The Tagish Highland is an upland area on the inland side of the northernmost Boundary Ranges

Boundary Ranges

The Boundary Ranges, also known in the singular and as the Alaska Boundary Range, are the largest and most northerly subrange of the Coast Mountains...

 of the Coast Mountains

Coast Mountains

The Coast Mountains are a major mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia. They are so-named because of their proximity to the sea coast, and are often...

, spanning far northwestern British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 from Atlin Lake

Atlin Lake

Atlin Lake is a lake in northwestern British Columbia and is that province's largest natural lake. The northern tip of the lake is in the Yukon, as is Little Atlin Lake. However, most of the lake lies within the Atlin District of British Columbia...

 to the area of the pass at Champagne, Yukon

Champagne, Yukon

Champagne Landing is a small Indian settlement on the Alaska Highway in Canada's Yukon. The few residents are citizens of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations. The resident population was 24 in the Canada 2006 Census.Champagne is on the Dezadeash River, one of the tributaries of the Alsek...

 between the Alsek

Alsek River

The Alsek River is a wilderness river flowing from the Yukon into Northern British Columbia and into Alaska. The surrounding area from the Western edge of the Alsek to East of the East Alsek is known to locals as Dry Bay.-Course:...

 and 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...

s. In some classification systems, and in local terminology, the Tagish Highland is considered to be part of the Boundary Ranges, as is the neighbouring Tahltan Highland

Tahltan Highland

The Tahltan Highland is an upland area of plateau and relatively lower mountain ranges in British Columbia, Canada, lying east of the Boundary Ranges and south of the Inklin River...

 to its south. As classified by the Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia per S. Holland, the Tagish Highland is part of the system unofficially described as the Interior Mountains

Interior Mountains

The Interior Mountains, also called the Northern Interior Mountains and Interior Ranges, are the semi-official names for a huge area that comprises much of the northern two thirds of the Canadian province of British Columbia and a large area of southern Yukon...

 (also the Northern Interior Mountains).

It is not as high or glacial as the neighbouring areas of the Boundary Ranges, but it is very rugged with extreme variations in relief. Historically it is notable as the location of the network of valleys leading inland from the Chilkoot

Chilkoot Pass

Chilkoot Pass is a high mountain pass through the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the U.S. state of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. It is the highest point along the Chilkoot Trail that leads from Dyea, Alaska to Bennett Lake, British Columbia...

 and White Pass

White Pass

White Pass is a mountain pass through the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains on the border of the U.S. state of Alaska and the province of British Columbia, Canada...

es from the Yukon Ports of Skagway

Skagway, Alaska

Skagway is a first-class borough in Alaska, on the Alaska Panhandle. It was formerly a city first incorporated in 1900 that was re-incorporated as a borough on June 25, 2007. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city was 862...

 and Haines, Alaska

Haines, Alaska

Haines is a census-designated place in Haines Borough, Alaska, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population of the area was 1,811. Haines was formerly a city but no longer has a municipal government...

 to the headwaters of the Yukon River, downstream from which prospectors voyaged to the legendary goldfields of 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...

.