The Teslin River is a river in southern

Yukon Territory 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 ...

and northwestern

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 Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, that flows from its source south of

Teslin Lake Teslin Lake is a large lake spanning the border between British Columbia and Yukon, Canada. It is one of a group of large lakes in the region of far northwestern BC, east of the upper Alaska Panhandle, which are the southern extremity of the bas ...

to its confluence with the

Yukon River The Yukon River ( Gwich'in: ''Ųųg Han'' or ''Yuk Han'', Yup'ik: ''Kuigpak'', Inupiaq: ''Kuukpak'', Deg Xinag: ''Yeqin'', Hän: ''Tth'echù'' or ''Chuu k'onn'', Southern Tutchone: Chu Nìikwän, russian: Юкон, Yukon) is a major watercourse ...

. During the Klondike Gold Rush of 1896–99, the river became a popular route to the Klondike gold fields near

Dawson City Dawson City, officially the City of Dawson, is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–99). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest town in Yuko ...

with the stampeders who had crossed the Coast Mountains by routes such as the

Chilkoot Trail The Chilkoot Trail is a 33-mile (53 km) trail through the Coast Mountains that leads from Dyea, Alaska, in the United States, to Bennett, British Columbia, in Canada. It was a major access route from the coast to Yukon goldfields in the lat ...

or the

White Pass White Pass, also known as the Dead Horse Trail, (elevation ) is a mountain pass through the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains on the border of the U.S. state of Alaska and the province of British Columbia, Canada. It leads from Skagway, Ala ...

trail. The

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

name of the Teslin River is derived from native names. In the local Tutchone language. spoken north of the lake it was called ''Délin Chú '' and the Chilkat

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 ),

called it ''Deisleen Héeni''. In the

Tlingit language The Tlingit language ( ; ''Lingít'' ) is spoken by the Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska and Western Canada and is a branch of the Na-Dene language family. Extensive effort is being put into revitalization programs in Southeast Alaska to re ...

the local ''kwaan'' or tribe of Inland Tlingit call themselves ''Deisleen Kwáan"'', meaning "Big Sinew Tribe". Prospectors and explorers passing through the region recorded that the local natives called the river ''Teslin-tuh'' or ''Teslin-too'', from which we get the English name. The portion of the river upstream of the lake (south of the lake) was officially designated the Whiteswan River from 1904 to 1951. The other major feeder streams of the system, via Teslin Lake, are the

Jennings River The Jennings River is a river in far northern British Columbia, Canada. It is approximately long. The river was named for William T. Jennings (1846-1906), a civil engineer who, in 1897, assessed various road and railroad routes from the Pacific ...

, from the southeast, and the Swift River, from the east-northeast. Black Spruce is a significant tree within the Teslin River watershed.Parks Canada. 1976

References

* C. Michael Hogan
''Black Spruce: Picea mariana'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg, November, 2008
* Andrew Hope III, Alaska Native Knowledge Network. 2000
''Map of Tlingit Kwaans and Territories''
* Parks Canada. 1976. ''Wild Rivers: Yukon Territory'', Published by Wild Rivers Survey, Planning Division, Parks Canada, 84 pages

Line notes

{{authority control Rivers of British Columbia Rivers of Yukon Atlin District Cassiar Country Tributaries of the Yukon River

See also

References

Line notes