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CA-K082History

Gold found on Bonanza Creek, 16 August 1896

Discovery Claim on Bonanza Creek, photographed in August 2009; the site today, not an 1896 image.
Discovery Claim on Bonanza Creek, photographed in August 2009; the site today, not an 1896 image. Discovery Claim Bonanza Creek · JKBrooks85 · Photo source · Photo licence: Public domain. Resized for display; item previews may be cropped. The image remains under the licence shown.
Factual accuracy review: No recorded challenge

No recorded challenge is not proof of accuracy. A challenge under review is not a finding that the item is false.

Gold was discovered at Discovery Claim on Bonanza Creek, Yukon, on 16 August 1896, triggering the Klondike Gold Rush. Accounts vary, but Parks Canada notes it is generally held that Keish (Skookum Jim Mason) of the Tagish First Nation discovered the gold.

Scope & context

The discovery that started the gold rush, not the stampede that followed or its effects on the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and other First Nations.

Sources behind this record

1
Discovery Claim National Historic Site - Klondike National Historic Sites ↗

Parks Canada

Reasons for national historic significance; discovery story