Kluane Lake

Kluane Lake
Kluane Lake
	Kluane Lake Kluane Lake
Location	Yukon
Coordinates	61°14′N 138°40′W / 61.233°N 138.667°W
Primary inflows	Formerly the Slims River
Primary outflows	Kluane River
Catchment area	Bering Sea Watershed
Basin countries	Canada
Max. length	81 km (50 mi)
Surface area	c. 408 km2 (158 sq mi)
Average depth	31 m (102 ft)
Max. depth	91 m (299 ft)
Surface elevation	781 m (2,562 ft)
Settlements	Burwash Landing, Destruction Bay

Kluane Lake is located in the southwest area of the Yukon. It is the largest lake contained entirely within Yukon at approximately 408 km² (158 sq mi),^[1]^: 1 and 81 km (50 mi) long.^[1]^: 1

Kluane Lake is located approximately 60 km (37 mi)^[1]^: 1 northwest of Haines Junction.^[1]^: 1 The Alaska Highway follows most of the south side of Kluane Lake and offers lake views. The lake has a mean depth of 31 m (102 ft) and a maximum depth of 91 m (299 ft)^[1]^: 1

Until 2016,^[2]^[3] Kluane Lake was fed by the A'ay Chu (Slims River),^[1] which was composed of meltwater from the Kaskawulsh Glacier, located within Kluane National Park. Kluane Lake drains into the Kluane River, whose waters flow into the Donjek River, White River, Yukon River, and eventually the Bering Sea. The lake has a high density of large-bodied lake trout and whitefish^[1]^: 1 and is known for its fishing.

In a startling case of climate change, over 4 days in May 2016, the Slims River suddenly disappeared, leaving windswept mud flats where the Alaska Highway crosses the diminished inlet. Voluminous glacial meltwaters were suddenly diverted from one side of North America to another — from the Bering Sea to the Gulf of Alaska. With its main water supply cut off, Kluane Lake will likely become an isolated basin within a few years, shrinking below its outlet (the Kluane River). Lack of inflow is rapidly changing the water chemistry and fish populations of Kluane Lake. Clouds of dust now frequently fill the formerly clear air.

For the last 300 years until 2016, abundant meltwater from the Kaskawulsh Glacier has been channeled by ice dams to drain via the 150-meter wide Slims River northwards into Kluane Lake. Between 1956 and 2007, the Kaskawulsh glacier retreated by 655 meters, which most scientists attribute to human-caused climate change.^[4] Meltwater flooding from accelerating retreat in 2016 carved a new channel through a large ice field, diverting most flows into the Kaskawulsh River, a tributary of the Alsek, which flows into the Gulf of Alaska.

Climate change: Kluane Lake's main tributary (the A'ay Chu, or Slims River) has mostly dried since the retreating Kaskawulsh Glacier's meltwater suddenly diverted in May 2016. Yukon, Canada. 2019 photo by Tom Dempsey / PhotoSeek.com

Communities

The Yukon communities of Burwash Landing and Destruction Bay are located on the southern shore of the lake.^[1]^: 1

Northern Mountain Caribou

The Aishihik and Kluane caribou herds migrate in the area surrounding Kluane and Aishihik Lakes. They are a northern mountain caribou, a distinct ecotype of the woodland caribou. In 2009, there were 181 caribou in the Kluane herd (also known as the Burwash herd) and 2044 caribou in the Aishihik herd. The Kluane herd was declining while the Aishihik herd was increasing.^[5]

Sunset over Kluane Lake

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Barker, Oliver; Millar, Nathan; Foos, Aaron (2014), Lake Trout and Lake Whitefish Population Assessment Kluane Lake 2013 (PDF), Yukon Fish and Wildlife Branch, retrieved 9 August 2024
^ Shugar, Daniel H.; Clague, John J.; Best, James L.; Schoof, Christian; Willis, Michael J.; Copland, Luke; Roe, Gerard H. (May 2017). "River piracy and drainage basin reorganization led by climate-driven glacier retreat". Nature Geoscience. 10 (5): 370–375. doi:10.1038/ngeo2932. ISSN 1752-0894.
^ "Retreating Yukon glacier makes river disappear". CBC News. Retrieved 2017-02-21.
^ "A river ran through it".
^ Hegel, Troy; Russell, Kyle (2010), Aishihik and Kluane Northern Mountain Caribou Herds Census, 2009 (PDF), Yukon Government, retrieved 17 December 2014