The Imuruk Basin (''Imaġruk'' or ''Narvaġruk'' in Iñupiaq) is an approximately , long shallow
estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
located on the
Seward Peninsula
The Seward Peninsula is a large peninsula on the western coast of the U.S. state of Alaska whose westernmost point is Cape Prince of Wales. The peninsula projects about into the Bering Sea between Norton Sound, the Bering Strait, the Chukchi S ...
in the
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
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., ...
. The estuary's drainage basin covers about one quarter of the peninsula. The basin is fed by the
Kuzitrin,
Kruzgamepa,
Agiapuk, and Cobblestone Rivers and is drained by the
Tuksuk Channel, which empties into
Grantley Harbor (
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 ...
).
The Imuruk Basin was a strategic waterway for early
Iñupiat
The Iñupiat (or Inupiat, Iñupiaq or Inupiaq;) are a group of Alaska Natives, whose traditional territory roughly spans northeast from Norton Sound on the Bering Sea to the northernmost part of the Canada–United States border. Their current ...
by providing accessibility to the
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea (, ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and The Ameri ...
from the Seward Peninsula's interior.
See also
*
Imuruk Lake
Imuruk Lake is the largest body of fresh water in Seward Peninsula in the U.S. state of Alaska. It measures and has a drainage basin of , It lies on top of a lava plateau at an elevation of . The drainage basin is relatively flat, as the maxim ...
References
Estuaries of Alaska
Lagoons of Alaska
Bodies of water of Nome Census Area, Alaska
Bodies of water of the Seward Peninsula
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