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Klondike, Yukon

The Klondike (/ˈklɒndaɪk/; from Hän 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 region. It is located in the traditional territory of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Tr’ondëk-Klondike

Cultural: iv

1564

2023 (45th Session)

334.54 ha

351.7 ha

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.[1]

Politics[edit]

Klondike is a district of the Legislative Assembly of Yukon. The former Premier of the Yukon, Liberal Sandy Silver, represents the electoral district of Klondike.

: the first trading post in the Klondike, built in 1874.

Fort Reliance

: An traditional hunting location and the oldest European settlement in the Yukon, which was abandoned during the nearby Klondike Gold Rush.

Ch’ëdähdëk (Forty Mile)

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.

[3]

: A traditional fishing camp

Tr'ochëk

: The major city and industrial hub of the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush.

Dawson City

: An important gathering place for the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation and where they relocated during the European expansion.

Jëjik Dhä Dënezhu Kek’it (Moosehide Village)

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.

[3]

Several achaeological sites in the Klondike were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023 as a cultural landscape, described as follows:


The site contains eight subsites:[9]


These sites show archaeological evidence of the transition from Indigenous t oEuropean land use, and the interactions between the two cultures.[3] In total, the World Heritage Site incluses 8 distinct properties.