What sparked the stampede in 1897?

Ships arriving with a ton of gold

Klondike Gold Rush Quiz: Dawson City and the Chilkoot Pass

This Klondike gold rush quiz follows the stampeders who climbed frozen passes in search of Yukon gold. Play 10 interactive questions on the 1896 strike at Bonanza Creek, Skookum Jim, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie, the 1897 ton of gold, the Chilkoot Pass Golden Stairs, the Mounties' one ton rule, Dawson City's boom, Jack London and Robert Service.

Start Klondike Gold Rush Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Where
Where was the Klondike gold rush?
Strike
When was gold found at Bonanza Creek?
Finders
Who is credited with the find?
News
What sparked the stampede in 1897?
Pass
Which steep pass had the Golden Stairs?
Rule
What did the Mounties require each stampeder to bring?
Town
Which town boomed into a city?
Writer
Which author went north and later wrote The Call of the Wild?
Poet
Who wrote The Cremation of Sam McGee?
End
Why did the rush fade by 1899?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Where was the Klondike gold rush?
Answer: The Yukon in Canada
The Klondike River flows into the Yukon River.
Q2: When was gold found at Bonanza Creek?
Answer: 1896
It was first called Rabbit Creek.
Q3: Who is credited with the find?
Answer: Skookum Jim, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie
Skookum Jim was a Tagish man.
Q4: What sparked the stampede in 1897?
Answer: Ships arriving with a ton of gold
Ships docked in Seattle and San Francisco.
Q5: Which steep pass had the Golden Stairs?
Answer: Chilkoot Pass
Steps were cut into ice and snow.
Q6: What did the Mounties require each stampeder to bring?
Answer: About a year's supplies
It weighed around a ton.
Q7: Which town boomed into a city?
Answer: Dawson City
Tens of thousands crowded in.
Q8: Which author went north and later wrote The Call of the Wild?
Answer: Jack London
His stories drew on the Yukon.
Q9: Who wrote The Cremation of Sam McGee?
Answer: Robert Service
He is called the Bard of the Yukon.
Q10: Why did the rush fade by 1899?
Answer: Gold was found at Nome, Alaska
Many miners moved on.

Golden Stairs, Mounties and a Boomtown

In August 1896, gold was found on Rabbit Creek, soon renamed Bonanza Creek, near the Klondike River in the Yukon. The find is credited to Skookum Jim, a Tagish man, his nephew Dawson Charlie and George Carmack. When ships carrying a ton of gold docked in Seattle in 1897, a stampede began.

Around 100,000 people set out, but only some reached the goldfields. The North-West Mounted Police required each stampeder to bring about a year's supplies, roughly a ton, so many hauled loads up the Chilkoot Pass, where the Golden Stairs were cut into ice and snow.

Dawson City exploded from a camp into a crowded boomtown. Writer Jack London went north and later wrote The Call of the Wild, and poet Robert Service wrote The Cremation of Sam McGee. By 1899 news of gold at Nome, Alaska, drew many away, and the rush faded.

What This Quiz Teaches

History fans will enjoy these questions.

Where gold was found
Who found it
How stampeders traveled
What rules they followed
Who wrote about it

Did You Know?

Most stampeders never found any gold.
The White Pass and Yukon Route railway opened soon after.
Dawson City keeps boardwalks and old storefronts.
Gold mining still happens in the Klondike today.
Steamboats carried people down the Yukon River.