Marsh Lake (Mud Lake) is a widening of the

Yukon River The Yukon River (Gwichʼin language, Gwich'in: ''Ųųg Han'' or ''Yuk Han'', Central Alaskan Yup'ik language, Yup'ik: ''Kuigpak'', Inupiaq language, Inupiaq: ''Kuukpak'', Deg Xinag language, Deg Xinag: ''Yeqin'', Hän language, Hän: ''Tth'echù' ...

southeast of

Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

, Canada. It is over 30 kilometres long and ranges from three to four kilometres wide. The co-ordinates of the lake are , and is 2,147 feet above sea level. The lake forms part of a chain of finger lakes, sometimes referred to as "The Southern Lakes", that form the

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

of the

. The community of

Marsh Lake, Yukon Marsh Lake (Lingít: ''Kóoshdaa Xágu'') is an unincorporated community on the Alaska Highway on the shores of Marsh Lake southeast of Whitehorse in Canada's Yukon. The area was organized in 2001, as a local area council to help the residents wi ...

is located along the northern shores of the lake.

History

During the Klondike Gold Rush the

system was heavily relied upon for transportation. The passes and railhead to the southeast left the prospectors at Lake Bennett, the early ones had to build their own boats and float down the windy and dangerous Lake Bennett,

Tagish Lake Tagish Lake is a lake in Yukon and northern British Columbia, Canada. The lake is more than long and about wide. It has two arms, the Taku Arm in the east which is very long and mostly in British Columbia and Windy Arm in the west, mostly in ...

and "Mud Lake" before beginning on the

. A network of

steamboats A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

were soon developed and they began ferrying passengers to the rapids at Canyon City just outside what is now Whitehorse. These steamboats needed firewood, and one site was located on the southeast end of Marsh Lake, The

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

allowed passengers some time off the boat and the crew time to replenish their fuel wood supplies. The name was changed from Mud Lake to Marsh Lake by

Frederick Schwatka Frederick Gustavus Schwatka (29 September 1849 – 2 November 1892) was a United States Army lieutenant with degrees in medicine and law, and was a noted explorer of northern Canada and Alaska. Early life and career Schwatka was born in Galena ...

, after the Yale University Professor

Othniel Charles Marsh Othniel Charles Marsh (October 29, 1831 – March 18, 1899) was an American professor of Paleontology in Yale College and President of the National Academy of Sciences. He was one of the preeminent scientists in the field of paleontology. Among h ...

, who contributed financially to Schwatka's mapping and exploration of Yukon. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

Alaska Highway