Bonanza Creek (
Hän
The Hän, Han or Hwëch'in / Han Hwech’in (meaning "People of the River, i.e. Yukon River", in English also Hankutchin) are a First Nations people of Canada and an Alaska Native Athabaskan people of the United States; they are part of the At ...
: ''Ch'ö`chozhù' ndek'') is a watercourse in
Yukon Territory
Yukon () is a territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s westernmost territory and the smallest ...
, Canada.
It runs for about from
King Solomon's Dome to the
Klondike River
The Klondike River () 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 ...
. In the last years of the 19th century and the early 20th century, Bonanza Creek was the centre of the
Klondike Gold Rush, which attracted tens of thousands of
prospectors
Prospecting is the first stage of the geological analysis (followed by exploration) of a territory. It is the search for minerals, fossils, precious metals, or mineral specimens. It is also known as fossicking.
Traditionally prospecting rel ...
to the creek and the area surrounding it. Prior to 1896 the creek was known as Rabbit Creek. Its name was changed by miners in honour of the millions of dollars in gold found in and around the creek.
During gold-mining operations, the course of the creek changed drastically. It was heavily developed during the early 20th century, but was largely abandoned by the 1950s. A handful of small gold-mining operations continue on the creek, but today it is best known for its historic value. Two
National Historic Sites of Canada
National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...
have been designated along the creek:
* The "
Discovery Claim (Claim 37903)", a
mining claim
Mineral rights are property rights to exploit an area for the minerals it harbors. Mineral rights can be separate from property ownership (see Split estate). Mineral rights can refer to sedentary minerals that do not move below the Earth's surfa ...
on Bonanza Creek where the Klondike Gold Rush began, the discovery of which marked the beginning of the development of the Yukon; and
* "Dredge No. 4", a preserved
bucketline sluice dredge used to mine
placer gold and which symbolizes the importance of dredging operations to the evolution of gold mining in the
Klondike.
[Parks Canada]
"Dredge No. 4 National Historic Site of Canada"
, pc.gc.ca. November 28, 2008. Accessed May 12, 2009.
Gallery
File:Discovery Claim at Bonanza Creek (1).JPG, Discovery Claim at Bonanza Creek
File:Gold panning at Bonanza Creek.JPG, Gold panning at Bonanza Creek
See also
*
List of rivers of Yukon
This is a list of rivers of Yukon.
Arctic Ocean watershed
*Mackenzie River watershed
**Upper Liard River
*** Rancheria River
**** Little Rancheria River
*** Frances River
*** Hyland River
*** Coal River
*** La Biche River
*** Beaver River (Liard ...
References
{{authority control
Rivers of Yukon
Klondike Gold Rush
Dawson City
Hän