Day off in Dawson City


Dawson City was the heart of the Yukon Gold Rush. The first gold was found by three Prospectors in Bonanza Creek among the White Gravel of a tributary of the Yukon River. When news reached the "outside" men and women rushed to the area and within a year all of the streams around were staked into 500 ft claims. 

 Miners spent the winters digging shafts to reach the bed rock. Then excavating chambers to bring the gold bearing gravels to the surface. To do this they had to melt the permafrost with open fires, denuding the hillsides of timber. Once the thaw arrived and running water was available, it was used to wash the gravel to find the gold. Only then did they know if their claim contained "colour" or whether their winter had been wasted.

After only three years all of the easily extracted gold was gone. Large scale miners bought up the small claims and used industrial methods; steam to unfreeze the ground and powered dredges to process the dirt. These have left massive snake-like piles of rock tailings all along the river bed.  

Dawson City became rich on servicing the mines. The town had street lighting, banks, theatres and shops selling Paris fashions for the ladies. As the gold ran out it fell into decline and is now reviving as a tourist destination. The streets look like a western movie with wooden fame buildings and sidewalks. The saloon even has swing doors and. Honky-Tonk piano man (name of Dwayne). 

 It isn't "touristy" yet though like Skagway was. It still has charm and a feeling of being at the end of the road. It also still supports mining. The hardware store will sell you a gold pan, shovels and a harness for your husky.

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