Geography of Yukon


Yukon is in the northwestern corner of Canada and is bordered by Alaska, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. The sparsely populated territory abounds with natural scenery, snowmelt lakes and perennial white-capped mountains, including many of Canada's highest mountains. The territory's climate is Arctic in territory north of Old Crow, subarctic in the region, between Whitehorse and Old Crow, and humid continental climate south of Whitehorse and in areas close to the British Columbia border. Most of the territory is boreal forest with tundra being the main vegetation zone only in the extreme north and at high elevations.
The territory is about the shape of a right triangle, bordering the American state of Alaska to the west, the Northwest Territories to the east and British Columbia to the south. Yukon covers, of which is land and is water, making it the thirty-sixth largest subnational entity in the world.
Yukon is bounded on the south by the 60th parallel of latitude. Its northern coast is on the Beaufort Sea. Its western boundary is 141° west longitude. Its ragged eastern boundary largely follows the divide between the Yukon River basin and the Mackenzie River watershed to the east in the Mackenzie Mountains.

Physical geography

Except for the coastal plain on the Beaufort Sea coast, most of Yukon is part of the American Cordillera. The terrain includes mountain ranges, plateaus and river valleys.
The southwest is dominated by the Kluane ice fields in Kluane National Park and Reserve, the largest non-polar ice fields in the Poles. Kluane National Park also contains eight of Canada's ten highest mountains, including the five highest, all in the Saint Elias Mountains. A number of glaciers flow out of the ice fields, including the Logan Glacier, the Hubbard Glacier and the Kaskawulsh Glacier.
Permafrost is common. The northern part of Yukon has continuous permafrost, while it is widespread in the central part. Even the southern Yukon has scattered patches of permafrost.
Two major faults, the Denali Fault and the Tintina Fault have created major valleys called trenches: the Shakwak Trench and the Tintina Trench. The Shakwak Trench separates the Kluane ranges from other mountain ranges north of it. The Haines Highway and the Alaska Highway north of Haines Junction are built in the Shakwak Trench. The Tintina Trench bisects the Yukon from northwest to southeast and its edges have rich mineral deposits including the Klondike gold and the lead-zinc deposits near Faro.

Volcanoes

The volcanoes in Yukon are part of the circle of volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean known as the Ring of Fire. Yukon includes more than 100 separate volcanic centres that have been active during the Quaternary. The Fort Selkirk volcanic field in central Yukon is the northernmost Holocene volcanic field in Canada, including the young active cinder cone, Volcano Mountain. A volcanic field in south-central Yukon is called Alligator Lake volcanic complex. It contains two well-preserved cinder cones that caps a small shield volcano. Lava from the cones travelled north and were erupted at the same time. Volcanoes in south-western Yukon are part of the Wrangell Volcanic Field, which is related to the subduction of the Pacific plate beneath the North American plate at the easternmost end of the Avalanche Trench.
Yukon volcanoes include:

Mountain ranges

The Saint Elias Mountains are part of the Coast Mountains which range from southern British Columbia to Alaska and cover the southwestern Yukon. While the Saint Elias Mountains contain the highest mountains, there are numerous other mountain ranges, from the British Mountains in the far north and the Richardson Mountains in the northeast, both of which are part of the Brooks Range, to the Selwyn Mountains and Mackenzie Mountains in the east, the Cassiar Mountains in the south-east, the Pelly Mountains in the central Yukon, and the Ogilvie Mountains north
of Dawson City and along the Dempster Highway.
Yukon mountain ranges include:

Hydrography

Most of the territory is in the watershed of its namesake, the Yukon River, which flows into the Bering Sea. Southern Yukon is dotted with a large number of large, long and narrow glacier-fed alpine lakes, most of which flow into the Yukon River system. The larger lakes include: Teslin Lake, Atlin Lake, Tagish Lake, Marsh Lake, Lake Laberge, Kusawa Lake, Kluane Lake. Bennett Lake on the Klondike Gold Rush trail is a smaller lake flowing into Tagish Lake.
Other rivers flow either directly into the Pacific Ocean or directly or indirectly into the Arctic Ocean. The Alsek - Tatshenshini drainage flows directly into the Pacific from southwestern Yukon. A number of rivers in northern Yukon flow directly into the Arctic Ocean. The two main Yukon rivers flowing into the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories are the Liard River in the southeast and the Peel River and its tributaries in the northeast.

Climate

Most of Yukon has a subarctic climate, characterized by long cold winters and brief warm summers. The airstrip at Snag, east of Beaver Creek near the Alaska border, experienced the lowest ever temperature measured in North America, on 3 February 1947. The Arctic Ocean coast has a polar climate. The climate is generally very dry, with little precipitation, but is considerably wetter in the southeast. Precipitation is much greater in the mountains, and the snow pack continues to melt well into the summer, resulting in high water in July or August.
ZoneAverage annual temperatureAverage July temperatureAverage January temperatureAverage snowfallAverage rainfall
North
Central
South
Southeast

Ecology

Except for the coastal plain of the Arctic Ocean and high elevations, most of Yukon is in an ecoregion that forms part of the boreal forest of Canada. Most mountain peaks and higher elevations are characterized by Alpine tundra while the coastal plain is Arctic coastal tundra. More precisely, according to the ecozone definitions used by Environment and Climate Change Canada, southern and central Yukon is part of the Boreal Cordillera Ecozone while the northern forest is part of the Taiga Cordillera Ecozone. The Peel River area in the northeast is in the Taiga Plains Ecozone and the Arctic coast is in the Southern Arctic Ecozone.

Plants

Black spruce, white spruce, quaking aspen and balsam poplar are found throughout much of the territory. Although relatively uncommon, the Alaska birch is also found in most areas. The lodgepole pine reaches its northern extreme in the south-central part of the territory, while tamarack is found in the southeast and the subalpine fir is found at higher elevations in the southern part of the territory. Fireweed is the territories official flower.

Animals

It is estimated that there are over 200,000 caribou in 53 herds throughout Yukon. The barren-ground, which includes the 169,000 strong Porcupine caribou herd. The woodland caribou are boreal woodland and northern mountain caribou as designated by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.
Other large mammals include moose, wolves, grizzly bears and American black bears. Higher elevations have Dall sheep and, in the south, mountain goat. Polar bears are found on the Arctic coast. The mule deer and its predator, the cougar, are becoming increasingly common in the south, and coyotes are increasing their range to the northern Yukon. Elk and wood bison are also present.
There are many species of rodents, including red squirrels, Arctic ground squirrel, northern flying squirrel, several species of lemmings, collared pikas, North American beavers, various species of voles, North American porcupines, muskrats, etc. Mustelids are also well represented and include the wolverine, American marten, stoat, least weasel, American mink, and the river otter. Other small carnivores present are the Canada lynx, red fox and Arctic fox along the northern coast.
More than 250 species of birds have been sighted in Yukon. The common raven is the territorial bird and is common everywhere. Other common resident birds include bald eagles, golden eagles, gyrfalcon and peregrine falcon, seven species of grouse, dusky, ruffed, sharp-tailed, Willow ptarmigan, Rock ptarmigan, and white-tailed ptarmigan ). Many migratory birds breed in the Yukon, as it is at the northern end of the Pacific Flyway.
Other than the burbot and northern pike, most of the large fish found in Yukon rivers, lakes and streams are salmonids. Four species of Pacific salmon, chum, coho, and sockeye ) breed in Yukon rivers and lakes in the Pacific and Yukon River watersheds. The Yukon River has the longest freshwater migration route of any salmon; Chinook salmon swim over from its mouth in the Bering Sea to spawning grounds upstream of Whitehorse. There are also land-locked kokanee and rainbow trout. Char are represented by lake trout present in most large Yukon lakes, as well as Dolly Varden, bull trout and Arctic char. The Arctic grayling is ubiquitous, while the lakes have various whitefish and inconnu.
There are no reptiles in Yukon, but a few frogs such as the wood frog.

Human geography

Yukon is sparsely populated, with 40,232 inhabitants in a territory almost as large as Spain or Sweden. Covering an area of the population density is. Close to three quarters of the population is in the Whitehorse area, and the rest live in a number of other communities. All except Old Crow are accessible by road.
The capital, Whitehorse, is also the largest city with more than 70% of the population; the second largest is Dawson City, which was the capital until 1952.
Traditionally, Yukon was inhabited by nomadic Athapaskan-speaking First Nations people who had established extensive trading networks with the Pacific Coast Tlingit. The interior people traded copper, furs and meat for coastal products such as eulachon oil. About 20% of the Yukon population is of Indigenous origin.
There is no Inuit population in Yukon, although there was a population along the Arctic Ocean coast within historic times. The Inuit were decimated by disease and disappeared in the 19th century. In 1984, the Government of Canada included the Yukon North Slope within the Inuvialuit Settlement Region under the auspices of the Inuvialuit.
The following table, sorted alphabetically presents the population of most Yukon communities as listed by Statistics Canada.

Natural resources

Yukon has abundant mineral resources and mining was the mainstay of the economy until recently. Abundant gold was found in the Klondike region leading to the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898. Placer gold is found in many streams and rivers, and there is an active placer mining industry in the Klondike and many other parts of Yukon to this day.
Other minerals that have been actively mined include copper in the Whitehorse area, lead and zinc in Faro, silver, zinc and lead in the Mayo / Keno City area, asbestos in Clinton Creek, and copper, gold, and coal in the Carmacks area. The world's largest known deposit of tungsten is in the Macmillan Pass area in the Mackenzie Mountains near the Northwest Territories border. Non-metallic minerals mined have included jade and barite. Lazulite, a semi-precious gemstone and the territories official gemstone, occurs in northern Yukon, about south of the Beaufort Sea.
The fur trade was very important to the economy of Indigenous peoples in Yukon, but low prices and the impact of the animal rights movement has devastated the traditional economy.
There are four hydroelectric generating stations in Yukon. Three operated by Yukon Energy; one at Aishihik Lake, one at Mayo and a third at what used to be the White Horse Rapids that were submerged by the damming of Yukon River to create Schwatka Lake near Whitehorse. The fourth is operated by Yukon Electrical at Fish Lake
While Yukon is mostly covered with forests, most of the trees are small and take a long time to grow and regenerate because of the dry cold climate. There is a considerable amount of small scale logging, but the only area that can sustain industrial forestry is in the southeast with its wetter climate. However, distance from markets and fluctuating prices have resulted in a boom-and-bust industry.
A small amount of natural gas is currently produced in the southeast, but little exploration has been done in other parts of the Yukon. It is believed that there are abundant natural gas fields in the Eagle Plains area along the Dempster Highway and possibly in the Whitehorse area, but distance from pipelines has hampered exploration.

Environmental issues

Climate change is affecting the north more than other parts of the world and Yukon is no exception. While residents might welcome warmer temperatures, the ultimate effects are not known. Higher temperatures would mean more evaporation and drying out an already dry climate, resulting in more forest fires and reducing the biological productivity of boreal forests, whose growth is limited more by lack of moisture than temperature. Also glaciers are likely to melt, and permafrost likely to thaw.
Yukon is also the recipient of airborne pollutants from other parts of the world, especially persistent organic pollutants. Consumption of the liver of certain wild animals and fish is no longer recommended because of these.
Locally, mine reclamation and dealing with mine tailings that cause acid mine drainage left over from mine closures is a major problem and is likely to cost hundreds of millions of dollars to clean up.
In an effort to encourage natural resource exploration, the previous Yukon Party government led by Dennis Fentie has suspended the application of the Protected Areas Strategy and has indicated its intention of not creating additional protected areas or parks.
The Gwichʼin people of Old Crow are dependent on the Porcupine caribou herd for food and clothing, as are others in the Yukon. The Porcupine caribou herd migrates to the coastal plain in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to give birth. That herd may be seriously threatened by oil-drilling in the ANWR.