Klondike (Yukon Territory)

Klondike (Yukon Territory), region in the western Yukon Territory, Canada, site of a great gold rush in the late 1890s. The Klondike is in the vicinity of Dawson, where the Klondike and Yukon rivers meet. On August 17, 1896, alluvial gold was discovered in Bonanza Creek, a tributary of the Klondike River. When news of the discovery spread in mid-1897, a great gold rush began, and by late 1898, about 30,000 prospectors had entered the area. In 1900, the year of peak production, more than $22 million worth of gold was recovered from the rivers and creeks of the region. Gold production declined sharply thereafter, and many prospectors went to nearby Alaska. By 1966, when production ended, the area had yielded $250 million worth of gold.