Whitehorse - geography.

« The city of Whitehorse is governed by a council made up of the mayor and six members who act as the legislative body, and a city manager who acts as the executive.

Allserve two-year terms. Yukon Territory is governed by a six-member executive council and a 17-member territorial legislature.

A territorial commissioner serves a role similar to that of thelieutenant governor in Canadian provinces. VI CONTEMPORARY ISSUES Air pollution is a concern in Whitehorse.

The city council is considering discouraging vehicle use by expanding the public transit system.

The council is also looking atalternative forms of transport such as bicycles. Whitehorse’s water consumption is high in comparison to other Canadian cities, due primarily to leakage of treated water from the city’s water delivery system.

Initially thecity attempted to encourage conservation; however, there was little incentive to save as users pay a flat fee for water. Another issue in Whitehorse is water quality.

Bacteria levels in Schwatka Lake, the city’s water source, have increased in recent years due to population growth in areasabove the lake.

In addition, the city’s sewage treatment system discharges wastewater into the Yukon River.

The level of waste treatment is not adequate, and the sewageposes a health hazard.

Whitehorse is presently improving its sewage treatment system. VII HISTORY Whitehorse was founded during the Klondike gold rush of the late 1890s.

It soon became the terminus of the 177-km (110-mi) White Pass and Yukon Railway, completed inJuly 1900 from Skagway, Alaska.

Whitehorse was named after Yukon River rapids, which looked like the manes of white horses.

Whitehorse became the major distributionand service center for the mining settlements of the Upper Yukon Valley. The Whitehorse tourist industry began to grow in the 1920s and 1930s as the city became the supply and departure point for outstanding hunting and fishing areas in theYukon. During World War II, Whitehorse became a base for the construction of the Alaska Highway from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, to Fairbanks, Alaska.

Whitehorse was alsoa center for the Canol project, which built a crude-oil pipeline from Norman Wells in the Northwest Territories to Whitehorse and a Whitehorse oil refinery.

The United Statesgovernment leased the railway from 1942 to 1946 and upgraded the airport facilities.

The war years were a prosperous time in Whitehorse, and jobs were plentiful. Whitehorse was incorporated as a city in 1950; three years later it became the capital of the Yukon Territory.

The city grew in response to these changes.

To provide powerfor the increasing population, a hydroelectric dam and Schwatka Lake reservoir were constructed on the Yukon River in 1958.

In the 1950s and 1960s the federalgovernment encouraged new Yukon mining.

As a result silver, asbestos, lead, and zinc production expanded.

The White Pass and Yukon Corporation improved itstransportation operations and constructed new shipping facilities at the northeastern end of Whitehorse.

In 1969 the Cyprus Anvil mine began production and soon produced15 percent of Canadian lead and zinc.

By 1981, 12.4 percent of the Yukon government revenue was derived from Cyprus Anvil and the mine was the largest customer of theWhite Pass and Yukon Corporation.

In June 1982, however, the Cyprus Anvil mine closed its operations because of low mineral prices and high operating costs. Contributed By:Paul M.

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