Klondike River

"Reindeer River" redirects here. For other uses, see Reindeer River (disambiguation).
Klondike River
Klondike River crossing Dempster Highway (upstream)
Map
Native nameTr'ondëk (Hän)
Location
CountryCanada
TerritoryYukon
Physical characteristics
SourceOgilvie Mountains
MouthYukon River
 • location
Dawson City, Yukon, Canada
 • coordinates
64°03′08″N 139°26′27″W / 64.05222°N 139.44083°W / 64.05222; -139.44083
Length160 km (99 mi)
[1][2]

The Klondike River (Hän: Tr'ondëk) is a tributary of the Yukon River in Canada that gave its name to the Klondike Gold Rush and the Klondike region of the Yukon Territory. The Klondike River rises in the Ogilvie Mountains and flows into the Yukon River at Dawson City.

Its name comes from the Hän word Tr'ondëk (IPA [ʈʂʼoⁿdək]) meaning hammerstone, a tool which was used to hammer down stakes used to set salmon nets.

Gold was discovered in tributaries of the Klondike River in 1896, which started the Klondike gold rush, and is still being mined today.

In Jack London's story "A Relic of the Pliocene" (Collier's Weekly, 1901), this river was mentioned as "Reindeer River". (See Reindeer Lake.)

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  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference nrcan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).