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How gold mining forever transformed a river in the Yukon

Placer mining in the Klondike Valley. Americans on the Yukon River worry about the effect of placer mining in salmon spawning rivers, while Canadians are concerned by overfishing on the Alaskan portion of the River. Before the Gold Rush, the Klondike River was one of the best spawning rivers in the entire Yukon Watershed. Placer mining throughout the Klondike has devastated the salmon run in the region. Placer mining on some creeks, can create wonderful salmon spawning habitats, but their has always been conflict between salmon conservationists and placer miners. Hopefully, in the future miners and fish biologists can work together to the benefit of all. (Peter Mather)

Peter Mathers

A look at a unique and scarred landscape in the Yukon

Sept. 27, 2019

Trail of golden dreams

Prajakta Dhopade

This photo may look as though sandworms have had their way with the landscape, but this isn’t a scene from Beetlejuice—it’s the Klondike River in Dawson City, Yukon, where the mining fever spawned by the Klondike Gold Rush has left the tributary with some unique features. Placer mining in this area involved large machinery called dredges that roved through riverbeds, sifting for gold while discarding rocks and sand, and leaving so-called dredge piles. These are the wormy landforms snaking their way through the valley. The disruption of the river’s natural flow, however, caused a major decline in populations of salmon that use areas of the Klondike River to spawn. The scarred land serves as a reminder of the unique cultural history of the area and also includes Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in territory—both reasons why Canadian officials are working to renominate the 85-km stretch for status as a UNESCO World Heritage site, having withdrawn their initial bid last year.

This article appears in print as The Big Picture in the October 2019 issue of Maclean’s magazine with the headline, “Trail of golden dreams.” Subscribe to the monthly print magazine here.