The Klondike Gold Rush, also known as the Yukon Trail, was a large-scale migration (or "stampede") of 100,000 prospectors ("stampeders") to the Yukon territory of northwestern Canada from 1896 to 1899. Gold was discovered in the Yukon on 16 August 1896; when the news reached Seattle and San Francisco, it triggered a stampede of prospectors. Most prospectors sailed from Seattle to the Alaskan ports of Dyea and Skagway and followed either the White Pass or Chilkoot Trails to the Yukon River and sailed down to the Klondike. Canadian border police required that each prospector bring a ton of equipment and food to ensure the prospectors' safety, as the mountainous terrain, hazardous waterways, and cold climate were quite dangerous for prospectors to navigate. Boom towns such as Dawson City emerged along the trail, with Dawson's population booming from 500 in 1896 to 30,000 by the summer of 1898. Most prospectors were disappointed by a lack of gold, or by permafrost which made digging difficult; many prospectors bought claims and let others do the work. In the summer of 1899, the discovery of gold near Nome, Alaska led to many prospectors leaving Klondike for the new goldfields, ending the Klondike Gold Rush. The boom towns were nearly deserted, and new railroads replaced the old hazardous trails, making travel easier. Since the introduction of heavy mining equipment to the Klondike in 1903, mining in the region has occurred on and off.
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