The Northern Lights

And the Lakes of the Yukon Territory

Lake Bennett

Lake Tagish Lake

Laberge

Locations of the Three Lakes

• The three most important lakes in the Yukon Territory are Lake Tagish, Lake LeBerge, and

Lake Bennett.• Lake Tagish- 30 minutes from Whitehorse• Lake LeBerge- 55 miles from Whitehorse• Lake Bennett- 35 miles from Dyea

Size of the Lakes

These large lakes spread across vast areas of the Yukon

• Lake Tagish- originates in the Yukon River and spreads over km

• Lake Leberge- was formed by glacial activity in the Ice Age, making it 14 to 54 miles in depth

• Lake Bennett- only 1 mile, but has many treacherous rapids and rocks

Uses for the lakes

• water resources during Gold Rush• Lake Bennett- charter passages, special

occasions, transportation routes, camping and fishing during spring and summer

• Lake Tagish- a settling place for stampeders also during Gold Rush

While prospectors used the three rivers,

The Northern Lights always glowed above.

Location

• Found between 60-620 miles above earth• Can extend thousands of miles across the sky• Common closer towards the North Pole

(Alaska, Greenland, etc.) but have been seen as far away as Mexico

• Nicknamed Northern Lights because of its presence in only the Northern Hemisphere

Colors of Northern Lights

The altitude and atoms determines the colors you see.

• Blue, violet, and red= less than 60 miles above earth

• Bright green=60-150 miles above earth• Dark red= above• Usually yellow or green• Nitrogen atoms create blues, violets, and reds• Oxygen atoms create greens and other reds

Movements

Movements of the Northern Lights differ, but can be seen as:

• Currents• Lively colors• Unfazing glows

And countless other actions

Sounds

There have always been people who claim to hear the Northern Lights

• Heard as crackling, rustling, and whooshing sounds

• No theory has yet confirmed, disconfirmed, or proved this to be true or not

• Some people do not believe they exist

What exactly are the Northern Lights?

1. Energy from the sun flows away in electrified particles, called plasma, because of uncontrollable weather

2. Solar wind, plasma from the sun, comes in contact with earth, but is directed to the North and South Poles because of our protective magnetic shield

3. After being trapped in magnetic belts, it arrives to the poles and a large discharge of solar wind collides with the magnetic field

What exactly are the Northern Lights?

1. While colliding in the atmosphere, ions or atoms are energized and are altered by the lines of the magnetic force

2. the energy inside of them increases and the atoms or ions collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms to create colors

3. The magnetic field is squeezed because of the pressure, and lines of the field disconnect and reconnect which lets solar wind slip through to the poles

Work cited • Yukon Territory Map. 2007. Photograph. Geology.com. Comp. Angela King. Geology.com, 2005-2010. Web.

14 May 2010. <http://geology.com/canada/yukon-territory.shtml>.• Tagish Lake. 2008. Photograph. BC Gold Corp. Creative Spirit Communications, 11 Dec. 2008. Web. 15 May

2010. <http://www.bcgoldcorp.com/main/?Engphotos>.• Yardley, Joyce. Lake Bennett, Carcross Yukon. 2005. Photograph. Nanaimo, BC. Dataspan. 2005. Web. 15

May 2010. <http://www.dataspan.ca/>.• Fajardo, Lincoln. Northern Lights, Lake LaBerge, Yukon Territory. Stone House Studios. Stone House

Studios. Lincoln Fajardo, 1995-2008. Web. 15 May 2010. <http://www.stonehousestudios.com/alcan/northernLights.html>.

• Lake Laberge. 2005. Photograph. Arctic Website. Comp. Robert Service. Jack L. McSherry, 2002-2008. Web. 15 May 2010. <http://www.arcticwebsite.com/ServiceCremationHistory.html>.

• Clark Jr., Wade B. Meteors and Northern Lights. 2002. Photograph. Astronomy Picture of the Day. Web. 13 May 2010. <http://images.astronet.ru/pubd/2002/08/15/0001178853/aurperseids_clark.jpg>.

• Szabo, Arthur. Northern Lights. Photograph. Art Szabo. Arthur Szabo. Web. 13 May 2010. <http://artszabo.com/Travel/th_Northern%20Lights%202005%20009.jpg>.

• Curtis, Jan. Northern Lights at Sunset. Photograph. Yukon Retreat. Karen Pelletier and Jesse Duke, 2 Feb. 2000. Web. 13 May 2010. <http://www.yukonretreat.com/aurora.html>.

• Gunnlaugur. Aurora Borealis. 2006. Photograph. Crestock. Web. 13 May 2010. <http://www.crestock.com/blog/photography/contest2007/entry.aspx?id=738>.

• Hallinen, Bob. Aurora Borealis. Photograph. Anchorage Daily News, Anchorage, Alaska. Alaska. The Anchorage Daily News, 2010. Web. 13 May 2010. <http://www.alaska.com/2008/10/20/v-gallery/2060/aurora-borealis-the-northern-lights.html>.