A region in northwestern Canada famous for the 1896-1899 gold rush, or by extension, any source of wealth or abundance.
From Hän (an Indigenous language) 'Tr'ondëk', meaning 'hammer water', referring to the hammering of stakes to catch salmon. The name was anglicized by prospectors and became synonymous with the gold rush that brought over 100,000 seekers to the region.
The transformation of 'hammer water' into 'Klondike' illustrates how Indigenous place names often get linguistically transformed by colonizers, yet the original Hän meaning beautifully described the traditional salmon fishing practice that sustained people long before gold fever struck.
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