The Yukon Territory in Canada is larger than the state of California but is populated by only 30,000 people and most of them reside in Whitehorse which is the capital. Whitehorse is the largest city and the second largest is Dawson City, which was the capital until 1952. Much of the population in the territory is First Nations.

The very sparsely populated territory abounds with natural scenic beauty, with snowmelt lakes and eternally white capped mountains. Although the climate is arctic and subarctic, with severe winters, the short summer with its midnight sun allows hardy crops and vegetables, along with millions of flowers, to blossom and fruit.

The Yukon is best known for the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898, famed writers like Jack London, and captivating tales of the Northwest Mounted Police. Today's adventurers find a rich cultural history mixed with one of the last frontiers of the continent.

The Territory’s famed gold history began a century ago when an American George Carmack and his Indian friends Skookum Jim Mason and Tagish Charlie struck it rich on Bonanza Creek. Their gold strike started the Klondike Gold Rush, the second largest in the history of great gold stampedes. About 100,000 fortune seekers headed for the Klondike. Many colorful tales are still told of these times.

The Yukon is one of six jurisdictions in Canada to offer same-sex marriage, along with British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec.

In the past, the major transportation artery was the Yukon River system. Today, major transportation routes include the Alaska Highway, which passes through Whitehorse, and the Whitehorse International Airport. Southern communities are all accessible by road, but air travel is the only way to reach the few remote communities in the Far North.

The territory still depends largely on mining. Its mountainous terrain and severe climate have discouraged settlement and the development of other important economic activities. Furthermore, most of the minerals are produced by mining operations that require a high degree of technology but relatively few workers.

The northern Yukon is an area covered with hundreds of lakes, rivers and streams. It is a maze of waterways. Moose, three species of bears, the wolf, wolverine and many other kinds of wildlife live here. The many streams provide homes for muskrats. This area is also an important waterfowl habitat. All of this makes the Yukon a very interesting place to visit.