Record Display for the EPA National Library Catalog
RECORD NUMBER: 1086 OF 1782Main Title | Nature of gold : an environmental history of the Klondike gold rush / | |||||||||||
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Author | Morse, Kathryn Taylor. | |||||||||||
Publisher | University of Washington Press, | |||||||||||
Year Published | 2003 | |||||||||||
OCLC Number | 51984829 | |||||||||||
ISBN | 0295983299 (alk. paper) 0295983302 (pbk. : alk. paper) | |||||||||||
Subjects | Frontier and pioneer life--Yukon Territory--Klondike River Valley ; Frontier and pioneer life--Alaska ; Gold mines and mining--Environmental aspects--Yukon Territory--Klondike River Valley ; Gold mines and mining--Environmental aspects--Alaska ; Gold miners--Yukon Territory--Klondike River Valley--History--19th century ; Gold miners--Alaska--History--19th century ; Vie des pionniers--Yukon--Klondike, Vallee du ; Vie des pionniers--Alaska ; Or--Mines et extraction--Aspect de l'environnement--Yukon--Klondike, Vallee du ; Or--Mines et extraction--Aspect de l'environnement--Alaska ; Klondike River Valley (Yukon)--Gold discoveries ; Alaska--Gold discoveries ; Klondike River Valley (Yukon)--Environmental conditions ; Alaska--Environmental conditions ; Klondike, Vallee du (Yukon)--Decouvertes d'or ; Alaska--Decouvertes d'or | |||||||||||
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Collation | xviii, 290 p., {24} p. of plates : ill., maps ; 24 cm. | |||||||||||
Notes | Includes bibliographical references (p. 255-274) and index. |
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Contents Notes | In 1896, a small group of prospectors discovered a stunningly rich pocket of gold at the confluence of the Klondike and Yukon rivers, and in the following two years thousands of individuals traveled to the area, hoping to find wealth in a rugged and challenging setting. Ever since that time, the Klondike Gold Rush--especially as portrayed in photographs of long lines of gold seekers marching up Chilkoot Pass--has had a hold on the popular imagination. In this environmental history of the gold rush, Kathryn Morse describes how the miners got to the Klondike, the mining technologies they employed, and the complex networks by which they obtained food, clothing, and tools. She looks at the political and economic debates surrounding the valuation of gold and the emerging industrial economy that exploited its extraction in Alaska, and explores the ways in which a web of connections among America's transportation, supply, and marketing industries linked miners to other industrial and agricultural laborers across the country. The profound economic and cultural transformations that supported the Alaska-Yukon gold rush ultimately reverberate to modern times. The story Morse tells is often narrated through the diaries and letters of the miners themselves. The daunting challenges of traveling, working, and surviving in the raw wilderness are illustrated not only by the miners' compelling accounts but by newspaper reports and advertisements. Seattle played a key role as "gateway to the Klondike." A public relations campaign lured potential miners to the West and local businesses seized the opportunity to make large profits while thousands of gold seekers streamed through Seattle. |