King Solomon's Dome

King Solomon's Dome
Shriner's excursion to King Soloman's Dome Aug. 4, 1910
Highest point
Elevation1,234 m (4,049 ft)[1]
Coordinates63°52′05″N 138°57′10″W / 63.86806°N 138.95278°W / 63.86806; -138.95278
Naming
Native nameCh'ë`gaa tsòk (Hän)
Geography
Map
LocationYukon, Canada
Topo mapNTS 115O15 Flat Creek

King Solomon's Dome, also called King Solomon Dome, (Hän: Ch'ë`gaa tsòk) is a 1,234-metre (4,049 ft) peak in the Yukon-Mackenzie Divide region of the Yukon Territory, Canada.[2] It is 32 kilometres (20 mi) southeast of Dawson City, Yukon,[1] and is believed to be the source of the gold fields that sparked the Klondike Gold Rush at the turn of the 20th century.[3] The mountain's name comes from King Solomon, an ancient king of Israel who was famed for his riches.[4]

During the gold rush, the mountain was the site of large-scale gold mining and excavation. After the largest sources of gold ore were exhausted, small family-owned operations moved into the area and continue mining gold on and near the mountain today.[3] A communications tower is located atop the mountain, and in 2001, the tower was the site of a fatal accident.[5] The trail for the Yukon Quest 1,000-mile sled dog race passes over the mountain every February.

The mountain is in a subarctic climate region, and is covered by an average snowpack of 29 inches (74 cm) during March and April.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b "King Solomon's Dome". Bivouac.com. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  2. ^ Natural Resources Canada. "King Solomon Dome" Archived 2011-06-08 at the Wayback Machine, geonames2.nrcan.gc.ca. Accessed March 14, 2009.
  3. ^ a b Anderson, Ross. "Klondike miners move mountains to find gold", Seattle Times. July 18, 1997. Accessed March 14, 2009.
  4. ^ Staff report. "There's gold in them thar names" Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine, Canadian Geographic. November/December 1996. Accessed March 14, 2009.
  5. ^ Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. "Liaison Bulletin 63 - November 2004"[permanent dead link‍], www.hrsdc.gc.ca. November 2004. Accessed March 14, 2009.
  6. ^ Alaska Snow, Water, and Climate Services. "Snow course SWE averages for Canada" Archived 2008-07-23 at the Wayback Machine, ambcs.org. Accessed March 14, 2009.