Snag, Yukon
Encyclopedia
Snag is a village located on a small, dry-weather sideroad
Yukon roads, miscellaneous
In addition to numbered highways, the Yukon has several other roads that are maintained by the territorial government.The Aishihik Road is an 84 mile road from the Alaska Highway at Canyon Creek to the former airfield of Aishihik at the north end of Aishihik Lake. The airfield was part of the...
off the Alaska Highway
Alaska Highway
The Alaska Highway was constructed during World War II for the purpose of connecting the contiguous U.S. to Alaska through Canada. It begins at the junction with several Canadian highways in Dawson Creek, British Columbia and runs to Delta Junction, Alaska, via Whitehorse, Yukon...
25 kilometres (15.5 mi) south of Beaver Creek
Beaver Creek, Yukon
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, 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....
, 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...
. The village of Snag is located in a bowl-shaped valley of the White River and its tributaries, including Snag Creek. It was first settled 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...
. An aboriginal village was also located about 8 kilometres (5 mi) away. It was the site of a military airfield, established as part of the Northwest Staging Route
Northwest Staging Route
The Northwest Staging Route was a series of airstrips, airport and radio ranging stations built in Alberta, British Columbia, the Yukon and Alaska during World War II. It was known in the Soviet Union as Alsib ....
, which closed in 1968. In 1947, the village of Snag boasted a population of 8 to 10 natives and fur traders. An additional staff of 15-20 airport personnel — meteorologists, radio operators, aircraft maintenance men — lived at the airport barracks.
The Record
On February 3, 1947, the record-low temperature for continental North America was recorded in Snag: -63 °C. That same winter, two previous records had already been set: one on December 13 in Mayo, YukonMayo, Yukon
Mayo is a village in the Yukon, Canada, along the Silver Trail and the Stewart River. The population was 248 in 2006. It is also the home of the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun, whose primary language is Northern Tutchone. Nacho Nyak Dun translates into "big river people". It is serviced by Mayo...
and another at Snag the day before. Staff at the station made note of various phenomena, particularly sound such as voices being heard clearly miles from their source. There was a clear sky (except for some ice fog), and little wind. There were 38.1 centimetres (15 in) of snow on the ground, but was fast decreasing. Another town 180 km (112 mi) northeast of Snag, Fort Selkirk
Fort Selkirk, Yukon
Fort Selkirk is a former trading post on the Yukon River at the confluence of the Pelly River in Canada's Yukon. For many years it was home to the Selkirk First Nation ....
, claimed an even lower temperature of -65 °C, but this could not be confirmed.
Disappearance of aircraft
On 26 January 1950, a USMCUnited States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
Douglas C-54 Skymaster (registration 42-72469) with a crew of 8 and 36 passengers (34 service personnel and 2 civilians) disappeared on a flight from 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...
to Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
; no wreckage or remains have ever been located.
The aircraft was in the vicinity of Snag when the last contact was made by radio at 17:09.