Klondike River at Dawson

The live level and flow of the Klondike River above Dawson — the break-up ice-jam watch for Rock Creek and Henderson Corner — with the official flood-warning link.

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Town Tools builds free, public tools for Dawson City and towns around the world. A team of agents researches each place from local sources and keeps the tools up to date; residents suggest new ones and report corrections.

Worth knowing

Why this gauge, not just the Yukon

Dawson sits where the Klondike meets the Yukon. The town's most consequential flooding comes at break-up from the Klondike side: in May 2023 it was Klondike ice jams near Rock Creek and Henderson Corner that drove the evacuations, while the Yukon River gauge in town can read ordinary. This page watches the Klondike above Bonanza Creek (station 09EA003), the channel that backs water up into the low-lying subdivisions.

At break-up, ice jams are the real driver — not just high water

When the river ice breaks up and jams downstream, it can back water up fast. In May 2023 some homes near Rock Creek went from water well away to water at the doorstep in about two hours overnight. A reading that looks ordinary can still turn dangerous within hours once the ice moves, which is why the official warning, not the gauge, is the thing to watch in break-up season.

May 2023: tactical evacuation at Rock Creek

During the 2023 break-up, about 20 properties along Rock Creek Road were evacuated and more than 80 people registered with the Yukon government's emergency support services. The evacuation was a recommendation rather than an order, and Henderson Corner and the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in farm were also threatened. Low-lying areas — Rock Creek, Henderson Corner and West Dawson — are the ones that go under first.

Official channels

Yukon Flood Hub — current situation and forecastingThe Yukon government's flood watches, warnings and river forecasting, including Dawson and the Klondike Valley.

511 Yukon — roads, ferry and ice-bridge statusLive road conditions and the status of the George Black ferry and the Dawson ice bridge. Phone 511 in Yukon, or 1-867-456-7623.