Geography of Yukon

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 (Köppen climate classification Dfc), characterized by long cold winters and brief warm summers. The airstrip at Snag, 25 km (16 mi) east of Beaver Creek near the Alaska border, experienced the lowest ever temperature measured in North America (outside of Greenland), −63.0 °C (−81.4 °F) on 3 February 1947. The Arctic Ocean coast has a polar climate (ET). 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.

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 (Picea mariana), white spruce (Picea glauca), quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera) are found throughout much of the territory. Although relatively uncommon, the Alaska birch (Betula neoalaskana) is also found in most areas. The lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) reaches its northern extreme in the south-central part of the territory, while tamarack (Larix laricina) is found in the southeast and the subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa, the official tree) is found at higher elevations in the southern part of the territory. Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) is the territories official flower.

Animals

It is estimated that there are over 200,000 caribou (Rangifer tarandus) in 53 herds throughout Yukon. The barren-ground (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus or Rangifer tarandus grantii), which includes the 169,000 strong Porcupine caribou herd (Rangifer arcticus arcticus). The woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus 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 (Alces alces), wolves (Canis lupus), grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) and American black bears (Ursus americanus). Higher elevations have Dall sheep (also called thinhorn sheep, Ovis dalli) and, in the south, mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus). Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are found on the Arctic coast. The mule deer (Odocoileus hermionus) and its predator, the cougar (Puma concolor), are becoming increasingly common in the south, and coyotes (Canis latrans) are increasing their range to the northern Yukon. Elk (Cervus canadensis) and wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) are also present.

There are many species of rodents, including red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris), Arctic ground squirrel (Urocitellus parryii), northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus), several species of lemmings, collared pikas (Ochotona collaris), North American beavers (Castor canadensis), various species of voles, North American porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum), muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus), etc. Mustelids are also well represented and include the wolverine (Gulo gulo), American marten (Martes americana), stoat (also called the ermine, Mustela erminea), least weasel (Mustela nivalis), American mink (Neogale vison), and the river otter (Lontra canadensis or Lutra canadensis). Other small carnivores present are the Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), red fox ( Vulpes vulpes) and Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) along the northern coast.

More than 250 species of birds have been sighted in Yukon. The common raven (Corvus corax) is the territorial bird and is common everywhere. Other common resident birds include bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos), gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) and peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), seven species of grouse (spruce (Canachites canadensis), dusky (Dendragapus obscurus), ruffed (Bonasa umbellus), sharp-tailed (Tympanuchus phasianellus), Willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus), Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta), and white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura)). Many migratory birds breed in the Yukon, as it is at the northern end of the Pacific Flyway.

Other than the burbot (Lota lota) and northern pike (Esox lucius), most of the large fish found in Yukon rivers, lakes and streams are salmonids. Four species of Pacific salmon (chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), chum (Oncorhynchus keta), coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch), and sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka)) 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 3,000 km (1,900 mi) from its mouth in the Bering Sea to spawning grounds upstream of Whitehorse. There are also land-locked kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka, a type of sockeye) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Char are represented by lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) present in most large Yukon lakes, as well as Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma), bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) and Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus). The Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) is ubiquitous, while the lakes have various whitefish and inconnu (Stenodus leucichthys).

There are no reptiles in Yukon, but a few frogs such as the wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus).

Human geography

Yukon is sparsely populated, with 40,232 inhabitants (as of the 2021 census) in a territory almost as large as Spain or Sweden. Covering an area of 472,345.44 km² (182,373.59 sq mi) the population density is 0.09/km² (0.22/sq mi). 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 (2021 city population 28,201), is also the largest city with more than 70% of the population; the second largest is Dawson City, (2021 population 1,577) 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 32 km (20 mi) 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 (2002–2011) Yukon Party government led by Dennis Fentie has suspended the application of the Protected Areas Strategy (established by a previous Yukon New Democratic Party government) 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 (ANWR) in Alaska to give birth. That herd may be seriously threatened by oil-drilling in the ANWR.