Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada

🇨🇦 Whitehorse is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas occupy both shores of the Yukon River, which rises in British Columbia and meets the Bering Sea in Alaska. The city was named after the White Horse Rapids for their resemblance to the mane of a white horse, near Miles Canyon, before the river was dammed.

Because of the city's location in the Whitehorse valley and relative proximity to the Pacific Ocean, the climate is milder than comparable northern communities such as Yellowknife. At this latitude winter days are short and summer days have up to about 19 hours of daylight. Whitehorse, as reported by Guinness World Records, is the city with the least air pollution in the world.

Whitehorse represents approximately 70 percent of the entire population of Yukon Territory.

History Archeological research south of the downtown area, at a location known as Canyon City, has revealed evidence of use by First Nations for several thousand years. The surrounding area had seasonal fish camps and Frederick Schwatka, in 1883, observed the presence of a portage trail used to bypass Miles Canyon. Before the Gold Rush, several different tribes passed through the area seasonally and their territories overlapped.

The discovery of gold in the Klondike in August 1896, by Skookum Jim, Tagish Charlie, and George Washington Carmack, set off a major change in the historical patterns of the region. Early prospectors used the Chilkoot Pass, but by July 1897, crowds of neophyte stampeders had arrived via steamship and were camping at "White Horse". By June 1898, there was a bottleneck of stampeders at Canyon City, and many boats had been lost to the rapids as well as five people. Samuel Steele of the North-West Mounted Police remarked: "why more casualties have not occurred is a mystery to me".

On their way to find gold, stampeders also found copper in the "copper belt" in the hills west of Whitehorse. The first copper claims were staked by Jack McIntyre on July 6, 1898, and Sam McGee on July 16, 1899. Two tram lines were built, one 8 km (5.0 mi) stretch on the east bank of the Yukon River from Canyon City to the rapids, just across from the present day downtown, and the other on the west bank of the river.

The White Pass and Yukon Route narrow-gauge railway linking Skagway to Whitehorse had begun construction in May 1898. By May 1899, construction had arrived at the south end of Bennett Lake. Construction began again at the north end of Bennett lake to Whitehorse. It was only in June–July 1900 that construction finished the difficult Bennett Lake section itself, completing the entire route.

By 1901, the Whitehorse Star was already reporting on daily freight volumes. Even though traders and prospectors were all calling the city Whitehorse (White Horse), there was an attempt by the railway people to change the name to Closeleigh (British Close brothers provided funding for the railway), this was refused by William Ogilvie, the territory's Commissioner.

On May 23, 1905, a small fire in the barber shop of the Windsor Hotel got out of control when the fire engine ran out of water, spreading throughout the city and causing $300,000 (equivalent to $9 million in 2021) in damage, though there were no deaths. Robert Service was working as a bank teller at the time and participated in suppressing the flame. The White Horse Restaurant and Inn was among the buildings destroyed, after its co-founder Frederick Trump, the grandfather of Donald Trump, had sold his shares and left the city.

In 1920, the first planes landed in Whitehorse and the first air mail was sent in November 1927. Until 1942, rail, river, and air were the only way to get to Whitehorse, but in 1942 the US military decided an interior road would be safer to transfer troops and provisions between Alaska and the US mainland and began construction of the Alaska Highway. The entire 2,500 km (1,600 mi) project was accomplished between March and November 1942. The Canadian portion of the highway was only returned to Canadian sovereignty after the war. The Canol pipeline was also constructed to supply oil to the north with a refinery in Whitehorse.

In 1950 the city was incorporated and by 1951 the population had doubled from its 1941 numbers. On April 1, 1953, the city was designated the capital of the Yukon Territory when the seat was moved from Dawson City after the construction of the Klondike Highway. On March 21, 1957, the name was officially changed from White Horse to Whitehorse.

Geography Whitehorse is located at kilometre 1,425 (Historic Mile 918) of the Alaska Highway and is framed by three nearby mountains: Grey Mountain to the east, Mount Sumanik to the north-west and Golden Horn Mountain to the south. The rapids which were the namesake of the city have disappeared under Miles Canyon and Schwatka Lake, formed by the construction of a hydroelectricity dam in 1958. Whitehorse is currently the 64th largest city in Canada by area. The city limits present a near rectangular shape orientated in a NW-SE direction.

Cityscape Whitehorse Bylaw 426 (1975) restricts the operation of motor vehicles to designated roadways in certain "Protected Areas" to ensure maximum conservation of the environmental quality. Most are near the downtown core (downtown and Yukon river escarpments, Mt. Mac ski trails, Riverdale, Valleyview, Hillcrest, Granger, Porter Creek, and Mountainview) and one, Pineridge, is south of downtown.

In 1999, the city approved the Area Development Scheme (ADS) which reallocated the area previously known as "Whitehorse Copper" to the following uses: Country Residential, Commercial, Service Industrial, and Heavy industrial.

Recent demands for growth have reignited urban planning debates in Whitehorse. In 1970 the Metropolitan Whitehorse development plan included park and greenbelt areas that were to be preserved to ensure high quality of life even within city limits.

Neighbourhoods Due to Whitehorse's unique urban development objectives and varied topography, neighbourhoods are usually separated from each other by large geographical features. In addition to the city's downtown core on the Yukon River's west bank, two subdivisions sit at the same elevation as the Yukon River — 640 m (2,100 ft). Crossing the bridge to the east bank of the river leads to Riverdale, one of the city's oldest neighbourhoods. From Riverdale, the road climbing up Grey Mountain leads to Grey Mountain Cemetery and the local FM radio antenna.

The rest of Whitehorse is generally located above 690 m (2,260 ft). Immediately after climbing "Two Mile Hill", looking to the north are the old residential neighbourhoods of Takhini, Takhini North and Takhini East, where many homes actually are originally army barracks and military officers' residences. Yukon University, Yukon Arts Centre and Whitehorse Correctional Centre are situated in Takhini. Situated further north are Range Point, Porter Creek, and Crestview, as well as Whitehorse's newest neighbourhood, Whistle Bend, where most of the new residential growth is currently occurring.

West of downtown are Valleyview, Hillcrest (also largely constituted of old military lodgings) and the Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport; and beyond the Canada Games Centre along Hamilton Boulevard are the neighbourhoods of McIntyre (designated to replace inferior lands and homes of the Kwanlin Dun First Nation ("The Village") previously located where Marwell adjoins a marshy area), then Ingram, Arkell, Logan, Granger, and rapidly expanding Copper Ridge.

Whitehorse also has subdivisions designated "Country Residential" which are subject to different municipal bylaws and are located farther out from the downtown. They consist of the rural Whitehorse subdivisions of Hidden Valley and MacPherson at Whitehorse's northern limits; to the south: McCrae (also spelt MacRae), Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek North, Mary Lake, Cowley Creek, Spruce Hill, Pineridge and Fox Haven Estates. Also located at the south end of the city is the newly designated Mt. Sima Service Industrial Subdivision.

Construction of Whistle Bend, Whitehorse's newest subdivision, began in 2010 on the "Lower Bench" east of the Porter Creek subdivision.

Attractions • Copperbelt Railway & Mining Museum • MacBride Museum of Yukon History • Miles CanyonSS Klondike sternwheeler • Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre • Yukon Transportation Museum.

Sport Whitehorse's proximity to the wilderness and the mountains allows its residents to enjoy a very active lifestyle. The city has an extensive trail network within its limits, estimated at 850 km (530 mi) in 2007, including sections of the Trans Canada Trail. These trails are used for a variety of non-motorized and/or motorized activities. The Yukon River in and around Whitehorse provides many opportunities for kayaking and canoeing.

The city is responsible for the maintenance of numerous sports and recreation fields including two dozen grass/sand/soil/ice sports surfaces, 3 ball diamonds, the Canada Games Centre Multiplex (pools, ice rinks, fieldhouse, fitness centre, walking/running track, physiotherapy), the Takhini Arena, and Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre. Private interests run Mount Sima, which contains 350m or 1,150 ft of downhill skiing in the winter and mountain biking in the summer, three golf courses, a bowling alley, and three gyms, including one with squash courts.

The annual 1,000 mile Yukon Quest sled dog race between Whitehorse and Fairbanks, Alaska, is considered one of the toughest in the world. The race alternates its starting and finishing points each year. The city has hosted several large sporting events including the 2007 Canada Winter Games, for which a CA$45 million sport multiplex was built; the Canadian Junior Freestyle Championships in 2006, the Arctic Winter Games (2000, 1992, 1986, 1980, 1972, 2012 and up coming location for the 2020 games), the annual International Curling Bonspiel, and the Dustball International Slowpitch Tournament. Other major sports events held by Whitehorse include: • 2007 Canada Winter Games • 2008 and 2014 Junior Men's Softball World Championship • 2012 Women's Softball World Championship • 2017 Men's Softball World Championship

Although there are no territorial junior league teams, the business community sponsors a number of local teams of volleyball, baseball, basketball, broomball, ice hockey, soccer and ultimate disk. High school teams are very active and partake in competitions with schools in neighbouring Alaska, and a few local athletes have flourished on the Canadian sports scene. Whitehorse is also home to the Whitehorse Glacier Bears swimming club.

Education • Yukon University confers bachelor's degrees, diplomas, certificates as well as trades and vocational training and adult basic education. It is the only university based in Northern Canada.

Media: Television Local cable provider NorthwesTel hosts three local television channels: Community Cable 9, an advertisement slide-show channel and a public service channel.

CBC Television operated an affiliate in Whitehorse, CFWH-TV, from 1968 to 2012. Initially served using the Frontier Coverage Package until Anik satellite broadcasts became available early in 1973; this transmitter was shut down on July 31, 2012, due to budget cuts. Until 2009, there was a low-powered repeater of Edmonton's CITV-TV providing Global Television Network programming to the area.

Media: Print Whitehorse's two major English-language newspapers are the Whitehorse Daily Star (founded as a weekly in 1900, it currently published three times per week) and the Yukon News (founded as a weekly in 1960 by Ken Shortt, published five days a week from 1967 to 1999, and currently prints twice weekly). Other local newspapers include What's Up Yukon (a local free music, arts, culture, events, weekly founded in 2005) and a French-language newspaper L'Aurore boréale (founded in 1983).

The quarterly magazine Yukon, North of Ordinary started in 2007.

Transport: Air Whitehorse is served by the Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport and has, as of 2022, scheduled service to Vancouver, Kelowna, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Dawson City, Old Crow and Inuvik. Seasonal scheduled service is provided to Yellowknife (nonstop), Ottawa (via Yellowknife), Toronto (via Yellowknife), as well as Frankfurt, Germany (nonstop). The airport was developed as part of the Northwest Staging Route in 1941–42 and has two long paved runways. A wartime-era hangar served as terminal building from about 1960, and was replaced in December 1985 with a modern terminal. Air North, a scheduled passenger and cargo airline operating Boeing 737 jetliners and Hawker Siddeley 748 turboprops, is based in Whitehorse. Alkan Air provides charter and medical services and also operates a flying school.

Transport: Road Surface access to Whitehorse is provided by a network of highways, including the international Alaska Highway connecting the Yukon with Alaska, British Columbia, and Alberta highway networks.

Whitehorse has been described as "pearls on a string", with its residential, industrial, and service subdivisions located along the main thoroughfares that carry traffic within city limits, with large gaps of undeveloped (often hilly) land between them. The Alaska Highway is the primary roadway, with branch roads reaching additional subdivisions. One such branch road, signed as "Highway 1A" and following Two Mile Hill Road, 4th Avenue, 2nd Avenue, and Robert Service Way, is the main access to downtown, Riverdale, and the Marwell Industrial Area.

The city road network is adequate, although it is congested during rush hours and discussions occasionally occur as to how it might better be managed, such as designating one-way streets.

Public transit Whitehorse Transit provides bus service on weekdays from about 6:40 am to 10 pm, and on weekends and holiday to about 8 pm. For passengers who have difficulty using the transit buses, there is a Handy Bus Service.

There was a waterfront tram, known as the "trolley", which provided transport along a short rail section along the Yukon River; it was chiefly tourist-oriented, operated by non-profit society, and was not integrated into the municipal transit system. It ran from the Rotary Peace Park, located on the south end of the city centre, up to the north end of the city centre at Spook Creek Station. Whitehorse presently has no active railway service. The trolley system ran on a small portion of the tracks formerly belonging to White Pass and Yukon Route.

The White Pass Railway started scheduled service from Skagway, Alaska, to Carcross, 72 km (45 mi) south of Whitehorse, in the spring of 2007, but this was disrupted by high lake water levels in August 2007. An envisioned transcontinental rail link to Alaska includes one route option through Whitehorse; a report has recommended a hub at Carmacks, with a spur line to Whitehorse and on to the Inside Passage of Alaska.

Water The Yukon River is essentially navigable from Whitehorse to the Bering Sea. At 640 m (2,100 ft) above sea level, the river at Whitehorse is the highest point on earth that can be reached by watercraft navigating from the sea. Currently, no passenger or freight services use the river at Whitehorse.