The Mulchatna River ( Dena'ina: Vałts'atnaq') is a tributary of the

Nushagak River The Nushagak River ( esu, Iilgayaq) is a river in southwest Alaska, United States. It begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest to Nushagak Bay, an inlet of Bristol Bay, east of Dillingham, Alaska. The Mulchatna River is a major tributar ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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., ...

. Beginning at Turquoise Lake, it flows generally southwest to meet the larger river northeast of Dillingham. The Mulchatna's

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

is slightly south (downstream) of the village of Koliganek on the Nushagak, which continues southwest to

Nushagak Bay Nushagak Bay is a large estuary covering over 100 km2 in southwest part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It opens to Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the eastern Bering Sea north of the Alaska Peninsula. It is home to the area's largest ci ...

, an arm of

Bristol Bay Bristol Bay ( esu, Iilgayaq, russian: Залив Бристольский) is the easternmost arm of the Bering Sea, at 57° to 59° North 157° to 162° West in Southwest Alaska. Bristol Bay is 400 km (250 mi) long and 290 km, ( ...

. The upper of the river, which flow through

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is an American national park in southwest Alaska, about southwest of Anchorage. The park was first proclaimed a national monument in 1978, then established as a national park and preserve in 1980 by the Alas ...

, became part of the National Wild and Scenic River System in 1980. Aside from scattered cabins, the Mulchatna River is undeveloped. However, there is a proposal to build a large copper/gold mine, the

Pebble Mine Pebble Mine is the common name of a proposed copper-gold- molybdenum mining project in the Bristol Bay region of Southwest Alaska, near Lake Iliamna and Lake Clark. As of November 2020 the mine developer, Northern Dynasty Minerals, was seeking ...

, in the watershed of one of the Mulchatna tributaries, the Koktuli River.

Recreation

The Mulchatna River and one of its tributaries, the

Chilikadrotna River The Chilikadrotna River is a tributary of the Mulchatna River in the U.S. state of Alaska. It begins in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve in northern Lake and Peninsula Borough and flows westward into the larger river northwest of Nondalton ...

, are popular Southwest Alaska destinations for floatfishing. Other Mulchatna tributaries, including the Stuyahok and Koktuli rivers, are also popular fishing 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 ...

frequenting the Mulchatna are

king salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon in North America, as well as the largest in the genus ''Oncorhynchus''. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other ve ...

silver salmon The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientific species name i ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. Varying from Class I (easy) to III (difficult) on the International Scale of River Difficulty, the Mulchatna is floatable by many kinds of watercraft on the Class I water below Bonanza Creek. The upper or so of the river, however, vary between Class II (medium) and III, may require

portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

s, and are sometimes too shallow to float. Other dangers include ledge drops and haystack waves above Bonanza Creek and possible logjams and overhanging vegetation along the rest of the river.

References

External links

Mulchatna River PhotosPebble Mine environmental information and photos
– National Park Service {{authority control Rivers of Dillingham Census Area, Alaska Rivers of Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska Rivers of Alaska Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States Rivers of Unorganized Borough, Alaska

Recreation

See also

References

External links