Atlin is a community in northwestern
British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada.The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, the 15th largest metropolitan region in Canada...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, located on the east shore of
Atlin LakeAtlin Lake is a lake in northwestern British Columbia and is that province's largest natural lake. The northern tip of the lake is in the Yukon, as is Little Atlin Lake. However, most of the lake lies within the Atlin District of British Columbia...
. It can be reached by the
Atlin RoadThe Atlin Road was built by the Canadian Army from 1950 to 1951, connecting the village of Atlin, British Columbia, with the Tagish Road just one mile west of the Alaska Highway at historic mile 866 ....
, or Yukon Territorial Highway 7, which is maintained jointly by the British Columbia and Yukon governments. At its Yukon terminus, the Atlin Road connects to the Tagish Road and the
Alaska HighwayThe Alaska Highway was constructed during World War II and connects the contiguous U.S. to Alaska through Canada. It runs from Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Delta Junction, Alaska, via Whitehorse, Yukon. Completed in 1943, it was long, but is becoming shorter due to rerouting...
(Highway 1). As of 2004, there are 450 permanent residents.
The name comes from Áa Tlein, the
Tlingit languageThe Tlingit language is spoken by the Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska and Western Canada. It is a branch of the Na-Dené language family. Tlingit is very endangered, with fewer than 140 native speakers still living, all of whom are bilingual or near-bilingual in English...
word for "big body of water".
Atlin is a community in northwestern
British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada.The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, the 15th largest metropolitan region in Canada...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, located on the east shore of
Atlin LakeAtlin Lake is a lake in northwestern British Columbia and is that province's largest natural lake. The northern tip of the lake is in the Yukon, as is Little Atlin Lake. However, most of the lake lies within the Atlin District of British Columbia...
. It can be reached by the
Atlin RoadThe Atlin Road was built by the Canadian Army from 1950 to 1951, connecting the village of Atlin, British Columbia, with the Tagish Road just one mile west of the Alaska Highway at historic mile 866 ....
, or Yukon Territorial Highway 7, which is maintained jointly by the British Columbia and Yukon governments. At its Yukon terminus, the Atlin Road connects to the Tagish Road and the
Alaska HighwayThe Alaska Highway was constructed during World War II and connects the contiguous U.S. to Alaska through Canada. It runs from Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Delta Junction, Alaska, via Whitehorse, Yukon. Completed in 1943, it was long, but is becoming shorter due to rerouting...
(Highway 1). As of 2004, there are 450 permanent residents.
The name comes from Áa Tlein, the
Tlingit languageThe Tlingit language is spoken by the Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska and Western Canada. It is a branch of the Na-Dené language family. Tlingit is very endangered, with fewer than 140 native speakers still living, all of whom are bilingual or near-bilingual in English...
word for "big body of water". The surrounding area has been used by Inland
TlingitThe Tlingit are an Indigenous people of northwestern America. Their name for themselves is Lingít "people"...
people for many years and the community is home to the Taku River Tlingit First Nation.
Gold mining originally gave Atlin its reason for existence. The Atlin Gold Rush came to Atlin Lake country in 1898 and was one of the richest offshoots of the
Klondike Gold RushThe Klondike Gold Rush, sometimes referred to as the Yukon Gold Rush or Alaska Gold Rush, was a frenzy of gold rush immigration to and for gold prospecting, along the Klondike River near Dawson City, Yukon, Canada after gold was discovered there in the late 19th century...
. By the end of the mining season of 1899 about 5,000 people had flocked to the region, and Atlin was a busy and important town and centre of the
Atlin Mining DistrictThe Atlin District, also known as the Atlin Country, is a historical region located in the far northwestern corner of the Canadian province of British Columbia, centred on Atlin Lake and the gold-rush capital of the region, the town of Atlin...
and one of the flash-points of the
Alaska boundary disputeThe Alaska Boundary Dispute was a territorial dispute between the United States and Canada , and at a subnational level between District of Alaska on the U.S. side and British Columbia on the Canadian side. It was resolved by arbitration in 1903...
. Although production was greatest in the early years, the Atlin field still produces today. Total placer gold production has exceeded $23 000 000.
In the 1920s Atlin was popular as an exotic tourist destination. There was no road so tourists had to travel up the
Inside PassageThe Inside Passage of the Alaska Panhandle and coastal British Columbia is a coastal route for oceangoing vessels along a series of passages between the mainland and the coastal islands. Ships using the route can avoid some of the bad weather in the open ocean, and visit the many isolated...
through the
British Columbia CoastThe British Columbia Coast or BC Coast is Canada's western continental coastline on the Pacific Ocean. The usage is synonymous with the term West Coast of Canada....
and the
Alaska PanhandleThe Alaska Panhandle, sometimes referred to as South east Alaska, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, which lies west of the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The majority of the panhandle's area is part of the Tongass National Forest, the United...
and via passes through Alaska and a series of lakes in Yukon and British Columbia. The journey ended when the M.V.
Tarahne (and other lake boats) took the tourists across the lake to stay at the large three story Atlin Inn (built by the White Pass and Yukon Route company). It was during this time it was nicknamed the "Switzerland of the North" because it is ringed by mountains. During the
Great DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
tourism decreased and the White Pass and Yukon Route closed their transportation routes and hotel (it later burned down). Atlin was largely isolated from transportation and commerce until the
Atlin RoadThe Atlin Road was built by the Canadian Army from 1950 to 1951, connecting the village of Atlin, British Columbia, with the Tagish Road just one mile west of the Alaska Highway at historic mile 866 ....
was built in 1950-51.
In addition to continued mining, Atlin is a tourist destination for fishing, hiking and
HeliskiingHeliskiing is off-trail, downhill skiing that is accessed by a helicopter, not a ski lift. Heliskiing is essentially about skiing in a natural -- albeit highly selected -- environment without the effort or gear compromise required for hiking into these areas as in ski touring or ski...
.
Atlin, British Columbia was also affected by the
impact eventAn impact event is the collision of a large meteorite, asteroid, comet, or other celestial object with the Earth or another planet. Impact events have been a plot and background element in science fiction since knowledge of real impacts became established in the scientific mainstream.-Sizes and...
that knocked out Yukon Territory's electrical grid on January 18, 2000.
External links
- http://www.discoveratlin.com/