Whitehorse, YT - Yukon River

Today in Whitehorse, YT, we took a 2-hour scenic tour of Miles Canyon on the Yukon River while listening to an original narration of the history and points of interest along the way. Whitehorse got its name from the historic rapids on the Yukon River which resembled the flowing manes of charging white horses. The construction of the Whitehorse hydro-electric dam in 1958 tamed Miles Canyon and has replaced the once foaming White Horse Rapids with Schwatka Lake reservoir.

Before the Gold Rush, this area was a First Nations' campsite. In 1900, construction of the White Pass & Yukon Route railway from Skagway to a point past the rapids was completed and Whitehorse came into being as its railhead. For years, Whitehorse continued its role connecting rail service with riverboat traffic to Dawson. In 1942, thousands of American Army personnel arrived to build the Alaska Highway. I a record breaking 8 months and 23 days, 1534 miles of highway was laid down. The boom ceased by the end of the war, but Whitehorse had become an important center of communications and transportation, was incorporated as a city in 1950. In 1953 the capital of Yukon was transferred from Dawson City to Whitehorse.