WHITE PASS AND YUKON ROUTE RAILWAY

White Pass is a mountain pass located in the Coast Mountains on the border between Alaska and British Columbia (Canada). It connects Skagway (Alaska) to the ghost town of Bennett on the eponymous lake. The road through the pass, known as the White Pass Trail, was used by gold seekers to get to the Dawson City area during the Klondike rush.

It was a long and winding road. The White Pass was discovered by Skookum Jim Mason and William Moore, who started the gold rush. The pass was named in honor of Thomas White, Canada's Minister of the Interior, by William Ogilvie in 1887. The White Pass route to Bennett was longer at the time, but much less steep than the Chilkoot Trail which passed a few kilometers to the west. However, it was considered much more dangerous because of the number of crimes committed to steal gold from victims. This route has been nicknamed the Dead Horse Trail, as an estimated 3,000 horses died here. Gold miners transported equipment and supplies from Skagway to Lake Bennett, from where they bought or built boats to travel down the Yukon River to the Klondike gold fields near Dawson City.

The White Pass and Yukon Route Railway. Because of its lower elevation, a railroad could be built across the White Pass to Carcross. After completion in 1900, the Chilkoot Pass route lost much of its traffic and the town of Dyea, at the foot of the Chilkoot, fell into disuse. For a short time, the town of Bennett, which was at the terminus of the railroad, flourished. But on July 29, 1900, when the "golden nail" was planted at Carcross, which took the railroad to Whitehorse, its importance gradually diminished.

A tourist train still runs today on the original route of the White Pass Railway. It is an International Civil Engineering Heritage Site. You can reach Bennett Lake (the end of the famous Chilkoot Trail) and Carcross on the Gold Rush Trail from the town of Skagway. This rail cruise leaves Alaska through the heart of the valley before zigzagging up the side of the mountains that frame it.