Misplaced Pages

#198801

47-694: The area is geologically unique and ecologically diverse. It is bisected by the divide separating waters flowing into the Yukon River and eventually the Bering Sea from those flowing into the Mackenzie River and eventually the Beaufort Sea . The divide is part of an igneous belt of granitic and syenitic rock, known as the Cretaceous Tombstone Suite, that stretches from Fairbanks, Alaska , to

94-647: A Holikachuk phrase that means big river . Then, two years later, the Gwich'ins told the Hudson's Bay Company that their name for the river was Yukon and that the name meant white water river . White water river in fact corresponds to Gwich'in words that can be shortened to form Yukon . Because the Holikachuks had been trading regularly with both the Gwich’ins and the Yup'iks ,

141-450: A cooperative effort of 70 First Nations and tribes in Alaska and Canada, has the goal of making the river and its tributaries safe to drink from again by supplementing and scrutinizing government data. The name Yukon , or ųųg han , is a contraction of the words in the Gwich'in phrase chųų gąįį han , which means white water river and refers to "the pale colour" of glacial runoff in

188-794: A crucial role during the age of the steamboat. The first steam-powered vessel to enter the Skeena was the Union in 1864. In 1866 the Mumford attempted to ascend the river but was only able to reach the Kitsumkalum River . It was not until 1891 that the Hudson's Bay Company sternwheeler the Caledonia successfully negotiated through the Kitselas Canyon and reached Hazelton . A number of other steamers were built around

235-544: A legacy of the land settlement agreement with the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation , with a mandate to preserve and enhance its "physical, biological, archaeological and cultural values." The park is jointly administered by the territorial government and the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation. Notable features are Mount Monolith , Tombstone Mountain, and Glissade Pass. The scenic attractiveness of

282-401: A pair of tall smokestacks belching smoke and cinders, and twin double-acting pistons driving a large paddlewheel at the stern, churning foam. This type of propulsion was an advantage as a rear paddlewheel operates in an area clear of snags, is easily repaired, and is not likely to suffer damage in a grounding. By burning wood, the boat could consume fuel provided by woodcutters along the shore of

329-503: Is accessible from the Yukon at Pitkas Point), and Mountain Village . After Mountain Village, the main Yukon channel frays into many channels, sprawling across the delta. There are a number of communities after the "head of passes," as the channel division is called locally: Nunum Iqua , Alakanuk , Emmonak , and Kotlik . Of those delta communities, Emmonak is the largest with roughly 760 people in

376-516: Is also a birders' delight, with about 150 bird species having been identified. Conservation efforts began in 1972 when scientists identified two sensitive sites. Two years later Canada's Department of Indian and Northern Affairs identified an area to be protected from development, in light of the building of the Dempster Highway, to protect the views of Tombstone Mountain. By 2000 the Park was created,

423-521: Is also performed along the river in summer by barge , enabling heavy goods, oil, and vehicles to be transported to communities along the Yukon, Tanana, Innoko, and Koyukuk rivers. This service is performed by Ruby Marine and reaches Tanana on the Yukon River and Nenana on the Tanana River. Some of the upper slopes of this watershed (e.g. Nulato Hills ) are forested by Black Spruce . This locale near

470-627: Is known as water taxi in English-speaking countries, vaporetto in Venice, water/river tramway in former Soviet Union and Poland (although sightseeing boats can be called water tramways too). Local waterborne public transport is similar to ferry. The transport craft shown below is used for short-distance carriage of passengers between villages and small cities along the Yangtze, while larger craft are used for low-cost carriage over longer distance, without

517-531: Is more than 25% larger than Texas or Alberta . The longest river in Alaska and Yukon, it was one of the principal means of transportation during the 1896–1903 Klondike Gold Rush . A portion of the river in Yukon—"The Thirty Mile" section, from Lake Laberge to the Teslin River —is a national heritage river and a unit of Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park . Paddle-wheel riverboats continued to ply

SECTION 10

#1733084896199

564-611: The Chilkoot Trail . Either way, Atlin Lake flows into Tagish Lake (via the Atlin River), as eventually does Lake Lindeman after flowing into Bennett Lake . Tagish Lake then flows into Marsh Lake (via the Tagish River). The Yukon River proper starts at the northern end of Marsh Lake, just south of Whitehorse . Some argue that the source of the Yukon River should really be Teslin Lake and

611-686: The Colorado , Columbia , and Sacramento rivers. These American riverboats were designed to draw very little water, and in fact it was commonly said that they could "navigate on a heavy dew". Australia has a history of riverboats. Australia's biggest river, the Murray , has an inland port called Echuca . Many large riverboats were working on the Murray, but now a lower water level is stopping them. The Kalgan River in Western Australia has had two main riverboats,

658-479: The Environmental Protection Agency does not list the Yukon River among its impaired watersheds, and water-quality data from the U.S. Geological Survey shows relatively good levels of turbidity, metals, and dissolved oxygen. The Yukon and Mackenzie rivers have much higher suspended sediment concentrations than the great Siberian Arctic rivers. The Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council ,

705-689: The Ross River . Multiple glaciations intruded into the region from the east, separating it from areas to the north and west, known as Beringia , that were not glaciated, and creating a pocket of rugged terrain. North of the divide, the margins of prior glaciations give way to much gentler permafrost landforms that escaped glaciation, with ice margin formations such as pingos , moraines , ice-wedge, polygons, and frost mounds. The park protects diverse flora and fauna, including five big game species Dall's sheep , two species of caribou , moose , black bears , grizzly bears , and numerous smaller mammals. The Park

752-535: The Seward Peninsula represents the near westernmost limit of the Black Spruce, Picea mariana , one of the most widespread conifers in northern North America. The river flows into several parklands and refuges including: Yukon at Pilot Station (121 miles upstream of mouth) minimum, average and maximum discharge: for statistical calculation The Yukon River is home to one of the longest salmon runs in

799-506: The Silver Star , 1918 to 1935, would lower her funnel to get under the low bridge. Today, the Kalgan Queen riverboat takes tourists up the river to taste the local wines. She lowers her roof to get under the same bridge. It is these early steam-driven river craft that typically come to mind when " steamboat " is mentioned, as these were powered by burning wood, with iron boilers drafted by

846-651: The Takhini River ) and Kluane Lake (into the Kluane and then White River). The river passes through the communities of Whitehorse , Carmacks , (just before the Five Finger Rapids ) and Dawson City in Yukon , and crossing Alaska into Eagle , Circle , Fort Yukon , Stevens Village , Rampart , Tanana , Ruby , Galena , Nulato , Grayling , Holy Cross , Russian Mission , Marshall , Pilot Station , St. Marys (which

893-487: The Teslin River , which has a larger flow when it reaches the Yukon at Hootalinqua. The upper end of the Yukon River was originally known as the Lewes River until it was established that it actually was the Yukon. North of Whitehorse, the Yukon River widens into Lake Laberge , made famous by Robert W. Service 's " The Cremation of Sam McGee ". Other large lakes that are part of the Yukon River system include Kusawa Lake (into

940-627: The Three Gorges , one-way travel was enforced through fast narrows . While less maneuverable and deeper draft vessels were obliged to wait for clearance, these high-speed boats were free to zip past waiting traffic by running in the shallows. Smaller riverboats are used in urban and suburban areas for sightseeing and public transport. Sightseeing boats can be found in Amsterdam, Paris, and other touristic cities where historical monuments are located near water. The concept of local waterborn public transport

987-416: The 2000 census. Emmonak's gravel airstrip is the regional hub for flights. Navigational obstacles on the Yukon River are the Five Finger Rapids and Rink Rapids downstream from Carmacks. Despite its length, there are only four vehicle-carrying bridges across the river, listed from upstream to downstream: A car ferry crosses the river at Dawson City in the summer; it is replaced by an ice bridge over

SECTION 20

#1733084896199

1034-508: The Alaska Department of Fish & Game's Division of Commercial Fisheries banned all fishing of Chinook and chum salmon, including for subsistence. Various organizations are involved to protect healthy salmon runs into the future. The Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association was formed in 1990 by a consensus of fishers representing the entire drainage in response to recent disaster years. Its organizational goals include giving voice to

1081-468: The Holikachuks were in a position to borrow the Gwich'in contraction and to conflate its meaning with the meaning of Kuig-pak [River-big], which is the Yup'ik name for the same river. For that reason, the documentary evidence suggests that the Holikachuks had borrowed the contraction Ųųg Han [White Water River] from Gwich'in, and erroneously assumed that this contraction had the same literal meaning as

1128-507: The Middle Ages, towpaths were built along most waterways to use working animals or people to pull riverboats. In the 19th century, steamboats became common. The most famous riverboats were on the rivers of the midwestern and central southern United States , on the Mississippi , Ohio and Missouri rivers in the early 19th century. Out west, riverboats were common transportation on

1175-505: The Mississippi River that could operate in water under two metres deep. While a ferry is often used to cross a river, a riverboat is used to travel along the course of the river, while carrying passengers or cargo, or both, for revenue. (Vessels like ' riverboat casinos ' are not considered here, as they are essentially stationary.) The significance of riverboats is dependent on the number of navigable rivers and channels as well as

1222-476: The Park, in particular, has attracted growing numbers of visitors from all parts of the world, with tourism operators now offering excursions through, and into, the Park. Numerous hiking trails intrude into the park from the Dempster corridor (a 1-km strip alongside the highway exempt from the park). Along this strip is an interpretive centre, open in summer, which provides visitors with necessary resources for accessing

1269-484: The Yangtze River, typically employees have double duties: both as serving staff and as evening-costumed dancers. Smaller luxury craft (without entertainment) operate on European waterways - both rivers and canals, with some providing bicycle and van side trips to smaller villages. High-speed boats such as those shown here had a special advantage in some operations in the free-running Yangtze. In several locations within

1316-551: The Yukon River. The contraction is Ųųg Han , if the /ųų/ remains nasalized , or Yuk Han , if there is no vowel nasalization. In the 1840s, different tribes had different opinions as to the literal meaning of Yukon . In 1843, the Holikachuks had told the Russian-American Company that their name for the river was Yukkhana and that this name meant big river . However, Yukkhana does not literally correspond to

1363-557: The Yukon include set gillnets , drift nets , dip nets , and fish wheels . The preference of certain gear is largely dependent on the river's varied characteristics in different areas. Some parts of the river do not have eddies to make set-nets successful, whereas in other places the tributaries are small enough to make drifting impractical. Over the last 20 years salmon recruitment, the number of returning adults, has taken several shocks. The late 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s have been marked by radically reduced runs for various salmon species. In

1410-582: The backcountry and interpretive programs for understanding it, as well as several car camping sites. There are three designated backcountry campgrounds: Grizzly, Divide, and Talus Lakes. The park's most imposing feature, Mt. Tombstone, was first climbed by Martyn Williams , Jurg Hofer, and Liz Hofer on June 21, 1973. Yukon River The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. From its source in British Columbia , it flows through Canada's territory of Yukon (itself named after

1457-691: The border. The agreement is implemented through the Yukon River Panel, an international body of 12 members, equal-parts American and Canadian, that advises managers of Yukon River fisheries concerning restoration, conservation, and coordinated management. Tribal organizations such as the Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP), Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments (CATG), and Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) work to sustain Yukon River salmon to promote healthy people, cultures, and communities. The main river and tributaries are (sorted in order from

Tombstone Territorial Park - Misplaced Pages Continue

1504-423: The condition of the road and rail network. Generally speaking, riverboats provide slow but cheap transport especially suited for bulk cargo and containers . As early as 20,000 BC people started fishing in rivers and lakes using rafts and dugouts . Roman sources dated 50 BC mention extensive transportation of goods and people on the river Rhine . Upstream, boats were usually powered by sails or oars . In

1551-524: The corresponding Yup'ik name Kuig-pak [River-big]. The Lewes River is the former name of the upper course of the Yukon, from Marsh Lake to the confluence of the Pelly River at Fort Selkirk . The generally accepted source of the Yukon River is the Llewellyn Glacier at the southern end of Atlin Lake in British Columbia . Others suggest that the source is Lake Lindeman at the northern end of

1598-455: The current, with an estimated 35–50% bound for Canada. As a result, Chinook salmon are noted for their especially rich and fatty meat and are the priciest of all Pacific salmon species. The villages along the Yukon have historically relied on and continue to rely on salmon for their cultural, subsistence, and commercial needs. Salmon are traditionally dried, smoked, and frozen for both human and sled dog consumption. Common methods of fishing on

1645-545: The effects of climate change on ocean food-supply & disease prevalence in returning adults, the methods of fishing used on the river, and the effects of the Bering Sea Pollock trawl fleet on food supply and salmon bycatch. In 2010, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game's Board of Fisheries issued the first-ever restriction for net mesh size on the Yukon, reducing it to 7.5 inches (190 mm). In 2021,

1692-453: The fancy food or shows seen on the tourist riverboats. In some cases, the traveller must provide their own food. As the major rivers in China are mostly east-west, most rail and road transport are typically north-south. As roads along the rivers are inadequate for heavy truck transport and in some cases extremely dangerous, drive-on/drive-off ramp barges are used to transport trucks. In many cases

1739-618: The frozen river during the winter. Plans to build a permanent bridge were announced in March 2004, although they are currently on hold because bids came in much higher than budgeted. There are also two pedestrian-only bridges in Whitehorse, as well as a dam across the river and a hydroelectric generating station. The construction of the dam flooded the White Horse Rapids , which gave the city its name, and created Schwatka Lake . Transportation

1786-908: The mouth heading upstream): tributary tributary (km) (km ) (m /s) (distributary) Teslin Period: 1971–2000 Riverboat A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes , rivers , and artificial waterways . They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury units constructed for entertainment enterprises, such as lake or harbour tour boats . As larger water craft, virtually all riverboats are especially designed and constructed, or alternatively, constructed with special-purpose features that optimize them as riverine or lake service craft, for instance, dredgers , survey boats, fisheries management craft, fireboats and law enforcement patrol craft. Riverboats are usually less sturdy than ships built for

1833-419: The open seas, with limited navigational and rescue equipment, as they do not have to withstand the high winds or large waves characteristic to large lakes, seas or oceans. They can thus be built from light composite materials. They are limited in size by width and depth of the river as well as the height of bridges spanning the river. They can be designed with shallow drafts, as were the paddle wheel steamers on

1880-601: The river until the 1950s, when the Klondike Highway was completed. After the purchase of Alaska by the United States in 1867, the Alaska Commercial Company acquired the assets of the Russian-American Company and constructed several posts at various locations on the Yukon River. The Yukon River has a recent history of pollution from military installations, dumps, wastewater, and other sources. However,

1927-565: The river). The lower half of the river continues westward through the U.S. state of Alaska . The river is 3,190 kilometres (1,980 mi) long and empties into the Bering Sea at the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta . The average flow is 6,400–7,000 m /s (230,000–250,000 cu ft/s). The total drainage area is 854,700 km (330,000 sq mi), of which 323,800 km (125,000 sq mi) lies in Canada. The total area

Tombstone Territorial Park - Misplaced Pages Continue

1974-579: The river. These early boats carried a brow (a short bridge) on the bow, so they could head in to an unimproved shore for transfer of cargo and passengers. Modern riverboats are generally screw (propeller) -driven, with pairs of diesel engines of several thousand horsepower. The standard reference for the development of the steamboat is Steamboats on Western Rivers: An Economic and Technological History by Louis C. Hunter (1949). Terrace, British Columbia , Canada, celebrates "Riverboat Days" each summer. The Skeena River passes through Terrace and played

2021-446: The summer of 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service counted 58,500 Chinook salmon, the second lowest season on record. The United States Department of Commerce issued a Federal Disaster Declaration for the 2008 and 2009 Commercial Chinook Yukon River fisheries, calling for the complete closure of commercial fishing along with restrictions on subsistence fishing. The root cause of these poor returns remains debated, with questions about

2068-400: The trucks transported are new and are being delivered to customers or dealers. Perhaps unique to China, the new trucks observed traveling upstream were all blue, while the new trucks traveling downstream were all white. Low-value goods are transported on rivers and canals worldwide, since slow-speed barge traffic offers the lowest possible cost per ton mile and the capital cost per ton carried

2115-413: The turn of the century, in part due to the growing fish industry and the gold rush . The WT Preston , a museum ship that was once a specialised river dredge , also called a "snagboat". Some large riverboats are comparable in accommodation, food service, and entertainment to a modern oceanic cruise ship . Tourist boats provide a scenic and relaxing trip through the segment they operate in. On

2162-525: The village fishers that have traditionally managed these resources, enabling communication between fishers and fishery managers, and helping to preserve the ecological integrity of salmon runs and local cultures' Traditional Ecological Knowledge In March 2001, the U.S. & Canadian governments passed the Yukon River Salmon Agreement to better manage an internationally shared resource and ensure that more Canadian-originated salmon return across

2209-493: The world. Each year Chinook , coho , and chum salmon return to their terminal streams in Alaska, the Yukon Territory , and British Columbia. As salmon do not eat during their spawning migration, Yukon River salmon must have great reserves of fat and energy to fuel their thousands-mile-long journey. The Chinook, which arrive at the mouth of the Yukon River in early June, have the longest journey – as many as 2,000 miles against

#198801