Dawson City | |
|---|---|
Town | |
| City of Dawson[1] | |
 Aerial view of Dawson City and theYukon River | |
| Nicknames: | |
  Dawson City Location of Dawson City | |
| Coordinates:64°03′36″N139°25′55″W / 64.06000°N 139.43194°W /64.06000; -139.43194[3] | |
| Country | Canada |
| Territory | Yukon |
| Settled | 1896 |
| City | 1902 |
| Town | 1980 |
| Named after | George Mercer Dawson |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Stephen Johnson |
| Area | |
• Total | 32.45 km2 (12.53 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 370 m (1,214 ft) |
| Population (2016)[4] | |
• Total | 1,577 |
| • Density | 42.4/km2 (110/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC−07:00 (MST) |
| Canadian Postal code | Y0B 1G0 |
| Area code | 867 |
| NTS Map | 116B3 Dawson |
| GNBC Code | KAHFT |
| Climate | Dfc |
| Website | Official website |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | iii, iv |
| Designated | 2023(45thsession) |
| Part of | Tr’ondëk-Klondike |
| Reference no. | 1564-006 |
Dawson City is a town in the Canadianterritory ofYukon. Its history is strongly linked to theKlondike Gold Rush (1896–1899). Its population was 1,577 as of the2021 census,[6] making it the second-largest municipality in Yukon.
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Prior to thelate modern period the area was used for hunting and gathering by theHän-speaking people of theTr’ondëk Hwëch’in and their forebears. The heart of their homeland wasTr'ochëk, a fishing camp at the confluence of theKlondike River andYukon River, now aNational Historic Site of Canada, just across the Klondike River from modern Dawson City. This site was also an important summer gathering spot and a base formoose-hunting on the Klondike Valley.
The current settlement was founded byJoseph Ladue and named in January 1897 after noted Canadian geologistGeorge M. Dawson, who had explored andmapped the region in 1887. It served as Yukon's capital from the territory's founding in 1898 until 1952, when the seat was moved toWhitehorse.
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Dawson City was the centre of theKlondike Gold Rush.[7] It began in 1896 and changed theFirst Nations camp into a thriving city of 16,000–17,000[8] by 1898. By 1899, the gold rush had ended and the town's population plummeted as all but 8,000 people left. When Dawson was incorporated as a city in 1902, the population was under 5,000.St. Paul's Anglican Church, also built that same year, is a National Historic Site. The downtown was devastated by fire in November 1897 (started when dance hall girl Dolly Mitchell threw a lamp at another girl in an argument), 1899 (started in the Bodega Saloon), 1900 (started at the Monte Carlo Theatre) and flooding in 1925, 1944, 1966, 1969 and 1979.[9]
The population dropped afterWorld War II when theAlaska Highway bypassed it 518 kilometres (322 mi)[10] to the south. The economic damage to Dawson City was such thatWhitehorse, the highway's hub, replaced it as territorial capital in 1953.[7] Dawson City's population languished around the 600–900 mark through the 1960s and 1970s, but has risen and held stable since then. The high price of gold has made modernplacer mining operations profitable, and the growth of thetourism industry has encouraged the development of facilities. In the early 1950s, Dawson was linked by road to Alaska, and in fall 1955, with Whitehorse along a road that now forms part of theKlondike Highway.
In 1978, another kind of buried treasure was discovered with theDawson Film Find when a construction excavation inadvertently uncovered a forgotten collection of more than 500 discarded films on highly flammablenitrate film stock from the early 20th century that were buried in (and preserved by) thepermafrost. These silent-era film reels, dating from "between 1903 and 1929, were uncovered in the rubble beneath [an] old hockey rink".[11] Owing to its dangerous chemical volatility,[12] the historical find was moved by military transport toLibrary and Archives Canada and the U.S.Library of Congress for both transfer tosafety film and storage. A documentary about the find,Dawson City: Frozen Time, was released in 2016.[13]
The City of Dawson and the nearby ghost town ofForty Mile are featured prominently in the novels and short stories of American authorJack London, includingThe Call of the Wild. London lived in the Dawson area from October 1897 to June 1898. Other writers who lived in and wrote of Dawson City includePierre Berton and the poetRobert Service. The childhood home of the former is now used as a residency and retreat for professional writers administered by theWriters' Trust of Canada.[14][15]
In 2023, the Dawson City townsite became part of theTr’ondëk-Klondike UNESCO World Heritage Site, because of its archaeological record highlighting the transformation of the site from predominantly Indigenous to predominantly European use, and the adaptations that the Indigenous people made in response to European colonialism.[16]
Dawson City lies on theTintina Fault. This fault has created theTintina Trench and continues eastward for several hundred kilometres. Erosional remnants oflava flows form outcrops immediately north and west of Dawson City.
Dawson City has asubarctic climate (Köppen climate classification:Dsc), with significantly higher continentality (greater temperature swings) than the territory capital ofWhitehorse. Despite this classification, most precipitation actually occurs during summer and July is the wettest month. However, April, one of the six warmer months is sufficiently drier than October and November. Hence the letter 's' is used instead of 'f' (as inDfc).
The average temperature in July is 15.9 °C (60.6 °F) and in January is −25.7 °C (−14.3 °F).[17] The highest temperature ever recorded is 35.0 °C (95.0 °F) on 9 July 1899[18] and 18 June 1950.[19] The lowest temperature ever recorded is −58.3 °C (−73 °F) on 3 February 1947.[20] It experiences a wide range of temperatures surpassing 30 °C (86 °F) in most summers and dropping below −40 °C (−40 °F) in winter.[17] In the very cold month of December 1917, the temperature did not rise above −37.2 °C (−35.0 °F) and it averaged −46.3 °C (−51.3 °F).[21]
The community is at an elevation of 320 m (1,050 ft)[5] and the average rainfall in July is 53.3 mm (2.10 in) and the average snowfall in January is 28.4 cm (11.18 in). Dawson has an average total annual snowfall of 161.9 cm (63.74 in) and averages 77 frost free days per year.[17] The town is built on a layer of frozen earth, which may pose a threat to the town's infrastructure in the future if thepermafrost melts.[22][23]
| Climate data forDawson (Dawson City Airport) Climate ID: 2100402; coordinates64°02′35″N139°07′40″W / 64.04306°N 139.12778°W /64.04306; -139.12778 (Dawson City Airport); elevation: 370.3 m (1,215 ft); 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1897–present[a] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record highhumidex | 9.7 | 8.8 | 14.3 | 22.8 | 34.9 | 34.4 | 39.4 | 37.9 | 24.9 | 19.9 | 10.0 | 6.6 | 39.4 |
| Record high °C (°F) | 9.7 (49.5) | 9.5 (49.1) | 14.8 (58.6) | 22.5 (72.5) | 34.7 (94.5) | 34.5 (94.1) | 35.0 (95.0) | 33.5 (92.3) | 25.3 (77.5) | 17.7 (63.9) | 10.6 (51.1) | 6.5 (43.7) | 35.0 (95.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −21.6 (−6.9) | −15.1 (4.8) | −4.2 (24.4) | 7.9 (46.2) | 16.4 (61.5) | 22.1 (71.8) | 23.1 (73.6) | 19.5 (67.1) | 12.6 (54.7) | 0.2 (32.4) | −13.7 (7.3) | −18.8 (−1.8) | 2.4 (36.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −25.7 (−14.3) | −20.9 (−5.6) | −12.6 (9.3) | 0.4 (32.7) | 8.8 (47.8) | 14.4 (57.9) | 15.9 (60.6) | 12.7 (54.9) | 6.4 (43.5) | −4.0 (24.8) | −17.7 (0.1) | −23.0 (−9.4) | −3.8 (25.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −29.8 (−21.6) | −26.5 (−15.7) | −20.9 (−5.6) | −7.1 (19.2) | 1.2 (34.2) | 6.7 (44.1) | 8.7 (47.7) | 5.8 (42.4) | 0.2 (32.4) | −8.2 (17.2) | −21.7 (−7.1) | −27.1 (−16.8) | −9.9 (14.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −53.8 (−64.8) | −58.3 (−72.9) | −47.5 (−53.5) | −32.0 (−25.6) | −13.5 (7.7) | −3.0 (26.6) | −2.0 (28.4) | −11.0 (12.2) | −23.2 (−9.8) | −36.5 (−33.7) | −47.9 (−54.2) | −52.8 (−63.0) | −55.8 (−68.4) |
| Record lowwind chill | −60.3 | −58.6 | −47.7 | −37.9 | −18.5 | −5.0 | −2.8 | −9.2 | −25.8 | −41.0 | −51.3 | −60.0 | −60.3 |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 17.6 (0.69) | 13.2 (0.52) | 11.2 (0.44) | 10.7 (0.42) | 27.9 (1.10) | 43.7 (1.72) | 48.1 (1.89) | 47.8 (1.88) | 30.4 (1.20) | 25.7 (1.01) | 22.6 (0.89) | 19.6 (0.77) | 318.5 (12.54) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.1 (0.00) | 0.2 (0.01) | 0.3 (0.01) | 3.3 (0.13) | 24.5 (0.96) | 41.1 (1.62) | 53.3 (2.10) | 43.0 (1.69) | 33.3 (1.31) | 8.6 (0.34) | 0.2 (0.01) | 0.0 (0.0) | 207.8 (8.18) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 28.4 (11.2) | 16.7 (6.6) | 13.7 (5.4) | 6.2 (2.4) | 2.0 (0.8) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 4.0 (1.6) | 24.3 (9.6) | 33.0 (13.0) | 33.5 (13.2) | 161.9 (63.7) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 12.3 | 8.7 | 9.0 | 9.3 | 14.5 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 15.8 | 12.6 | 12.0 | 13.2 | 11.3 | 148.6 |
| Average rainy days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 0.21 | 0.1 | 0.22 | 2.6 | 10.1 | 12.5 | 14.5 | 14.2 | 11.5 | 3.7 | 0.27 | 0.05 | 69.7 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.2 cm) | 12.3 | 9.2 | 7.6 | 2.8 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 9.6 | 13.2 | 13.5 | 70.7 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%)(at 1500LST) | 75.2 | 73.1 | 52.3 | 36.4 | 32.7 | 37.4 | 43.7 | 48.4 | 52.9 | 72.1 | 80.3 | 78.3 | 56.9 |
| Source:Environment and Climate Change Canada[17] {February minimum)[20] (July maximum)[18][19] (December minimum}[21] | |||||||||||||
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| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 9,142 | — |
| 1911 | 3,013 | −67.0% |
| 1921 | 975 | −67.6% |
| 1931 | 819 | −16.0% |
| 1941 | 1,043 | +27.4% |
| 1951 | 783 | −24.9% |
| 1956 | 851 | +8.7% |
| 1961 | 881 | +3.5% |
| 1966 | 742 | −15.8% |
| 1971 | 762 | +2.7% |
| 1976 | 838 | +10.0% |
| 1981 | 697 | −16.8% |
| 1986 | 896 | +28.6% |
| 1991 | 972 | +8.5% |
| 1996 | 1,287 | +32.4% |
| 2001 | 1,251 | −2.8% |
| 2006 | 1,327 | +6.1% |
| 2011 | 1,319 | −0.6% |
| 2016 | 1,375 | +4.2% |
| 2021 | 1,577 | +14.7% |
| Source:Statistics Canada [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][6] | ||
In the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, Dawson had a population of1,577 living in770 of its836 total private dwellings, a change of14.7% from its 2016 population of1,375. With a land area of 30.91 km2 (11.93 sq mi), it had a population density of51.0/km2 (132.1/sq mi) in 2021.[6]
According to the 2021 Census, the town is predominantlyEuropean Canadian with 60.8% of the population withIndigenous Canadians accounting for 31.4% of the population andEast Asian Canadians accounting for 3.0% of the population.[35]
| Panethnic group | 2021[35] | 2016[36] | 2011[37] | 2006[38] | 2001[39] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
| European[b] | 900 | 60.81% | 940 | 70.15% | 830 | 64.09% | 915 | 69.32% | 885 | 71.08% |
| Indigenous | 465 | 31.42% | 310 | 23.13% | 435 | 33.59% | 390 | 29.55% | 340 | 27.31% |
| East Asian[c] | 45 | 3.04% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| South Asian | 25 | 1.69% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 20 | 1.61% |
| Southeast Asian[d] | 20 | 1.35% | 60 | 4.48% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| African | 15 | 1.01% | 15 | 1.12% | 0 | 0% | 10 | 0.76% | 10 | 0.8% |
| Latin American | 10 | 0.68% | 20 | 1.49% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Middle Eastern[e] | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 10 | 0.76% | 0 | 0% |
| Other/multiracial[f] | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 35 | 2.7% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Total responses | 1,480 | 93.85% | 1,340 | 97.45% | 1,295 | 98.18% | 1,320 | 99.47% | 1,245 | 99.52% |
| Total population | 1,577 | 100% | 1,375 | 100% | 1,319 | 100% | 1,327 | 100% | 1,251 | 100% |
| Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses | ||||||||||
Today, Dawson City's main industries aretourism andgoldmining.
Electricity is provided byYukon Energy Corporation (YEC). Most of the grid power ishydroelectric power through the north-south grid from dams nearMayo,Whitehorse andAishihik Lake. After the local hydroelectric power plant for the gold dredges was shut down in 1966, YEC provided electrical power from localdiesel generators. In 2004 YEC connected Dawson to its grid system. Since then the diesel generators function as a backup to the grid.[citation needed]
Gold mining started in 1896 with theBonanza (Rabbit) Creek discovery byGeorge Carmack,Tagish Charlie andSkookum Jim Mason (Keish). The area's creeks were quickly staked and most of the thousands who arrived in the spring of 1898 for theKlondike Gold Rush found that there was very little opportunity to benefit directly from gold mining. Many instead became entrepreneurs to provide services to miners.[citation needed]
Starting approximately 10 years later, largegold dredges began an industrial mining operation, scooping huge amounts of gold out of the creeks, and completely reworking the landscape, altering the locations of rivers and creeks and leavingtailing piles in their wake. A network of canals and dams were built to the north to producehydroelectric power for the dredges. The dredges shut down for the winter, but one built for"Klondike Joe Boyle" was designed to operate year-round, and Boyle had it operate all through one winter. That dredge (Dredge No. 4) is open as aNational Historic Site of Canada on Bonanza Creek.[citation needed]
The last dredge shut down in 1966, and the hydroelectric facility, at North Fork, was closed when the City of Dawson declined an offer to purchase it. Since then,placer miners returned to the status of being the primary mining operators in the region until recently. In 2016,Goldcorp announced a takeover of Kaminak Gold's Coffee Project south of Dawson.[40] This marked a shift in the region, drawing the interest of the major gold mining companies in the Yukon. In 2017,Newmont Mining Corporation,Barrick Gold andAgnico Eagle Mines Limited have all committed significant investment, engaging in the exploration of properties across the Central Yukon.[citation needed]
There are eightNational Historic Sites of Canada located in Dawson,[41] including the "Dawson Historical Complex", a National Historic Site encompassing the historic core of the town.[42]
TheDowntown Hotel at Second Avenue and Queen Street has garnered media attention for its unusualSourtoe Cocktail, which features a real mummified human toe.[43][44][45] The hotel and the toe received increased attention in June 2017 after the toe was stolen; it was soon returned to the hotel by mail along with a written apology.[46]
Bonanza Creek has two National Historic Sites; theDiscovery Claim and theDredge No. 4.
Tr'ochëk is the site of a traditionalHän fishing camp on the flats at the confluence of theKlondike River andYukon River. The site is owned and managed by theTr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation. In addition to the fishing camp remains, the site includes traditional plant harvesting areas and lookout points.
Diamond Tooth Gertie's Gambling Hall puts on nightlyvaudeville shows during tourist season, from May to September.[47]
Every February, Dawson City acts as the halfway mark for theYukon Quest International Sled Dog Race. Mushers entered in the event have a mandatory 36-hour layover in Dawson City while getting their rest and preparing for the second half of the world's toughest sled dog race.[48]
Dawson City also hosts a softball tournament which brings teams fromInuvik in late summer. Furthermore, a volleyball tournament is held annually at the end of October and is attended by various high schools across Yukon.
The city was home to theDawson City Nuggets hockey team, which in 1905 challenged theOttawa Silver Seven for theStanley Cup. Travelling toOttawa bydog sled, ship, and train, the team lost the most lopsided series in Stanley Cup history, losing two games by the combined score of 32 to 4.[49]
| Year | Liberal | Conservative | New Democratic | Green | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22% | 149 | 22% | 153 | 34% | 237 | 6% | 40 | |
| 2019 | 29% | 213 | 24% | 176 | 30% | 225 | 15% | 110 | |
In 2004, theYukon government removed the mayor and the town council, as a result of the town going bankrupt. The territorial government accepted a large portion of the responsibility for this situation in March 2006, writing off $3.43 million of the debt and leaving the town with $1.5 million still to pay off. Elections were set for June 15, 2006. John Steins, a local artist and one of the leaders of the movement to restore democracy to Dawson, was acclaimed as mayor, while 13 residents ran for the four council seats. Steins was succeeded in office by former mayorPeter Jenkins, who in turn was succeeded by Wayne Potoroka.[51]
In 2021, four candidates ran for mayor, and former city councillor William (Bill) Kendrick won the election and is the current mayor of Dawson City.
Other past mayors of Dawson City have includedArt Webster,Colin Mayes,Yolanda Burkhard, Mike Comadina and Vi Campbell.
In theLegislative Assembly of Yukon, Dawson City is in the electoral district ofKlondike, currently represented bySandy Silver of theYukon Liberal Party.
The government ofTr’ondëk Hwëch’in, now a self-governingFirst Nation, is also located in Dawson.
In 2024, councillors refused to swear allegiance to KingCharles III, in solidarity with councillor-elect Darwyn Lynn, who refused in protest against the historic relations between the monarchy and the First Nations.[52]
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Dawson was incorporated as a city in 1902 when it met the criteria for "city" status under the municipal act of that time. It retained the incorporation even as the population plummeted. When a new municipal act was adopted in the 1980s, Dawson met the criteria of "town", and was incorporated as such although with a special provision to allow it to continue to use the word "City", partially for historical reasons and partially to distinguish it fromDawson Creek, a small city in northeasternBritish Columbia. Dawson Creek is also named in honour of George M. Dawson. This led the territorial government to post the following signs at the boundaries of the town: "Welcome to the Town of the City of Dawson".[citation needed] As of the 2001Municipal Act, the town's official legal name is now simply the "City of Dawson".[1]
The Yukon River is navigable (when not frozen) and historically was travelled by commercialriverboats to Whitehorse and downstream into Alaska and theBering Sea.
Yukon School of Visual Arts, a university level accredited art program, is based in Dawson City.
Robert Service School, Dawson City's only grade school, is named in honour of British-Canadian poet and writerRobert William Service (January 16, 1874 – September 11, 1958). The Robert Service School offers Kindergarten – Grade 12 and is one of only 28 schools in the Yukon Territory.[55]
Television
| OTA channel | Call sign | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 9 (VHF) | CH4261 | Aboriginal Peoples Television Network |
Radio
| Frequency | Call sign | Branding | Format | Owner | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AM 560 | CBDN | CBC Radio One | Talk radio,public radio | Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | Rebroadcaster ofCFWH-FM (Whitehorse) |
| FM 90.5 | VF2049 | – | Community radio | Northern Native Broadcasting | First Nations community radio; rebroadcaster ofCHON-FM (Whitehorse) |
| FM 104.9 | CBDN-FM | CBC Radio 2 | Adult contemporary,public radio | Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | Rebroadcaster ofCBU-FM (Vancouver) |
| FM 106.9 | CFYT-FM | CFYT: The Spirit of Dawson | Community radio | Dawson City Community Radio Society | RebroadcastsCKRW-FM (Whitehorse) when not airing local programming |
The following people and military units have received theFreedom of the City of Dawson City.
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the corporation of the City of Dawson is continued as a town and shall have the name "City of Dawson"
Places adjacent to Dawson City | |
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