The Klondike River is a tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Yukon River

Yukon River

The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. The source of the river is located in British Columbia, Canada. The next portion lies in, and gives its name to Yukon Territory. The lower half of the river lies in the U.S. state of Alaska. The river is long and empties into...

 in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 that gave its name to the Klondike Gold Rush

Klondike Gold Rush

The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...

. The Klondike River has its source in the Ogilvie Mountains

Ogilvie Mountains

The Ogilvie Mountains are a mountain range in the Yukon Territory that lie north of Dawson City and are crossed by the Dempster Highway. The best known mountains are part of the Tombstone Territorial Park ....

 and flows into the Yukon River at Dawson City

Dawson City, Yukon

The Town of the City of Dawson or Dawson City is a town in the Yukon, Canada.The population was 1,327 at the 2006 census. The area draws some 60,000 visitors each year...

.

Its name comes from the Hän

Han

-China:* China , an abbreviation or adjectival modifier for things Chinese* Han Chinese , the dominant majority ethnic group of China and overseas Chinese...

 word Tr'ondëk (/ʈʂʼontək/) meaning hammerstone, which were used to hammer down stakes used to set salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

 nets.

Gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 was discovered in tributaries of the Klondike River in 1896 and is still being mined today.

In Jack London's story "A Relic of the Pliocene" (Collier's Weekly

Collier's Weekly

Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....

, 1901), this river was mentioned as "Reindeer River". (See Reindeer Lake

Reindeer Lake

Reindeer Lake is a lake in Western Canada located on the border between northeastern Saskatchewan and northwestern Manitoba, with the majority in Saskatchewan. The name of the lake appears to be a translation of the Algonquian name...

.)