Snag is a village located on a small, dry-weather
sideroad off the
Alaska Highway, east of
Beaver Creek,
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. The village of Snag is located in a bowl-shaped valley of the
White River and its tributaries, including
Snag Creek. It was first settled during the
Klondike Gold Rush. An aboriginal village was also located approximately away. It was the site of a military airfield, established as part of the
Northwest Staging Route
The Northwest Staging Route was a series of airstrips, airport and radio ranging stations built in Alberta, British Columbia, the Yukon and Alaska during World War II. It extended into the Soviet Union as the ALSIB (ALaska-SIBerian air road).
Or ...
, which closed in 1968. In 1947, the village of Snag boasted a population of eight to ten
First Nation
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
people and fur traders. An additional staff of fifteen to twenty airport personnel — meteorologists, radio operators, aircraft maintenance men — lived at the airport barracks.
Climate
Snag has a
subarctic climate (
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
Dwc/Dfc) with mild summers and severely cold and long winters.
On February 3, 1947, the record-low temperature for continental North America was recorded in Snag: .
That same winter, two previous records had already been surpassed: one in December noted various phenomena, particularly sound such as voices being heard clearly miles from their source. There was a clear sky (except for some ice fog), and little to no wind. There were of snow on the ground, but it was decreasing. Another town northeast of Snag,
Fort Selkirk
Fort Selkirk is a former trading post on the Yukon River at the confluence of the Pelly River in Canada's Yukon. For many years it was home to the Selkirk First Nation (Northern Tutchone).
History
Archaeological evidence shows that the site ...
, claimed an even lower temperature of , but the claim could not be confirmed.
The Weather Doctor
Keith C. Heidorn ''Weather Almanac for February 2002''
Disappearance of aircraft
On January 26, 1950, a Douglas C-54 Skymaster
The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian a ...
(tail number 42-72469) of the United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
, with 34 service personnel, 2 civilians and a crew of 8, disappeared on a flight from 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. ...
to Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...
. It was in the vicinity of Snag when last contact was made by radio at 17:09.
References
{{Subdivisions of Yukon
Ghost towns in Yukon