Atlin, a mining town and outpost during the gold rush. A town on the edge of complete wilderness up in northwestern British Columbia.
It is an isolated and remote place, accessible only by one road in modern times. Before that it was the lakes, rivers and overland routes that guided travelers to Atlin.
The area is surrounded by huge mountains that cover the sky and eclipse the horizon. Referred to by some as “Little Switzerland” Atlin conjures up images of the Swiss alps.
Snowcapped mountains rise up surrounded by turquoise lakes fed from the glaciers atop the mountain peaks. There is so much beauty and nature to explore here!
In this blog we discuss the town of Atlin and its incredible character.
Located up in the far northwest of BC just south of the border with the Yukon, there is limited access to this region even today. The only road access to Atlin is from the Yukon even though it is a town in British Columbia. Atlin road has no number in BC and known as Territorial Highway 7 for the Yukon portion, it was constructed in 1949. Carcross in the Yukon is the nearest town to Atlin with Whitehorse being the closest city. Atlin has fewer than 500 residents today.
There are no roads from the rest of BC to Atlin, it is an extremely isolated region of the province. Building infrastructure in this region is incredibly difficult due to the rugged terrain and harsh conditions. Being so far up north the region has intense winters which add to the logistical challenges of constructing roads and bridges in this region. The road is maintained by both British Columbia and the Yukon respectively. It is a narrow windy road that weaves along Atlin lake with incredible views of the mountains.
Before Roads…
Before the roads it was the overland trails through mountains that led to lakes and rivers. These could be used to navigate to various destinations as needed such as Atlin Lakes. Native tribes traveled the land for thousands of years and had navigation routes through the mountains.
Prospectors traveled through Atlin on their way to the goldfields of the Klondike in the Yukon. Atlin lake is the largest natural body of water in BC and was used as a highway by sternwheelers. There is a rich history of sternwheeler transportation in this region as it played a pivotal role in commerce and the gold rush. They played a huge role supplying and supporting travelers in the region.
The Atlin gold rush of 1898 was an off shoot of the Klondike gold rush. Discovery of gold in the region happened when two prospectors discovered gold on Pine creek. The excitement and proximity of Atlin to the gold rush routes of the Klondike drew many people to the area. This region grew massively and had a population over 10,000 at the height of the rush. The Globe Theater in Atlin had many great performances and saw a lot memorable nights.
Gold was discovered much earlier in the region as early as the late 1850s but as is the case with many gold rushes the actual rush did not begin until 1898. The remoteness, rugged landscape and lack of infrastructure made extracting gold from the region incredibly difficult. Atlin has had prospectors on the creeks of the goldfields for a long time.
Just outside Atlin in the heart of the goldfields was the boomtown of Discovery, otherwise known as Pine City. It was a true frontier town. Discovery is a ghost town now and nothing remains but a few bits and pieces. A small cabin remains on Surprise Lake Road which is dedicated to this once epic city. It was a wild place full of colorful characters, hotels and provided support for miners on the gold creeks in the area.
The goldfields are located outside of Atlin in the Pine creek valley, here there are a series of gold creeks that have produced huge amounts of gold. Surprise lake is drained by Pine creek and various tributaries that flow into Atlin Lake. Pine creek, spruce creek, boulder creek and various others are just some of the gold creeks that compose the Atlin gold district.
Pine creek was a gold creek in the goldfields of Atlin, it produced some of the biggest nuggets found in British Columbia. Pine creek is one of the legendary creeks of BC and has made a lot of miners rich. The creek is was full of course gold nuggets ranging in various sizes. All a miner needed to do was pick it up!
Placer gold is found here in massive quantities. Another creek of note is spruce creek which produced huge volumes of gold. Gold nuggets where common place on these creeks and could be found all over the place. What a feeling that would have been!
These placer mining operations used a variety of methods to recover the gold. Placer digging is much easier than hard rock mine workings. A simple pan and shovel is required to get gold in placer mining. This was the case for Atlin. The overburden was not as deep as the Caribou so it made mining a little easier. The creeks of the Atlin district contain lots of coarse gold. Coarse gold refers to the size of gold, typically found in nugget form but also available in fine forms such as powder and foil like formations.
Other methods that were used on the gold creeks are sluicing and hydraulic mining. This practice was similar to the process used the Cariboo Gold Rush. Hydraulic water monitors or “giants” are used to wash away banks and benches. The monitor was aimed at the area that was to be mined and then the material would be washed away through a sluice box which would recover the gold. This operation is complex and requires a lot of resources such as dams and canals.
Later on, the use of steam shovels and dredging were used to dig for gold in Atlin. The steam shovels where shipped up to Atlin at great expense. They worked for many years digging gold out of the various creeks of the gold fields. The remains of these epic machines are scattered around and there are some amazing surviving pieces on display at the Atlin museum.
There are still mining operations ongoing in the region with many active gold claims. The gold here is varied from course to fine but a lot of the course gold was collected by the old-time prospectors. An interesting thing to note is that a lot of the prospectors back then only cared for big gold nuggets. They missed a lot of fine gold which allows for modern day miners to conduct operations. These miners could only carry so much gold in their pokes so they would be selective and choose the big nuggets instead of fine gold dust. This leaves behind fine gold. Nuggets are easier to use for payment to fund other prospecting ventures.
A series of volcanoes is located around Atlin and the region has been volcanically active in the past. There were rumors and a report in the local paper of miners seeing a glow and ash near Ruby Mountain from Atlin in 1898 but this was never scientifically proven although a lava flow has been found of similar age to the report. At this point it is unverified but the legend persists.
The Surprise Lake volcanic field is composed of cinder cones from the late Pleistocene to Holocene epochs. It is part of the Atlin Volcanic District. Basaltic cinder cones are located near Cracker Creek and Volcanic Creek between Atlin lake and Surprise Lake. Ruby Mountain is the most famous volcano and is known for its red colored tephra deposits. Glacial activity has produced erosion in the area of the mountains and has produced movement of earth, rock and other material.
Today Atlin is primarily focused on tourism with gold mining operations still taking place. The town has many historic building that have been preserved. There was two fires that destroyed the town in 1900 and 1914 but the town was immediately rebuilt. The buildings are marked with signs denoting the historical significance of the building. Atlin is very similar to Dawson City in the Yukon. They both share the frontier spirit!
Heli skiing is a popular activity in Atlin during the winter months, the mountains provide a great escape for many outdoor enthusiasts no matter what season it is.
I would recommend taking a journey to explore this historic and amazingly beautiful region. History, nature and adventure are always around the corner.
Come to Little Switzerland, a paradise in the far north of British Columbia!