The North Fork of the Koyukuk River is one of the principal forks of the

Koyukuk River The Koyukuk River (; ''Ooghekuhno' '' in Koyukon, ''Kuuyukaq'' or ''Tagraġvik'' in Iñupiaq) is a tributary of the Yukon River, in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the last major tributary entering the Yukon before the larger river empties into ...

, approximately 105 mi (160 km) long, in northern

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. It has a

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

area of . It rises on the south slopes of the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

in the

Brooks Range The Brooks Range ( Gwich'in: ''Gwazhał'') is a mountain range in far northern North America stretching some from west to east across northern Alaska into Canada's Yukon Territory. Reaching a peak elevation of on Mount Isto, the range is believ ...

. It is located in the

Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve is an American national park that protects portions of the Brooks Range in northern Alaska. The park is the northernmost national park in the United States, situated entirely north of the Arctic Circ ...

and is part of the Koyukuk Wild and Scenic River as designated by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

in 1980. The major tributaries include the Glacier River, Tinayguk River, Clear River and joins the

Middle Fork Koyukuk River The Middle Fork Koyukuk River is a tributary of the Koyukuk River in the U.S. state of Alaska. Formed by the confluence of the Bettles and Dietrich rivers near Wiseman on the southern flank of the Brooks Range, the Middle Fork flows generally so ...

to form the Koyukuk

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 ...

. Robert Marshall thoroughly explored the system in 1929, naming many of the major peaks such as Mount Doonerak, Frigid Crags, and Boreal Mountain, the later two forming the

Gates of the Arctic Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve is an American national park that protects portions of the Brooks Range in northern Alaska. The park is the northernmost national park in the United States, situated entirely north of the Arctic Circ ...

References

External links

Koyukuk Wild and Scenic RiverKoyukuk National Wildlife RefugeGates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve
Rivers of North Slope Borough, Alaska Rivers of Alaska Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States Rivers of Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska Brooks Range Tributaries of the Yukon River Rivers of Unorganized Borough, Alaska {{Alaska-river-stub

See also

References

External links