Aggregate is an integral resource for the development of Whitehorse. The City of Whitehorse receives much of its gravel from private quarries located within city limits; this benefits the city by reducing the transportation costs associated with hauling aggregate from outside of the city. Anticipated growth and development places an increased demand on locally sourced aggregate required for construction. While new quarries are vital for growth, it is important that resource extraction be maximized near existing quarries in order to take advantage of existing infrastructure. The goal of this project is to gain a better estimate of the quality and quantity of aggregate at four sites in the vicinity of Whitehorse. Four locations in the Whitehorse area were investigated for their aggregate potential: 1) McLean Lake, 60°38’20.62”N 135°04’06.75” W; 2) km 196 North Klondike Highway (Takhini Bridge); 3) Haekle Hill/Alaska Highway (60°48’17.77N 135°13’36.95”W, 761 m asl); and 4) Long Lake (road site 60°45’26.19N 135°02’34.42”W, 723 m asl).

This paper presents the preliminary results of a study investigating the stratigraphy and basic geotechnical properties of the surficial geology deposits observed in the bluffs around the city of Whitehorse. A total of eleven sections were examined on both the east and west banks of the Yukon River. Representative stratigraphic units were analysed for grain size distribution; deposits ranged in size from silt and clay to coarse gravel. Most of the observed sediments represent the glaciolacustrine depositional environment of Glacial Lake Laberge with the exception of a loess unit exposed near the top of the sections. Consistency indices of seven silt and clay-rich samples collected in the bluffs surrounding Whitehorse indicate a low plasticity comparable with other Canadian loess units and the glaciolacustrine bluffs around Kamloops and in the Elk Valley of British Columbia. The soil unconfined compressive strength was estimated using a pocket penetrometer and the dry silt and clay-rich units were found to have strength estimates up to two orders of magnitude greater than the sand-rich units.

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Miocene Miles Canyon basalts play a critical role in the historical development and modern economics of the City of Whitehorse. Where cut by the Yukon River, the unnavigable waters at Miles Canyon and the Whitehorse Rapids formed a natural terminus that became a transportation hub that in turn encouraged settlement. Today, this basalt is responsible not only for efficient and economical hydroelectric power, but also for hosting the groundwater resources for many of Whitehorse's rural residents. Much of the city is underlain by Cretaceous granodiorite of the Whitehorse Batholith, which is a relatively poor aquifer due to its lack of porosity. Miles Canyon basalt however, has significantly higher innate hydraulic permeability and thus provides better opportunities for additional groundwater resources and aquifer development. Miles Canyon basalts have reported hydraulic conductivity values around 2 x 10^-6 m/s, which are 20 to 50 times higher than reported hydraulic conductivity values for unfractured granodiorite aquifers. As such, the loci of basalt limits have important implications for the siting of productive private water wells. This paper summarizes details of Miles Canyon basalt occurrences within the limits of the City of Whitehorse and provides updated mapping of the extent and distribution of the basalt within the City. The discussion includes a summary of six outcrop observations, twelve water-well record data, a shallow reflected seismic survey and interpretation of regional aeromagnetic data related to basalt distribution. Thickness of Miles Canyon basalt intersected in drill holes ranges from as little as 1.8 m up to 110 m, although most drill holes did not penetrate the total basalt thickness.

This report discusses the distribution of intrusion related and other mineral occurrences in the Whitehorse map-area, Yukon. Mineral occurrences recorded in the Archer, Cathro and Associates, Ltd., Northern Cordillera Mineral Inventory have been classified according to deposit type and principal commodities then plotted on a lithologic map (1:250 000 scale) which is in part an updated version of the Geological Survey of Canada four mile map for the Whitehorse map-area by Wheeler (1961). New information added to the map includes: geology and geochronology of the Bennett Lake cauldron subsidence complex; geology of the Atlin Terrane; reinterpreted geology of the adjacent Laberge map-area and part of the Bennett and Atlin map-areas; a reclassification of geologic units in southern Yukon; reconnaissance mapping, classification and geochronology of granitic rocks in the Whitehorse map-area; and detailed stratigraphy of the Upper Triassic Lewes River Group with special emphasis on the Whitehorse Copper Belt and the associated Cu-Fe skarn deposits.

A placer mining and exploration compilation of parts of the Watson Lake and Whitehorse mining districts, southern Yukon Territory, Canada. This compilation includes the location, history and previous work, description of bedrock geology, surficial geology and mineralization, as well as lists of related references. Accompanying this report are four 1:250,000-scale maps (Watson Lake, 105A; Whitehorse, 105D; Teslin, 105C; and Wolf Lake, 105B) which display the locations of the placer occurrences discussed in the report.

Map presents an interpretation of the bedrock geology of the northern Whitehorse trough as extrapolated from field observations and a reflection seismic survey.

Whitehorse Trough is a frontier basin in south-central Yukon that is thought to contain gas and possibly oil. Over 400 samples from the Whitehorse Trough have been analysed by programmed pyrolysis and combustion, which together with coal rank, vitrinite reflectance, and the colour of microfossils indicate the following: the Povoas formation has no source rock potential; the Aksala formation is a poor source rock, probably gas-prone and postmature; the Richthofen formation is a poor to fair source rock, gas-prone and postmature; the Nordenskiold formation has no source rock potential; and the Tanglefoot and Tantalus formations are potentially good to very good source rocks, mainly gas-prone with a possibility of oil and mature. The Aksala and Richthofen formations are interpreted as spent source rocks, whereas the Tanglefoot and Tantalus formations are interpreted as potential source rocks and possibly effective source rocks. The most prospective areas for hydrocarbon exploration are Division Mountain, Tantalus Butte and Five Finger Rapids.

This report includes a legend and schematic cross section, 3 maps straddling Whitehorse trough, and an appendix of geochronological and fossil data tables for each map sheet. This compilation presents an integrated structural interpretation of Whitehorse trough in southern Yukon.

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