The Valley of Lost Prospectors
A remote Canadian valley gained names like Deadmen Valley from the stories of prospectors who never came back.
What was reported
The South Nahanni River in the Northwest Territories cuts through deep canyons and past Virginia Falls, about twice the height of Niagara. In the early 20th century, stories of lost gold and prospectors who disappeared gave places there names like Deadmen Valley and the Headless Range.
Rumours added a hidden tropical valley warmed by hot springs. Dene stories speak of the Naha, a people said to have lived in the mountains.
Explanations offered
The valley's remoteness, harsh winters and dangerous rivers explain the disappearances, and its hot springs are real but don't make a tropical valley. Nahanni became one of the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1978.
- When
- Legends from the early 1900s
- Where
- Nahanni National Park Reserve, Northwest Territories, Canada
- Witnesses
- Prospectors, trappers and Dene people
- Status
- Mostly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.