Schwatka: The History and Engineering of a Late Nineteenth-Century Yukon River Steamboat

Summary

In the late 19th century the Klondike Gold Rush in the Yukon Territory created an unprecedented shipbuilding boom along the West Coast of North America.  More than 131 riverboats were constructed in a single year, often with considerable design variation.  This paper describes the history, unique characteristics and engineering of the well-preserved wooden hull of Schwatka, a stern wheel steamboat now lying in the terrestrial "boneyard" at West Dawson, Yukon, Canada.   

Cite this Record

Schwatka: The History and Engineering of a Late Nineteenth-Century Yukon River Steamboat. John C Pollack, Sheli O. Smith, Sean Adams, Robyn P Woodward. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Seattle, Washington. 2015 ( tDAR id: 433829)

Keywords

General
Gold Rush Riverboat Steamboat

Geographic Keywords
Canada North America

Temporal Keywords
Late Nineteenth Century

Spatial Coverage

min long: -141.003; min lat: 41.684 ; max long: -52.617; max lat: 83.113 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 154