of the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush.
* [[Moosehide|Jëjik Dhä Dënezhu Kek’it (Moosehide Village)]]: An important gathering place for the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation and where they relocated during the European expansion.
* Tthe Zra¸y Kek’it (Black City): an archeological site and abandoned Indigenous settlement used in the 19th century to take advantage of trade with the influx of European colonists.<ref name = "nominate"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{World Heritage Sites in Canada}}
{{Subdivisions of Yukon}}
{{Authority control}}
{{coord|64|3|45|N|139|25|50|W|source:dawiki_region:CA|display=title}}

[[Category:Hän]]
[[Category:Geography of Yukon]]
[[Category:Klondike Gold Rush]]
[[Category:Geographic regions of Canada]]
[[Category:Garden of Eden]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Canada]]