The Chilkat River is a
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
and southeastern
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
that flows southward from the
Coast Range to the
Chilkat Inlet and ultimately
Lynn Canal
Lynn Canal is an inlet (not an artificial canal) into the mainland of southeast Alaska.
Lynn Canal runs about from the inlets of the Chilkat River south to Chatham Strait and Stephens Passage. At over in depth, Lynn Canal is the deepest fjord ...
. It is about long. It begins at
Chilkat Glacier, in Alaska, flows west and south in British Columbia for , enters Alaska and continues southwest for another .
It reaches the ocean at the abandoned area of Wells, Alaska and deposits into a long delta area.
The river was named by the Russians for the Chilkat group of
Tlingit
The Tlingit ( or ; also spelled Tlinkit) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively , pronounced ), , called /t͡ʃiɬqut/ in their own language,
who lived in the region. The name means "salmon storehouse".
[
Near the Chilkat River is the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, where thousands of bald eagles appear between October and February, to take advantage of late salmon runs. Nearby Haines, the nearest town, is the most common organization spot for birdwatchers.
]
Tributaries
* Klehini River
* Tsirku River
See also
*Chilkat Peninsula
The Chilkat Peninsula is a peninsula in Lynn Canal, Southeast Alaska that divides the Chilkoot and Chilkat Inlets and divides the Chilkat and Chilkoot watersheds. The peninsula extends into Lynn Canal as well. It was first charted in 1794 by J ...
*List of rivers of Alaska
This is a List of rivers in Alaska, which are at least fifth-order according to the Strahler method of stream classification, and an incomplete list of otherwise-notable rivers and streams. Alaska has more than 12,000 rivers, and thousands more st ...
* List of British Columbia rivers
References
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Rivers of Haines Borough, Alaska
Rivers of Alaska
Rivers of the Boundary Ranges
Rivers of British Columbia
International rivers of North America
Tlingit