The Chilkat Pass is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...

on the border of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

, United States, and the province of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada, at the divide between the Klehini (S) and Kelsall Rivers just northwest of

Haines, Alaska Haines (Tlingit: ''Deishú'') is a census-designated place located in Haines Borough, Alaska, United States. It is in the northern part of the Alaska Panhandle, near Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. As of the 2020 census, the populat ...

. At an elevation of 3510 ft (1070 m), it is used by the

Haines Highway The Haines Highway or Haines Cut-Off (and still often called the Haines Road) is a highway that connects Haines, Alaska, in the United States, with Haines Junction, Yukon, Canada, passing through the province of British Columbia. It follows ...

and was the route used by the

Dalton Trail The Dalton Trail is a trail that runs between Pyramid Harbor, west of Haines, Alaska in the United States, and Fort Selkirk, in the Yukon Territory of Canada, using the Chilkat Pass. It is 396 km (246 mi) long. Originally, the Chil ...

during the days of the Klondike Gold Rush. It also marks the boundary between the

Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains (french: La chaîne Côtière) are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia ...

and

Saint Elias Mountains The Saint Elias Mountains (french: Chaîne Saint-Élie) are a subgroup of the Pacific Coast Ranges, located in southeastern Alaska in the United States, Southwestern Yukon and the very far northwestern part of British Columbia in Canada. The range ...

. The pass is named for the Chilkat subgroup of the

Tlingit The Tlingit ( or ; also spelled Tlinkit) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively , pronounced ),

people, who reside in the Haines area and until the gold rush controlled use of the route.

References

* Mountain passes of British Columbia Mountain passes of Alaska Klondike Gold Rush History of British Columbia History of Yukon Landforms of Haines Borough, Alaska Canada–United States border crossings Transportation in Haines Borough, Alaska {{HainesAK-geo-stub

See also

References