Lake Laberge
Encyclopedia
Lake Laberge is a widening of the Yukon River
north of Whitehorse
, Yukon
in Canada
. It is fifty kilometres long and ranges from two to five kilometres wide. Its water is always very cold, and its weather often harsh and suddenly variable.
The Tagish
knew it as Kluk-tas-si, and the Tlingit as Tahini-wud. Its English name comes from 1870 commemorating Robert de La Berge
(1638–1712), one of the original colonists of New France
(1658). It was well-known to prospectors during the Klondike Gold Rush
of the 1890s, as they would pass Lake Laberge on their way down the Yukon River
to Dawson City. Jack London
's Grit of Women (1900) and The Call of the Wild
(1903), and Robert W. Service
's poem "The Cremation of Sam McGee
" (1907) mention the lake.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, after-winter steamers
carrying goods on Lake Laberge early on in the shipping season regarded the lake as trouble, since it was one of the last such passages to thaw its ice. At least two methods were employed to break the ice up:
A sign posted in 1999 at Lake Laberge's camping area issued strong cautions against eating the livers of burbot
, and counseled against the consumption of lake trout
more than twice a month per individual. Both warnings are owed to toxiphene contamination, resulting from global pesticide use and overfishing in Lake Laberge which resulted in changes to its typical food chain.
In Spring 2009, researchers found the A. J. Goddard
, a Gold Rush sternwheeler that sunk in 1901, killing three of its crew. Underwater archaeologists are examining the ship. National Geographic has named it the top archeological find of 2009. The Yukon government has designated the shipwreck a historic site. A phonograph with three records was discovered, giving insight into songs being listened to during the Gold Rush.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-sci-sternwheeler24-2009nov24,0,3733461.story
Yukon River
The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. The source of the river is located in British Columbia, Canada. The next portion lies in, and gives its name to Yukon Territory. The lower half of the river lies in the U.S. state of Alaska. The river is long and empties into...
north of Whitehorse
Whitehorse, Yukon
Whitehorse is Yukon's capital and largest city . It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1476 on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas occupy both shores of the Yukon River, which originates in British Columbia and meets the Bering Sea in...
, Yukon
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is fifty kilometres long and ranges from two to five kilometres wide. Its water is always very cold, and its weather often harsh and suddenly variable.
The Tagish
Tagish
The Tagish or Tagish Khwáan are a group of Athabaskan First Nation people that lived around Tagish Lake and Marsh Lake, in the Yukon Territory of Canada. Tagish people intermarried heavily with Tlingit people from the coast and the Tagish language is almost extinct...
knew it as Kluk-tas-si, and the Tlingit as Tahini-wud. Its English name comes from 1870 commemorating Robert de La Berge
Robert de La Berge
Robert de La Berge was one of the original colonists to New France in 1658. He was also the first to arrive in North America with his surname. Most people with his surname in North America trace their family roots back to him. His descendants have held esteemed positions in private industry,...
(1638–1712), one of the original colonists of New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
(1658). It was well-known to prospectors during the Klondike Gold Rush
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...
of the 1890s, as they would pass Lake Laberge on their way down the Yukon River
Yukon River
The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. The source of the river is located in British Columbia, Canada. The next portion lies in, and gives its name to Yukon Territory. The lower half of the river lies in the U.S. state of Alaska. The river is long and empties into...
to Dawson City. Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
's Grit of Women (1900) and The Call of the Wild
The Call of the Wild
The Call of the Wild is a novel by American writer Jack London. The plot concerns a previously domesticated dog named Buck, whose primordial instincts return after a series of events leads to his serving as a sled dog in the Yukon during the 19th-century Klondike Gold Rush, in which sled dogs...
(1903), and Robert W. Service
Robert W. Service
Robert William Service was a poet and writer who has often been called "the Bard of the Yukon".Service is best known for his poems "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" and "The Cremation of Sam McGee", from his first book, Songs of a Sourdough...
's poem "The Cremation of Sam McGee
The Cremation of Sam McGee
"The Cremation of Sam McGee" is among the most famous of Robert W. Service's poems. It was published in 1907 in The Songs of a Sourdough...
" (1907) mention the lake.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, after-winter steamers
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
carrying goods on Lake Laberge early on in the shipping season regarded the lake as trouble, since it was one of the last such passages to thaw its ice. At least two methods were employed to break the ice up:
- Method 1. Allow a surging gout of water to be released from the control damDamA dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
below Marsh LakeMarsh LakeMarsh Lake is a widening of the Yukon River southeast of Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. It is over 30 kilometres long and ranges from three to four kilometres wide.The co-ordinates of the lake are , and is 2,147 feet above sea level...
, thereby expanding the lake waters suddenly below the surface of the ice, forcing cracks for the water to burble up through, or
- Method 2. Smear an abundant quantity of expended crankcaseCrankcaseIn an internal combustion engine of the reciprocating type, the crankcase is the housing for the crankshaft. The enclosure forms the largest cavity in the engine and is located below the cylinder, which in a multicylinder engine are usually integrated into one or several cylinder blocks...
oil along the lake's icy length, causing it to melt by increasing the sun's warming effect.
A sign posted in 1999 at Lake Laberge's camping area issued strong cautions against eating the livers of burbot
Burbot
The burbot is the only gadiform fish inhabiting freshwaters. It is also known as mariah, the lawyer, and eelpout. It is closely related to the marine common ling and the cusk...
, and counseled against the consumption of lake trout
Lake trout
Lake trout is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, lake char , touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, they can also be variously known as siscowet, paperbellies and leans...
more than twice a month per individual. Both warnings are owed to toxiphene contamination, resulting from global pesticide use and overfishing in Lake Laberge which resulted in changes to its typical food chain.
In Spring 2009, researchers found the A. J. Goddard
A. J. Goddard
The A. J. Goddard, was a Gold Rush era sternwheeler that transported men and supplies on the Yukon River. She was assembled from pieces which were manufactured in San Francisco, shipped up to Skagway, Alaska, hauled over the Coast Mountains, and finally assembled at Lake Bennett.-History:The ship...
, a Gold Rush sternwheeler that sunk in 1901, killing three of its crew. Underwater archaeologists are examining the ship. National Geographic has named it the top archeological find of 2009. The Yukon government has designated the shipwreck a historic site. A phonograph with three records was discovered, giving insight into songs being listened to during the Gold Rush.
External links
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-sci-sternwheeler24-2009nov24,0,3733461.story