Major Creeks and Goldfields

Bonanza Creek

Bonanza Creek (Hän: Ch'ö`chozhù' ndek), approximately 32 km long, runs from King Solomon's Dome to the Klondike River. Its Discovery Claim marks the site where George Carmack, Skookum Jim, and Tagish Charlie found gold that triggered the rush.

The massive Dredge No. 4 operated on Bonanza and is now a National Historic Site, testament to the industrial-scale mining that followed the individual prospectors.

Eldorado Creek

Eldorado proved even richer than Bonanza in places, with some claims yielding extraordinary concentrations of coarse gold. The creek lived up to its name, creating instant millionaires and becoming synonymous with incredible wealth.

Hunker Creek

Hunker Creek supported extensive dredging and bench mining operations. While perhaps less famous than Bonanza or Eldorado, Hunker produced consistently and remained productive through multiple generations of mining technology.

Legacy in the Landscape

Today, these creek valleys bear the physical marks of over a century of mining: tailings piles, dredge ponds, altered watercourses, and abandoned equipment. They serve as both productive mining ground and outdoor museums of industrial archaeology.