Page 351 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Canada

Northern Lights dance across the night sky, Yukon

YUKON

“Larger than life” is the Yukon’s official motto, and
it’s justly fitting for one of Canada’s last frontiers.
The Yukon’s sparsely populated land makes room
for Canada’s five highest mountains, a host of
untamed rivers, and several legendary parks.
Though much of this harsh mountainous territory
lies barren, treeless, and frozen for most of the year,
an abundance of wildlife flourishes. Wolves, moose,
bears, and caribou have all adapted to the subarctic
climate, just as the First Nations have done since
the end of the last Ice Age. Even the early fur
traders of the late 1700s, and later, the Klondike
gold rush prospectors of 1896, managed to
persevere through the bleak winter months,
knowing that the midnight sun was waiting for
them come summertime. The Yukon’s latitude
may bring on icy days, but they can easily be filled
with thrilling canoe, dog-sledding, and ice-climbing
trips. And at night, the enchanting aurora borealis
dances in colorful ribbons of light against the dark
skies for all to see, a once-in-a-lifetime-sight not
to be missed.
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