Kris lends some scale to a relatively small dredge in downtown Chicken

A wrecked dredge rests on an island in a river near Chicken

A massive dredge sits where its career ended decades earlier in a valley off the Klondike

The large digging buckets were connected by the large pins to form a chain.

The 300 hp electric motor drives the large gears to move the bucket chain

Another electric motor connected to a large pump moves the water necessary to separate the materials

The materials are separated and settled in the sluices. Gold is retained and rock is sent out the back. The rock piles will remain unvegetated for centuries

The whole process is controlled with levers and electrical controls in the control room at the top

From high above Dawson City, the scars of more than a century of gold mining can be seen in the valleys along the Klondike. The equipment has changed, but the process is still the same.