Burwash Landing is a small community, at historical mile 1093 on 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...
, in the
YukonYukon , or The Yukon, is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River, Yukon meaning "Great River" in Gwich’in....
,
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...
along the southern shore of
Kluane LakeKluane Lake is located in the southwest area of the Yukon. At approximately 400 square kilometres, and 70 kilometres long, it is the largest lake contained entirely within the territorial border....
.
The present location of Burwash Landing was first used as a summer camp by the
Southern TutchoneThe Southern Tutchone are a First Nations people living mainly in the southern Yukon in Canada. The Southern Tutchone language, originally spoken by the Southern Tutchone people is a variety of the Tutchone language, part of the Athabaskan language family, although it may be argued that Northern...
Athabascans until a trading post was built in the early 1900s by the Jacquot brothers.
As of the
2006 CensusThe Canada 2006 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 16 2006. The next census following will be the 2011 Census. Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897...
the population was 73, of which of which 80% were
AboriginalAboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors Indian and Eskimo are falling into disuse. Old Crow Flats and Bluefish Caves are the earliest archaeological sites of human habitation in Canada. The Paleo-Indian Clovis, Plano cultures and Pre-Dorset...
First NationsFirst Nations is a term of ethnicity that refers to the Aboriginal peoples in Canada, who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 600 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread all across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia...
. The community is the administrative centre of the
Kluane First NationThe Kluane First Nation is a small First Nation in the Yukon Territory in Canada. Its main centre is in Burwash Landing, Yukon on Kluane Lake along the Alaska Highway. The native language spoken by the people of this First Nation is Southern Tutchone....
. In addition to the Alaska Highway, the community is served by the
Burwash AirportBurwash Airport is located northwest of Burwash Landing, Yukon, Canada, and is operated by the Yukon government.- External links :** on COPA's Places to Fly airport directory...
.
Home of the Kluane Museum of Natural History and the Kluane First Nation. It is also home to the world's largest
gold panPlacer mining is the mining of alluvial deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit or by various forms of tunneling into ancient riverbeds...
.
In July 1937,
Robert BatesRobert Hicks Bates was an American mountaineer, author and teacher, who is best remembered for his parts in the first ascent of Mount Lucania and the American expeditions to K2 in 1938 and 1953.-Early life:...
and
Bradford WashburnHenry Bradford Washburn, Jr. was an explorer, mountaineer, photographer, and cartographer. He established the Boston Museum of Science, served as its director from 1939-1980, and from 1985 until his death served as its Honorary Director .-Biography:Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he received an...
, two members of the
Harvard Mountaineering ClubThe Harvard Mountaineering Club is an undergraduate organization of Harvard College. Founded in 1924, the HMC is one of the oldest college mountaineering clubs in the country, with a long record of exploratory mountaineering.- Early history :...
, made their way into Burwash Landing after climbing the
LucaniaMount Lucania is the third highest mountain in Canada. A long ridge connects Mt. Lucania with Mount Steele , the fifth highest in Canada. Lucania is named after a region of southern Italy, known today as Basilicata....
peak and hiking over across the wilderness after their
bush pilot-Etymology:The term bush flying most likely came from a term to describe the land in Southern Africa, bush. This term came to describe any wilderness areas beyond clearings and settlements, which bush flying flies over.-Purpose:...
was unable to retrieve them.
Geography
Burwash Landing is above sea level at the airport. The elevation can be higher in some places and lower in the others. Burwash Landing is located on the Historic Milepost 1093 Alaska (Alcan) Highway. It sits on the southern shores of the Kluane Lake. Several prominent geographic features have been renamed in Southern
Tutchone languageTutchone is an Athabaskan language spoken in the Yukon Territory in Canada. It has two varieties that are sometimes considered separate languages: Southern Tutchone and Northern Tutchone.-External links:**...
.
Tourism
Burwash Landing has a post office, community hall, laundromat and church. Visitor services include gas, food, camping and lodging. Walking trail along the Alaska Highway between Duke Trading Post and Dalan Campground. Flightseeing trips of
Kluane National Park and ReserveKluane National Park and Reserve are two units of Canada's national park system, located in the extreme southwestern corner of Yukon Territory. Kluane National Park Reserve was established in 1972, covering 22,016 square kilometres....
are also available out of Burwash Landing. Boat rentals and guided fishing trips on Kluane Lake are available locally. Canoeists may make a 1-day float trip down the Kluane Lake to mouth of Kluane River to Kluane Wilderness village from Burwash Landing. Beware of high winds on Kluane Lake. Wildlife on the Kluane River includes bears, wolves and eagles.
Southern Tutchone people
Burwash landing is the traditional home of the Southern Tutchone Athabascans. It used to be a summer camp. A revival of the Southern Tutchone language and culture has been taking place in this quiet lakeside community. This is readily apparent to visitors when they pull into town and are met with Southern Tutchone street and traffic signs, within and nearby Burwash Landing. Several prominent geographic features have been renamed in Southern Tutchone and signs can be seen along the Alaska (Alcan) Highway.
Burls
Burwash Landing is known for its black spruce
burlA burl is a tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner. It is commonly found in the form of a rounded outgrowth on a tree trunk or branch that is filled with small knots from dormant buds. Burls are the product of a cambium.A burl results from a tree undergoing some form of...
s. Burls start as an irritation in the spruce. The tree sends extra sap as healant, which creates a growth (burl). Burls are either "green," harvested from live trees in the spring, or they are "dry burls," taken from dead burl trees.Burls are peeled off their bark and used in their natural form as fenceposts, for example, or they may be shaped and finished into a variety of objects, such as bowls. Check the Burlbilly Hill on the Milepost 1061.6, the visitor will see rows of "burly logs" on the hill.
External links