The Aniakchak River is a stream, long, in

Lake and Peninsula Borough Lake and Peninsula Borough (russian: Лейк-энд-Пенинсула, ''Leyk-end-Peninsula'') is a Borough (United States)#Alaska, borough in the U.S. state, state of Alaska. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population wa ...

on the

Alaska Peninsula The Alaska Peninsula (also called Aleut Peninsula or Aleutian Peninsula, ale, Alasxix̂; Sugpiaq: ''Aluuwiq'', ''Al'uwiq'') is a peninsula extending about to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. The ...

in the United States. It arises in Surprise Lake in the crater of

Mount Aniakchak Mount Aniakchak (russian: Аниакчак) is a 3,700-year-old volcanic caldera approximately in diameter, located in the Aleutian Range of Alaska, United States. Although a stratovolcano by composition, the pre-existing mountain collapsed in ...

, a volcano in the

Aleutian Range The Aleutian Range is a major mountain range located in southwest Alaska. It extends from Chakachamna Lake (80 miles/130 km southwest of Anchorage) to Unimak Island, which is at the tip of the Alaska Peninsula. It includes all of the mountain ...

. It flows eastward from Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve into Aniakchak Bay and the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. In 1980, a total of of streams, including the

main stem In hydrology, a mainstem (or trunk) is "the primary downstream segment of a river, as contrasted to its tributaries". Water enters the mainstem from the river's drainage basin, the land area through which the mainstem and its tributaries flow.. A ...

Aniakchak and several tributaries, all within Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve, were designated "wild" and added to the

National Wild and Scenic Rivers System The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free- ...

. The "wild" tributaries are Hidden, Mystery, and Albert Johnson creeks and the North Fork Aniakchak River.

Boating

The Aniakchak River is floatable in small to medium rafts and other watercraft. However, ''The Alaska River Guide'' advises against trying it "unless you are an expert paddler, extremely self-reliant in Alaska wilderness camping, and ready for severe weather and self-rescue." From a put-in at Surprise Lake, the river begins quietly, but downstream of the Aniakchak Crater wall it plunges through of rocky rapids rated between Class II (medium) to IV (very difficult) on the International Scale of River Difficulty. Below the rapids, the rest of the river is rated Class I (easy). In addition to rapids and low temperatures, hazards include winds up to that can damage tents and other equipment and prevent airplanes from landing at the lake or on the bay.

Brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...

s frequent the area. Sharp rocks in the river may tear holes in inflatable boats. These and other limits reduce the number of parties floating this river to only a few each year, mainly in July.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska Rivers of Alaska Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States

Boating

See also

References