Dredge No. 4 is commemorated because it represents the importance of dredging operations in the Yukon between 1899 and 1966.

Dredges were brought to the Yukon in 1899 as a very efficient means of mining for Klondike gold. Corporate mining played a major role in the viability of the community of Dawson City and the Yukon Territory and exploded during the Klondike Gold Rush.

Dredge No. 4 offers guided tours through the interior of this massive machine with a Parks Canada staff member. The tour allows visitors to discover the evolution of placer mining from early pioneers doing it by hand, to large-scale corporate gold-digging machines that forever altered the landscape.

Photo: gillfoto, Wikimedia Commons