The Kobuk River Stampede was a brief gold rush

Gold rush

A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...

 on the Kobuk River

Kobuk River

The Kobuk River is a river located in the Arctic region of northwestern Alaska in the United States. It is approximately long...

 in Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

. From 1897 to 1898, several false accounts of the discovery of gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 on the Kobuk led nearly 2,000 gold seekers to the area. Most of these prospectors arrived by ship, during the spring of 1898, from the West Coast of North America. The gold rush was brief, with its peak from 1898 to 1899, for local people spread the word upon arrival that no gold was to be found. Out of these 2,000 people, only 800 remained to search; and despite their efforts, only small amounts of placer and lode gold were discovered on a few of the Kobuk's tributaries.
Other than the gold deposits, copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

, asbestos

Asbestos

Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...

 and lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

 were also found.

Because of the disappointingly small amount of gold, most of the prospectors left soon, some bound for other gold strikes at Nome

Nome

Nome may refer to:A country subdivision:* Nome an administrative division within ancient Egypt.* Nome , the administrative division immediately below the peripheries of Greece Places:* Nome, Norway* Nome, Alaska, US...

 and the Koyukuk River

Koyukuk River

The Koyukuk River is a principal tributary of the Yukon River, approximately 500 mi long, in northern Alaska in the United States.It drains an area north of the Yukon on the southern side of the Brooks Range...

. Even though the area still produces some placer gold, the gold rush did not notably affect the economy and development of the area.