Yukon River Ice Breakup Shatters Previous Record For Spring Thaw

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 25 Apr, 2016 11:23 AM

DAWSON CITY, Yukon — Residents of Yukon have experienced something that has only happened a handful of times in the last 120 years.

Ice breakup has occurred on the Yukon River at Dawson City, about 500 kilometres north of Whitehorse.

The ice officially began to move on Saturday, April 23, at 11:15 a.m., shaving five days off the previous record of April 28, 1940, and making it the earliest breakup since record keeping began in 1896.

It's only the tenth time in 120 years that the Yukon River has flowed freely in April.

A clock, set on a tripod placed on the ice, is rigged to stop when the ice begins to move, and area residents place bets on the exact time the ice will let go.

Dawson City resident Brian Stethem was the 2016 winner, taking home a pot of just over $4,300.

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