# Haines Junction

Haines Junction is a village in Yukon, Canada. It is at Kilometre 1,632 (historical mile 1016) of the Alaska Highway at its junction with the Haines Highway, hence the name of the community. According to the 2021 census, the population was 688. However, the Yukon Bureau of Statistics lists the population count for 2022 as 1,018.
Haines Junction lies east of Kluane National Park and Reserve. It is a major administrative centre for the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations.

## History

For around two thousand years, the Southern Tutchone people had seasonal hunting and fishing camps in the area of present-day Haines Junction. The original name of the area was "Dakwakada", a Southern Tutchone word meaning "high cache". It was common for Tutchone people to use raised log caches to store food year-round or temporarily while they hunted and fished in an area.
The Haines Junction area was also important for trade between the coastal and interior peoples. It lies at the interior end of the Chilkat Pass, one of only three passes that allowed travel between the coast and the interior, which was used extensively for trade between the coastal Tlingit and Southern Tutchone people.
The current town of Haines Junction was established in 1942 and 1943 during the construction of the Alaska Highway (ALCAN). In 1943, a second highway, the Haines Highway, was built to connect the Alaska Highway with the coastal town of Haines, Alaska, over the Chilkat Pass. Situated at the junction of these two highways, Haines Junction was a construction camp and a supply and service centre for the United States Army Corps of Engineers building the highway. The 1,007 km (626 mi) Haines-Fairbanks Pipeline, a petroleum pipeline from Haines, Alaska to Fairbanks, Alaska that was constructed in 1953–55, with a pumping station was built just north of Haines Junction.

## Geography
### Climate

Haines Junction has a subarctic climate (Dfc / Dsc) with mild summers and long, cold and snowy winters, with annual snowfall averaging 159.8 cm (62.9 in).
Climate data for Haines Junction WMO ID: 71505; coordinates 60°46′21″N 137°34′49″W﻿ / ﻿60.77250°N 137.58028°W﻿ / 60.77250; -137.58028﻿ (Haines Junction); elevation: 595.3 m (1,953 ft); 1991–2020 normals :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high humidex | 12.5 | 13.4 | 16.4 | 20.4 | 28.2 | 31.8 | 30.9 | 32.2 | 24.2 | 23.0 | 13.1 | 16.3 | 32.2 |
| Record high °C (°F) | 13.6 (56.5) | 13.6 (56.5) | 16.9 (62.4) | 20.7 (69.3) | 28.6 (83.5) | 32.1 (89.8) | 30.5 (86.9) | 31.0 (87.8) | 24.2 (75.6) | 23.8 (74.8) | 14.5 (58.1) | 16.9 (62.4) | 32.1 (89.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −12.5 (9.5) | −5.5 (22.1) | 0.0 (32.0) | 7.8 (46.0) | 14.3 (57.7) | 18.8 (65.8) | 20.3 (68.5) | 18.6 (65.5) | 13.5 (56.3) | 5.2 (41.4) | −6.8 (19.8) | −10.8 (12.6) | 5.2 (41.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −17.3 (0.9) | −12.8 (9.0) | −7.8 (18.0) | 0.9 (33.6) | 7.1 (44.8) | 11.5 (52.7) | 13.3 (55.9) | 11.5 (52.7) | 6.8 (44.2) | −0.4 (31.3) | −12.0 (10.4) | −16.1 (3.0) | −1.3 (29.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −22.6 (−8.7) | −20.0 (−4.0) | −15.6 (3.9) | −5.9 (21.4) | −0.2 (31.6) | 4.1 (39.4) | 6.3 (43.3) | 4.4 (39.9) | 0.0 (32.0) | −6.0 (21.2) | −17.2 (1.0) | −21.3 (−6.3) | −7.8 (18.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −48.5 (−55.3) | −45.6 (−50.1) | −41.8 (−43.2) | −31.3 (−24.3) | −8.1 (17.4) | −3.7 (25.3) | −1.7 (28.9) | −4.0 (24.8) | −13.0 (8.6) | −29.1 (−20.4) | −44.1 (−47.4) | −47.3 (−53.1) | −48.5 (−55.3) |
| Record low wind chill | −57.0 | −50.1 | −46.5 | −34.4 | −10.1 | −5.1 | −3.5 | −5.0 | −13.1 | −28.3 | −50.1 | −50.3 | −57.0 |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 32.3 (1.27) | 18.6 (0.73) | 9.2 (0.36) | 9.0 (0.35) | 15.7 (0.62) | 28.3 (1.11) | 35.2 (1.39) | 28.5 (1.12) | 34.1 (1.34) | 35.4 (1.39) | 30.5 (1.20) | 29.0 (1.14) | 305.7 (12.04) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 1.1 (0.04) | 0.6 (0.02) | 0.3 (0.01) | 0.8 (0.03) | 11.8 (0.46) | 28.3 (1.11) | 35.2 (1.39) | 28.3 (1.11) | 33.7 (1.33) | 13.3 (0.52) | 0.8 (0.03) | 0.1 (0.00) | 154.3 (6.07) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 32.7 (12.9) | 19.4 (7.6) | 9.9 (3.9) | 8.8 (3.5) | 4.0 (1.6) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.1 (0.0) | 0.4 (0.2) | 23.2 (9.1) | 31.3 (12.3) | 29.8 (11.7) | 159.8 (62.9) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 10.0 | 8.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 9.0 | 11.0 | 96.0 |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | — | — | — | — | 4.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 4.0 | — | — | 43.0 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 10.0 | 8.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | — | 7.0 | 9.0 | 11.0 | 54.0 |
| Average relative humidity (%) (at 1500 LST) | 71.0 | 57.6 | 42.9 | 38.0 | 34.6 | 39.2 | 44.2 | 46.6 | 49.6 | 60.9 | 75.6 | 77.2 | 53.1 |
| Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada Precipitation, rain, snow, precipitation days, rain days, and snow days from 1961-1990 station data ||||||||||||||

## Demographics

In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Haines Junction had a population of 688 living in 311 of its 380 total private dwellings, a change of 12.2% from its 2016 population of 613. With a land area of 34.3 km$^2$ (13.2 sq mi), it had a population density of 20.1/km$^2$ (52.0/sq mi) in 2021.
Panethnic groups in the Village of Haines Junction (2001−2021) :
| Panethnic group | 2021 | 2021 | 2016 | 2016 | 2011 | 2011 | 2006 | 2006 | 2001 | 2001 |
| Panethnic group | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % |
| European | 370 | 54.01% | 335 | 55.37% | 330 | 53.23% | 320 | 54.7% | 305 | 57.55% |
| Indigenous | 290 | 42.34% | 255 | 42.15% | 270 | 43.55% | 245 | 41.88% | 215 | 40.57% |
| Southeast Asian | 15 | 2.19% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 10 | 1.71% | 0 | 0% |
| East Asian | 0 | 0% | 10 | 1.65% | 10 | 1.61% | 20 | 3.42% | 10 | 1.89% |
| South Asian | 0 | 0% | 10 | 1.65% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Latin American | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 10 | 1.89% |
| Middle Eastern | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| African | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Other/multiracial | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Total responses | 685 | 99.56% | 605 | 98.69% | 620 | 104.55% | 585 | 99.32% | 530 | 99.81% |
| Total population | 688 | 100% | 613 | 100% | 593 | 100% | 589 | 100% | 531 | 100% |
| Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses |||||||||||

## Infrastructure

By road, Haines Junction is served by the Alaska Highway and the Haines Highway (Yukon Highway 3). By air, it is served by the Haines Junction Airport.
Fibre connections to most homes and businesses are becoming available in late 2022 / early 2023. Bell Mobility operates a cellular network tower in the area.