Find My Country

The Whitehorse Rapids once brought strong men to their knees. One of the most difficult parts of the route through to the Yukon gold, the prospectors desperately tried to pass them at Canyon City. In their haste, hundreds of boats were laid waste, with their crew condemned to a horrible death. The law was changed so only experienced crews could carry passengers – and as a result, a tramway was built between Canyon City and the foot of the rapids – present day Whitehorse. Once a railway was built to Whitehorse, it became a staging area for entering the region.

Nothing remains of these rapids. Once compared to the hair on a white horse’s mane, they were “tamed” to provide electricity for our purposes.

The once terrifying crossing is now accomplished in seconds over this bridge, which is a part of the Trans Canada trail. The area is still dangerous, but for other reasons – the dam can release water at any time for the purposes of modulating power generation, and as a result, water levels can change rapidly.

Upon your rocky shores, fools met their fate for gold. How, do I daresay, do they differ from the river that became a stream for the same reason? Weep for Whitehorse – its name is no more.