Whitehorse

Whitehorse
City
City of Whitehorse
From top to bottom; left to right: View of Central Whitehorse in 2019, northern lights viewed from Riverdale, buildings in Downtown Whitehorse, Yukon Legislative Building
Flag Coat of arms Logo
Nicknames:  "The Wilderness City"[1]
Motto(s):  Our People, Our Strength
Whitehorse Location of Whitehorse Show map of Yukon Whitehorse Location of Whitehorse Show map of Canada
Coordinates: 60°43′27″N 135°03′22″W / 60.72417°N 135.05611°W / 60.72417; -135.05611[2]
Country	Canada
Territory	Yukon
Established	1898
Government
• Mayor	Laura Cabott
• Governing body	Whitehorse City Council
• MPs	Brendan Hanley
• MLAs	Nils Clarke Yvonne Clarke Currie Dixon Scott Kent Jeanie McLean Tracy-Anne McPhee Richard Mostyn Ranj Pillai Elaine Taylor Lane Tredger Kate White
Area
• City	416.54 km2 (160.83 sq mi)
• Urban	34.95 km2 (13.49 sq mi)
• Metro	8,488.91 km2 (3,277.59 sq mi)
Elevation	670–1,702 m (2,200–5,584 ft)
Population  (2021)
• City	28,201
• Density	60.2/km2 (156/sq mi)
• Urban	21,732
• Urban density	621/km2 (1,610/sq mi)
Demonym	Whitehorser[3]
Time zone	UTC−07:00 (MST)
Forward sortation area	Y1A
Area code	867
NTS Map	105D11 Whitehorse
Website	whitehorse.ca

Whitehorse (French pronunciation: [wajtɔʁs]) is the capital of the Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas occupy both shores of the Yukon River, which rises in British Columbia and meets the Bering Sea in Alaska. The city was named after the White Horse Rapids for their resemblance to the mane of a white horse, near Miles Canyon, before the river was dammed.

Because of the city's location in the Whitehorse valley and relative proximity to the Pacific Ocean, the climate is milder than comparable northern communities such as Yellowknife.^[4] At this latitude, winter days are short and summer days have up to about 19 hours of daylight.^[5][6] Whitehorse, as reported by Guinness World Records, is the city with the least air pollution in the world.^[7]

As of the 2021 Canadian census, the population was 28,201^[8] within city boundaries and 31,913^[9] in the census agglomeration. These figures represent approximately 70 and 79 percent, respectively, of the entire population of Yukon.^[10]