The origin of gold on Earth is still up for debate by scientists today. They have several theories, for example, billions of years ago, as the Earth formed from a supernova collision, gold was also formed. All that gold sank into the Earth's core, and is inaccessible. Later, asteroids carrying gold crashed into Earth, and that gold entered the Earth’s crust and is mineable using heavy machinery. Yukon gold is “placer” gold, which is gold that has come from eroded rocks in the Earth's crust, and been deposited by running water in a creek or stream bed. This type of gold is mined using "placer mining" techniques and simple tools.

North America’s first humans arrived over the land bridge that connected Asia with this continent during a time when sea levels were lower than they are now.

Russians began to establish trading posts in what is now Alaska, but they mostly stayed on the coast, where their presence led to devastating epidemics among Indigenous peoples.

The Hudson’s Bay Company establishes trading posts at Fort Youcon (1847-69) and Fort Selkirk (1848-51), both on the Yukon River, making trade goods available to Indigenous peoples of the region.

Gold is discovered in California, and people realize that there is probably more in other places in the Rocky Mountain chain. This is proven correct when gold is also discovered elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest, in British Columbia in the 1850s, and eventually in Yukon.

The first outsiders arrive to search for gold—three men: Jack McQuesten, Arthur Harper, and Alfred Mayo.

Between 1872 and 1890 more people trickle in to the Yukon (which was part of the North-West Territories until it was created a separate Territory in 1898). By 1885 there are about 200 newcomers.

Mining activity is concentrated on the new settlement at Fortymile, at the confluence of the Fortymile and Yukon Rivers, close to the international boundary. Much of the mining activity actually takes place on the American side of the line. By 1894 about a thousand people are working in the region.

During the summer 1894, Inspector Charles Constantine arrives at Fortymile on a tour of inspection for the North West Mounted Police. He returns in 1895 with a detachment of fifteen men and established Canadian control over the region.

The great discovery by George and Kate Carmack, Skookum Jim, and Dawson Charlie takes place on Rabbit Creek (later renamed Bonanza Creek). The majority of people at Fortymile leave for the Klondike. Dawson City is founded by Joe Ladue. The next day they formally stake their claims.

Discovery of gold on Eldorado Creek (a tributary of Bonanza).

All of Bonanza Creek is staked and gold discoveries are abundant.

During the summer of 1897, the population of Dawson City grows to approximately 3,500.

The steamship Excelsior arrives in San Francisco with a half a million dollars’ worth of gold on board. Stories of the Klondike Gold Rush hit the newspapers. People are electrified, and thousands plan to head for the gold fields.

The steamship Portland docks in Seattle, and 68 miners unload one million dollars worth of gold in front of a crowd of 5,000.

A Seattle newspaper prints an eight-page Klondike edition that is sent to every postmaster and public library in the country and to thousands of businessmen and politicians.

Ships bearing the first stampeders arrive in Dyea and Skagway, Alaska or steam directly up the Yukon River to Dawson City.

Oliver Millett of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia stakes claim on Cheechako Hill, far above Bonanza Creek, and it produces a half a million dollars’ worth of gold. A staking rush of the nearby hills begins.

Thousands of men and women head for the Yukon by various means. The easiest (and most expensive) option is taking a boat all the way to Dawson City. The hardest (and cheapest) was climbing the Chilkoot Trail through the Coast Mountains along Alaska and British Columbia. It is during these months that the famous photographs of people climbing the Chilkoot Pass were taken.

The breakup of ice on the Yukon River begins on May 29th, and the boats built during the winter head downriver towards Dawson City, which soon becomes the largest Canadian city west of Winnipeg.

The population of the Yukon peaks, perhaps 35 to 40,000 (no census was taken until 1901).

Gold is discovered at Nome, Alaska, and people begin to leave the Yukon in large numbers. The Klondike Gold Rush is officially over.

The year of greatest Klondike gold production. Over 22 million dollars’ worth is pulled out of the creeks, compared to $2.5 million in 1897 and $10 million in 1898.

Mining continues in Yukon, but it becomes less accessible to individuals. Mining techniques shift from hand tools to heavy machinery. This new mining equipment is very expensive, and can only be bought by corporations.

The population of Yukon has gone from almost 40,000 at the height of the gold rush to around 4,000. It stays the same until the construction of the Alaska Highway in 1942, when thousands of American troops and Canadian civilian workers arrive in the Territory during WWII. The population drops again after the war ends in 1945, and doesn't regain its gold rush population of 40,000 until 70 years later in 2015.

The last of the Yukon Consolidated Gold Corporation’s dredges ceases operations, ending the company’s operations in Yukon. Mining continues on a smaller scale to this day.

Of the 40,000 people in Yukon today, approximately 8,000 of them are Indigenous. This is around the same number as at the beginning of the 19th century, before the arrival of Europeans. Indigenous populations severely declined during the fur trade and the gold rush, but now they are continuing to rise.