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Dawson, Yukon Territory (Canada)

1:2 image by Eugene Ipavec
Source: Canadian City Flags, Raven 18

Dawson
Current Flag
- Design
- Symbolism
- Selection
- Designer

See also:

Dawson

Carmacks is a village in Yukon on the Yukon River along the Klondike Highway, and at the west end of the Robert Campbell Highway from Watson Lake. The current settlement was named in January 1897 after noted Canadian geologist George M. Dawson, who had explored and mapped the region in 1887. It served as Yukon's capital from the territory's founding in 1898 until 1952, when the seat was moved to Whitehorse.
Source: Wikipedia

Current Flag

Text and image(s) from Canadian City Flags, Raven 18 (2011), courtesy of the North American Vexillological Association, which retains copyright. Image(s) by permission of Eugene Ipavec.

Design

The flag of the Town of Dawson has a field of golden yellow with the seal of Dawson in the centre, five-sixths the height of the flag. Around a central disc of white is a black ring. At the outer edge of the ring is a circle of rope in yellow, with black details. Around the band is THE CITY OF DAWSON Y.T. above and INCORPORATED JAN. 9, 1902 below, all in white sans-serif letters. At the outer edge of the central disc is a circle of 81 small yellow dots. Its upper section is light blue with IN GOD WE TRUST arching at the top in black sans-serif letters. Below it is a naturalistic depiction of a mountain range in blue with white peaks, all outlined in black. Below this are some light blue streaks. In the centre of the disc is a mining scene: two faceless miners on a brown “windlass” platform. The miner on the left has a yellow shirt and brown pants, with black boots and hair. He is cranking a windlass with a “kibble bucket”. The miner on the right has a blue shirt with narrow black horizontal stripes, brown pants, and black boots and hair. He holds in his outstretched right hand a set of scales in black. Below the platform is a black disc representing a gold-mining pan, with some golden yellow nuggets near its base. A pointed shovel in yellow, with a brown handle, leans against the pan on the left; a pick with a yellow head and a brown handle leans against the pan on the right, both with handles upward.
Jim Croft, Canadian City Flags, Raven 18, 2011

Symbolism

Many of the symbols represent gold mining, beginning with the field of golden yellow. The pick, shovel, and mining pan were all basic tools of the prospector. The windlass was used to lift the pay dirt up to the surface and the scale weighed the gold. The mountains represent the Ogilvie Mountain Range, north of Dawson City. A seminal event in Dawson City’s history was the discovery of gold and the ensuing Klondike Gold Rush. On 16 August 1896 the Carmack Party discovered rich placer gold deposits in Rabbit Creek, which would later be renamed Bonanza Creek. By July 1897 the news of this discovery reached the west coast of the United States and soon thousands of prospectors were on their way. Dawson City, named for the Canadian geologist George M. Dawson who explored and mapped the region in 1887, soon had over 30,000 people in the area and was the largest community north of San Francisco and west of Winnipeg. It became the territorial capital of the Yukon until the capital moved to Whitehorse in 1952. The gold rush was over in 1899 and by 1902, when Dawson was incorporated as a city, the population had dwindled to less than 10,000. Why “In God We Trust” appears on the seal is not known. This motto appears on the currency of the United States and may be used because many prospectors during the gold rush were Americans. Its full name is now the “Town of Dawson City”.
Jim Croft, Canadian City Flags, Raven 18, 2011

Selection

Unknown.
Jim Croft, Canadian City Flags, Raven 18, 2011

Designer

Unknown.
Jim Croft, Canadian City Flags, Raven 18, 2011