Miller Creek (Sixtymile River tributary) facts for kids

Miller Creek is a stream located in the Yukon territory of Canada. It became famous for the gold found there a long time ago.

Exploring Miller Creek's Geography

Miller Creek flows for about 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometers) until it joins the Sixtymile River. The Sixtymile River then flows into the mighty Yukon River. Miller Creek's path is mostly straight.

The Valley's Shape

The ground under the creek slopes quite a bit, getting steeper as you go closer to where the creek starts. The valley itself is usually shaped like a "V". But near the very beginning of the creek, the valley gets wider and looks more like a "U". This U-shape is like a big, bowl-shaped hollow, often called a "cirque."

How Ice Shapes the Land

This wider, U-shaped part of the valley is likely formed by ice. In winter, lots of ice and snow gather there. This ice tends to slide down the steep slopes. In spring, as the ice softens and melts, a small, temporary glacier can form at the head of the valley.

The moving ice helps shape the valley. Also, the water from the melting ice, called "glacial waters," spreads out over the whole valley instead of staying in one narrow stream. This water is very powerful. As the ice melts, it creates big channels and waterfalls. These waterfalls churn up the gravel and carry it away, often showing the solid rock underneath. This process was important because it stopped gold from building up in certain spots.

Miller Creek and another stream called Glacier Creek both flow into the Sixtymile River. The areas drained by the Sixtymile and Fortymile rivers are separated by a ridge. This ridge is not very high and has a flat top, forming part of a larger flat area called a plateau.

A Look at Miller Creek's History

People first started looking for gold along Miller Creek shortly after gold was discovered in the area around 1887. The very first gold find was on a place called Franklin Gulch.

The Gold Rush Years

By 1898, Miller Creek was known as one of the busiest places on the Upper Yukon River. In the winter of 1895-1896, about 500 miners were working in this area, mostly on Miller Creek itself. However, by the spring, more than half of these miners left to find gold in other places like Birch Creek. So, by July 1896, only about 200 men were still working in the district.

John Miiller's Big Find

It was on Miller Creek that one of the richest gold discoveries in the Yukon happened at that time. A miner named John Miiller found a huge amount of gold from just one claim. This claim was about 500 feet long along the creek bed. People estimated that he made between $30,000 and $50,000 from his work over two winters and one summer. This was a very large sum of money back then!