The Alaska-Canada Boundary

The Alaska-Canada boundary was originally established in February 1825 by Russia (then owner of Alaska) and Great Britain (then owner of Canada). The demarcation between Alaska and Canada was to begin at 54°40' N latitude, just north of the mouth of the Portland Canal (near Prince Rupert, B.C.), follow the canal until it met 56° N latitude, then follow the mountain summits situated parallel to the coast as far as 141° W longitude, then follow that meridian northward to the "Frozen Ocean." The boundary line along the mountain summits was never to be farther inland than ten marine leagues (about 50 kilometers) from the ocean.

Following the purchase of Alaska by the U.S., it was found that the wording concerning the boundary line not being farther inland than ten marine leagues from the coast was interpreted differently by the Canadians and Americans. The Canadians argued that the measurements should be made inland from the mouths of the bays, whereas the Americans argued that the measurements should be made from the heads of the bays. The differences in interpretation were critical because it then determined whether or not Canada had access to the sea. The gold strikes in the Klondike and in southeastern Alaska in the late 1800s made valuable the terrain in question.

The southeastern boundary dispute was settled in October 1903, when an international tribunal upheld the American interpretation of the Treaty of 1825. Had it not done so, Haines, Dyea and Skagway would now be Canadian territory as well as the shore approaches to the Chilkat, Chilkoot and White Passes.

With mining activities increasing in interior Canada and Alaska, it became important that the 141st meridian international boundary line be determined and marked to separate the two countries, and in 1906, a Convention was signed by Canada and the U.S. requiring this be done.

A first step in the surveying of the boundary line was to find out precisely where the 141st meridian was. Earlier work showed that the most practical starting point was the meridian's intersection with the Yukon River. Astronomical observations made there could be precisely timed by means of telegraphic connections to Vancouver, B.C., and Fort Egbert (Eagle), Alaska. Astronomers, engineers and surveyors of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey and the Canadian Department of the Interior worked together north and south from the Yukon, once they had decided the exact north-south direction, a task they took not at all lightly. Part of their task was to cut a 20-foot swath through all trees encountered. It was all hard work, so it behooved them to make sure, right at the start, that the correct trees were being cut.

Boundary monuments of aluminum bronze were set along the 141st meridian, each, where possible, visible from some other marker, though not necessarily an adjacent marker. Each weighed about 55 pounds and was set in concrete with 200 pounds of cement.

In 1913, after eight summers of work, surveying and marking of the 141st meridian were completed. There were 191 monuments stretching the 350 miles of the 141st meridian beginning at about 200 feet short of the Arctic Ocean and ending at the south side of Logan Glacier.