标签 加拿大 下的文章
从午夜穹顶看育空河，加拿大育空道森市 Yukon River viewed from the Midnight Dome, Dawson City, Yukon, Canada (© Robert Postma/Getty Images)
从午夜穹顶看育空河，加拿大育空道森市 Yukon River viewed from the Midnight Dome, Dawson City, Yukon, Canada (© Robert Postma/Getty Images)
Shining like Klondike gold
On August 16, 1896, two prospectors had their hopes literally pan out when they found a large deposit of gold along the banks of what would soon be known as the Bonanza River in the Klondike. And with that, Skookum Jim Mason (aka Keish) and his American brother-in-law George Carmack set in motion the Klondike Gold Rush—the richest gold strike in North American history. Because of the remoteness of the find, it would be over 11 months before the world found out. And it did so in the most dramatic fashion, when the steamers Portland and Excelsior pulled into Seattle’s harbor carrying over one ton of gold (worth over $1 billion in today's dollars).
The news reached the rest of the United States and Canada during a prolonged economic depression, which may help to explain why over 100,000 people quit their jobs (including the mayor of Seattle) and set out for the Yukon with dreams of striking pay dirt. But the trip was harrowing and arduous, and less than half of those who set out for the Klondike in Canada’s Yukon Territory wound up making it there. But the sudden influx of those who did complete the journey briefly turned Dawson City into the second largest city in Canada...and certainly the most expensive. Eggs cost $3 apiece (the equivalent of $81 today) and salt was literally worth its weight in gold. In the saloons of the boom town, a profit could be made by simply sweeping the floor and collecting spilled gold dust. Most who came lost everything. Today, Dawson City has a population of just under 1,400, making it the second largest city in the Yukon.
温哥华岛麋鹿瀑布吊桥鸟瞰图，加拿大 (© Ink Drop/Alamy)
For Canada Day, canoers in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada © Christopher Kimmel/Aurora Photos
For Canada Day, canoers in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada © Christopher Kimmel/Aurora Photos
It's Canada's national day
For Canada Day, we're dipping our paddles in Still Creek, a long gentle stream in British Columbia. The canoe has long been associated with Canada's national history, linked with early explorers, fur traders, and colonists who ventured out into the wilderness of the great north. An image of a canoe even appeared on early versions of Canada's silver dollar, a coin which was later replaced by the ‘loonie,' so named for the depiction of a common loon on one side.
Canada Day, celebrated on July 1, commemorates the date in 1867 when Canada was recognized as a self-governing country under the British empire. It's a national holiday for Canadians, which makes it a perfect day to take out the canoe. While gliding across the water, consider humming a few bars of the national anthem, ‘O Canada.' Paddle on, Canadians!
