The Kanektok River is a stream in southwestern

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., ...

in the United States. Beginning in the Ahklun Mountains at Kagati and Pegati lakes, it flows westward into

Kuskokwim Bay Kuskokwim Bay is a bay in southwestern Alaska, at about . It is about long, and wide. The Kuskokwim River empties into Kuskokwim Bay. The bay got its name from the river. The largest community on the bay is the city of Quinhagak Quinhagak ...

on 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 ...

at the city of

Quinhagak Quinhagak (; esu, Kuinerraq; Russian language, Russian: Куинагак) is a city in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population of the city is 669, up f ...

. Almost all of the river's course lies within the

Togiak National Wildlife Refuge Dominated by the Ahklun Mountains in the north and the cold waters of Bristol Bay to the south, Togiak National Wildlife Refuge confronts the traveler with a kaleidoscope of landscapes. The natural forces that have shaped this land range from the ...

. The Quinhagak Village Corporation owns the land bordering the lowermost of the river.

Recreation

The Kanektok River, varying from Class I (easy) to II (medium) on the International Scale of River Difficulty, is floatable by many kinds of watercraft. The upper reaches below Kagati Lake are sometimes too shallow for boats. Below this, swift currents, braided channels, logjams, and overhanging or submerged vegetation make the float "not a trip for beginners." In high water, the difficulty along the upper of the river may increase to Class III (difficult). ''Alaska Fishing'' describes the river as "one of Alaska's most celebrated salmon and trout streams". The main

game fish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish pursued by recreational anglers, and can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, or released after capture. Some game fish are also targeted commerciall ...

are

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

char Char may refer to: People *Char Fontane, American actress *Char Margolis, American spiritualist * René Char (1907–1988), French poet *The Char family of Colombia: ** Fuad Char, Colombian senator ** Alejandro Char Chaljub, mayor of Barranquilla ...

Arctic grayling The Arctic grayling (''Thymallus arcticus'') is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family Salmonidae. ''T. arcticus'' is widespread throughout the Arctic and Pacific drainages in Canada, Alaska, and Siberia, as well as the upper Misso ...

, king (Chinook), silver (Coho), chum, and red (sockeye) salmon. Anglers can float down from the headwaters , hire a boat to go upriver from Quinhagak, or fish near tent camps and lodges along the lower river.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Bethel Census Area, Alaska Rivers of Alaska Rivers of Unorganized Borough, Alaska

Recreation

See also

References