The City of Dawson is a town in the Yukon territory of Canada, located at . The current population is approximately 2,000. The locals generally refer to it simply as 'Dawson', but the tourist industry generally refers to it as 'Dawson City' to differentiate it from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, which is at Km 0 of the Alaska Highway.

Aerial view of Dawson City with the Yukon river in early May

The townsite was named in January 1897 after noted Canadian geologist George Mercer Dawson, who had explored the region in 1887. It served as the Yukon's capital from the territory's founding in 1898 until 1952, when the seat was moved to Whitehorse.

The Klondike Gold Rush started in 1896 changed the native summer fish camp into a thriving city of 40,000 by 1898. By 1899, the gold rush had ended and the town's population plummetted as 8,000 people left. When Dawson was incorporated as a city in 1902, the population was under 5,000.

All the buildings of the city look old-fashioned; all new construction must follow this policy.

Many of the major buildings in town are part of the Dawson National Historic Site. There are a number of displays in some of the old buildings, and parks employees dress up like characters from the Klondike Gold Rush. Also in the Dawson area is the Dredge No. 4 National Historic Site of Canada and the S.S. Keno National Historic Site of Canada.

Dawson experiences annual temperature highs of 22 °C (71 °F) in July and temperature lows of −32 °C (−26 °F) in January. Dawson has an annual snowfall of 164 cm and 2320 mm of rainfall. Dawson averages 91 frost free days per year.

Today, Dawson City's main industries are tourism and gold mining.

External links

• Dawson City Website
• Dawson City Citizens' Forum
• Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in First Nation
• klondike Centennial Society
• Travel to Dawson City
• Boat charter - Explore the Yukon River
• Dawson National Historic Site
• Klondike Kate's Restaurant - Dawson City
• Top Of The World Golf Course - Dawson City
• Dawson/Yukon Photography
• Tombstone Gallery - Dawson City
• Dawson City Courier/Bus Charter