The SS Klondike


Day 12.  I went out for a walk in the brisk cold, but gloriously sunny afternoon...to take these shots.  This is a picture of the SS Klondike which is an old sternwheeler that travelled the upper Yukon River between Whitehorse and Dawson City for the first half of the Twenntieth Century.   Originally it was built in 1929, but sank in 1936, was rebuilt and launched in the spring of 1937. Located on the banks of the Yukon River in Whitehorse, Yukon and restored to her original 1937-40 appearance, the S.S. Klondike pays tribute to an era of riverboat transportation and the inland water transportation system that linked the Yukon to the outside world before the building of roads.




Steam boating on the Yukon River began in 1886. After the discovery of gold in the Klondike, many more stern wheelers began to travel the river. These boats carried passengers and supplies to and from Dawson during the months when the river was not frozen. They were fueled by wood, burning up to two cords an hour. This meant stopping about every 30 miles to get more wood at the wood camps.



The next shot is of the Yukon River upon which the Klondike is beached.  The Klondike is behind me in this picture.

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