288 The American Geologist. May, i89y 
PRELIMINARY NOTES ON THE SURF ACE GEOLOGY 
OFTHE YUKON TERRITORY. 
Hy Otto Nordenskjold, Upsala, Swede u. 
During the summer of 1898, I made an expedition to the 
gold-fields in the Klondike district in the Yukon Territory. 1 
was accompanied by a Swedish geologist, Dr. Frithiof Ander- 
son, and by others who still remain in that quarter. The col- 
lections we made being thus likely to be added to, and time 
not having been found for a complete study of those already 
at hand, a full account of the observations taken cannot be 
given until later. These notes, therefore, are restricted to a 
few observations made on our journey to and fro between the 
Alaska coast and Dawson City. 
The Yukon river, or more correctly speaking the chief 
branch of that river, the Lewes river, commences its course, 
as is known, only about 1 1 miles from Dyea Inlet, the inner- 
most bay of the Lynn canal, while it is possible from the head 
of lake Lindermaii, 18 miles from the sea-coast, to cover the 
whole distance to Klondike by steamer with only two quite 
short breaks. Hence this route is the most convenient one to 
the gold-fields and I availed myself of it both on my journey 
there and back. I had, however, but few opportunities of get- 
ting away any distance from the ordinary channel of traffic. 
The geology of the district passed through has been de- 
scribed by several explorers, especially worthy of mention be- 
ing Dawson, McConnell, Russell and Spurr.* Their investi- 
gations show, in the first place, that the mountain lakes, still 
of considerable size, forming a broad belt on the northern side 
of the coast chain of mountains were of still greater extent 
formerly, ancient shore-lines being found 400 and up to 600 
feet (at lake Lebarge, according to Russell) above the present 
surface, while terraces formed of silty deposits rise to about 
*The chief works on the geology of the district are: 
G. M. D aw soft ; Report on an exploration in the Yukon District, 
N. W. T. (Geol. Surv. Can., Ann. Rep., 1887, Part B). 
R. G. McConnell : Rep. of an Expl. in the Yukon and Mackenzie 
Basins, N. W. T. (Geol. Surv. Can., Ann. Rep., Vol. IV. (i888-i88q), 
Part D). 
/. C. Russell : Notes on the Surface Geology of Alaska. (Bull. Geol. 
Soc. Am. Vol. I, p. qq). 
/. E. Spun-: Geology of the Yukon Gold District, Alaska. (U. S. 
Geol. Surv., i8th Ann. Rep., Part III (1898) ). 
