Walker Lake ( Iñupiaq: ''Qalugluktuaq'';

Denaakk'e Koyukon (also called ''Denaakk'e'') is the geographically most widespread Athabascan language spoken in Alaska. The Athabaskan language is spoken along the Koyukuk and the middle Yukon River in western interior Alaska. In 2007, the language ha ...

: ''Taah K'ehoolaanh'') is the source of the

Kobuk River The Kobuk River (''Kuuvak'' in Iñupiaq) (also Kooak, Kowak, Kubuk, Kuvuk, or Putnam) is a river located in the Arctic region of northwestern Alaska in the United States. It is approximately long. Draining a basin with an area of ,Brabets, T.P. ...

in northwestern

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., ...

(emptying into

Kotzebue Sound Kotzebue Sound (russian: Залив Коцебу) is an arm of the Chukchi Sea in the western region of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is on the north side of the Seward Peninsula and bounded on the east by the Baldwin Peninsula. It is long and wi ...

). The lake is located near the easternmost part of

Northwest Arctic Borough Northwest Arctic Borough is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,793, up from 7,523 in 2010. The borough seat is Kotzebue. The borough was formed on June 2, 1986. Geography According to t ...

, deep in the remote interior of northern Alaska. Explored during an expedition led by John C. Cantwell in 1885, under the authority of the Revenue Marine. Also known as "Big Fish Lake", Inupiaq legend in the area told of giant, ferocious fish that inhabited the waters. An attempt by a native with the Cantwell expedition to catch one of these giant fish involved a hook made of an entire set of reindeer antlers baited with a whole goose. In 1968, Walker Lake, was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.

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