Bennett Lake

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Bennett Lake
Bennett Lake.jpg
Bennett Lake and a part of the Carcross Desert after sunrise
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Bennett Lake
Location in Yukon
Location British Columbia, Yukon
Coordinates 60°05′30″N134°51′56″W / 60.09167°N 134.86556°W / 60.09167; -134.86556 Coordinates: 60°05′30″N134°51′56″W / 60.09167°N 134.86556°W / 60.09167; -134.86556 [1]
Part of Bering Sea drainage basin
Primary inflows Watson River, Wheaton River, Partridge River, Homan River
Primary outflows Nares River
Basin  countries Canada
Islands Bennett Lake
The White Pass and Yukon Route rail bridge over the strait between Bennett Lake and Nares Lake in Carcross, Yukon. Mount Gray is in the background. White Pass and Yukon Route bridge in Carcross, Yukon 2.jpg
The White Pass and Yukon Route rail bridge over the strait between Bennett Lake and Nares Lake in Carcross, Yukon. Mount Gray is in the background.

Bennett Lake is a lake in the Province of British Columbia and Yukon Territory in northwestern Canada, [1] at an elevation of 2602 ft. (642 m.) [2] . It is just north of the border with the United States state of Alaska, near the Alaskan port of Skagway.

Contents

The narrow-gauge White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad connects the community of Bennett at the south end of the lake with Skagway further south and Whitehorse, Yukon on the north. It runs between Skagway and Fraser, British Columbia during the summer months.

The abandoned town of Bennett, British Columbia, historically usually referred to as Lake Bennett or Bennett Lake and the town of Carcross, Yukon are on the shores of Bennett Lake.

History

During the Klondike Gold Rush, Bennett Lake was where the gold-seekers who had crossed the Coast Mountains from Skagway or Dyea, carrying their goods over the Chilkoot Trail or the White Pass, purchased or built rafts to float down the Yukon River to the gold fields at Dawson City, Yukon, Canada. A large tent city sprang up on its shores, numbering in the thousands and offering all the services of a major city.

In late May 1898, the North-West Mounted Police counted 778 boats under construction at Lindeman Lake (located a difficult portage above Bennett Lake), 850 in Bennett and the surrounding area, and another 198 at Caribou Crossing (now Carcross) and Tagish Lake to help transport thousands of goldfield-bound travellers. It was further estimated that another 1,200 boats were built in these areas over the next few weeks.

Name origin

Named in 1883 by Frederick Schwatka, US Army officer and explorer, after James Gordon Bennett Jr (1841–1918), editor of the New York Herald , who was sponsor of Schwatchka's search for the remains of the Franklin Expedition, 1878-81. [3]

Hydrology

The main outflow of the lake is the Nares River, which flows to Nares Lake. Nares Lake empties into Tagish Lake; then via the Tagish River to Marsh Lake, the source of the Yukon River, which flows to the Bering Sea.

Inflows

Counter clockwise from Nares River outflow

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Pass and Yukon Route</span> Canada–US railway line

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chilkoot Trail</span> Long-distance hiking trail in Canada and the United States

The Chilkoot Trail is a 33-mile (53 km) trail through the Coast Mountains that leads from Dyea, Alaska, in the United States, to Bennett, British Columbia, in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bennett, British Columbia</span> Ghost town in Canada

Bennett, British Columbia, Canada, is an abandoned town next to Bennett Lake and along Lindeman Creek. The townsite is now part of the Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site of Canada and is managed by Parks Canada. Bennett is also a stop on the White Pass and Yukon Route railroad during the summer months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Pass</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carcross</span> Place in Yukon, Canada

Carcross, originally known as Caribou Crossing, is an unincorporated community in Yukon, Canada, on Bennett Lake and Nares Lake. It is home to the Carcross/Tagish First Nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Klondike Highway</span> Highway in Skagway, Alaska, United States and Yukon Territory, Canada

The Klondike Highway is a highway that runs from the Alaska Panhandle through the province of British Columbia and the territory of Yukon in Canada, linking the coastal town of Skagway, Alaska, to Dawson City, Yukon. Its route somewhat parallels the route used by prospectors in the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tagish Lake</span> Lake in British Columbia and Yukon in Canada

Tagish Lake is a lake in Yukon and northern British Columbia, Canada. The lake is more than 100 km (62 mi) long and about 2 km (1 mi) wide.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nares Lake</span> Body of water

Nares Lake is a lake in the southern Yukon between Bennett Lake and Tagish Lake that lies below Nares Mountain. Nares Lake is in fact an arm of Tagish Lake. The community of Carcross is on the Nares Narrows between Bennett and Tagish Lake, along the Klondike Highway. The primary inflow to and outflow from the lake is the Nares River. Both the river and the lake are named after Admiral George Nares.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keish</span> 19/20th-century indigenous Canadian mining packer

Keish, also known as James Mason and by the nickname Skookum Jim Mason, was a member of the Tagish First Nation in what became the Yukon Territory of Canada. He was born near Bennett Lake on what is now the British Columbia and Yukon border. He lived in Caribou Crossing, now Carcross, Yukon, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tagish Highland</span> Landform of the western coast of North America

The Tagish Highland is an upland area on the inland side of the northernmost Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains, spanning far northwestern British Columbia from Atlin Lake to the area of the pass at Champagne, Yukon between the Alsek and Yukon Rivers. 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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steamboats of the Yukon River</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindeman Lake (Chilkoot Trail)</span> Body of water

Lindeman Lake, also known as Lake Lindeman, is a lake on the Chilkoot Trail in far northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is just south of Bennett Lake and northeast of the summit of the Chilkoot Pass. From the direction of the pass it is fed by Lindeman Creek, which connects the two lakes. Lake Lindeman and Lake Bennett were key components of the Chilkoot Trail during the Klondike Gold Rush, with both seeing hundreds of vessels built to transit their waters and camp-town "tent cities" established on their shores. Lindeman was located at the south end of Lindeman Lake, while Bennett, often known as Bennett City, was at the south end of Lake Bennett.

Steamboats of the Stikine River

Steamboats operated on the Stikine River in response to gold finds in along that river and in the Cassiar Country of northwestern British Columbia, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric A. Hegg</span> Swedish-American photographer (1867–1947)

Eric A. Hegg was a Swedish-American photographer who portrayed the people in Skagway, Bennett and Dawson City during the Klondike Gold Rush from 1897 to 1901. Hegg himself participated in prospecting expeditions with his brother and fellow Swedes while documenting the daily life and hardships of the gold diggers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skagway–Fraser Border Crossing</span>

The Skagway–Fraser Border Crossing connects the communities of Skagway, Alaska and Carcross, Yukon on the Canada–United States border. Alaska Highway 98 on the American side joins Yukon Highway 2 on the Canadian side. The border is near the summit of White Pass on the Klondike Highway, where the elevation is 3,292 feet (1,003 m). The border divides Alaska Time Zone from Pacific Time Zone. The highway, completed in 1979, was seasonal, but has been open year-round since 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindeman Creek</span> River in British Columbia, Canada

Lindeman Creek, formerly known as One Mile River connects Bennett Lake to Lindeman Lake, areas on the Chilkoot Trail in far northwestern British Columbia, Canada.

References

  1. 1 2 "Bennett Lake". Geographical Names Data Base . Natural Resources Canada . Retrieved 2014-07-28.
  2. "Category:Bennett Lake (Canada) - Wikimedia Commons".
  3. "Bennett Lake - Yukon Territory Alaska Northern British Columbia".

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