Yukon Territory

I

Introduction

Yukon Territory, administrative region of north-western Canada, bounded on the north by the Beaufort Sea (an arm of the Arctic Ocean), on the east by the Northwest Territories, on the south by British Columbia and the American state of Alaska, and on the west by Alaska. The crest of the Mackenzie Mountains forms much of the eastern boundary.

Yukon Territory entered the Canadian Confederation on June 13, 1898. The name of the territory is taken from the River Yukon; the word is derived from an indigenous expression meaning “great river”.

II

Land and Resources

Yukon Territory, with an area of 483,450 sq km (186,660 sq mi), is the ninth largest of the Canadian territories and provinces. The territory is roughly triangular in shape, and its extreme dimensions are about 1,045 km (650 mi) from north to south and about 930 km (580 mi) from east to west. Elevations range from sea level along the Arctic Ocean in the north to 5,959 m (19,551 ft) atop Mount Logan, the highest peak in Canada and the second highest peak in North America.

A

Physical Geography

Most of the southern and central part of Yukon Territory is occupied by high plateaux, which range in elevation from about 1,220 to 1,830 m (4,000 to 6,000 ft). The plateaux are interrupted by small local mountain ranges with elevations of up to 2,134 m (7,000 ft). The plateau region is isolated from the Pacific Ocean on the south-west by the ice-capped St Elias Mountains which contain numerous peaks higher than 3,048 m (10,000 ft). Mount St Elias (5,489 m/18,008 ft), the fourth highest mountain in North America, straddles the border between south-eastern Alaska and south-western Yukon Territory. In the east and north the plateau region is bordered by the complex Northeastern Mountain and Basin System. On the north-east lie the Mackenzie, Selwyn, and Richardson mountain ranges. The Ogilvie Mountains separate the plateau region on the south from the Porcupine River Basin on the north. The Northern Plains areas consist of the plain of the Peel River in the north-east and the Arctic coastal plain in the extreme north.

The territory's drainage pattern is dominated by the Yukon River and its tributaries. The principal tributaries in the south include the Pelly, Macmillan, Stewart, White, and Klondike rivers; in the north the Porcupine River flows north and west to join the Yukon in Alaska. The other major rivers are the Liard in the extreme south-east and the Peel in the extreme north-east, both of which drain into the Arctic Ocean by the Mackenzie River. Among the territory's numerous lakes are the scenic alpine lakes, Kluane and Aishihik, on the eastern edge of the St Elias Mountains. Other large lakes include Teslin, Laberge, Kusawa, and Wolf.

B

Climate

A continental sub-arctic climate prevails in the Yukon; winters are severely cold, and summers are warm to hot, but very short. The average annual temperature varies from -11.1° C (12° F) in the north-west to -0.6° C (31° F) in the extreme south-west. The recorded temperature has ranged from -63° C (-81.4° F) in 1947 (the lowest temperature ever recorded in North America), at Snag in the south-west, to 36.1° C (97° F) in 1949, at Mayo. The average annual precipitation ranges only from 229 to 330 mm (9 to 13 in).