Map 1: Routes from Seattle to the
Klondike gold fields.
The "rich man's route" to the Klondike gold fields involved taking a ship to the mouth of the Yukon River in western Alaska and navigating a boat more than 2,000 miles up the river to the gold fields. The "poor man's route" involved taking a ship to Skagway or Dyea in southern Alaska, climbing over mountains on foot, and building a boat to navigate 500 miles down the Yukon River.
Questions for Map 1
1. Identify the boundaries of the United States and Canada.
2. Locate Seattle, Washington; Skagway, Alaska; and Dawson, Yukon Territory (the town closest to the gold fields).
3. Trace the "rich man's route" to the Klondike region from Seattle and then the "poor-man's route." What appear to be the advantages and disadvantages of each route?
4. Why was Seattle a likely place for Americans to depart for the gold fields?
* The map on the screen has a resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi), and therefore will print poorly. You can obtain a high quality version of the map, but be aware that the file will take as much as two minutes to load with a 28.8K modem.