The Porcupine River (''Ch’ôonjik'' in
Gwich’in) is a tributary of the
Yukon River
The Yukon River ( Gwich'in: ''Ųųg Han'' or ''Yuk Han'', Yup'ik: ''Kuigpak'', Inupiaq: ''Kuukpak'', Deg Xinag: ''Yeqin'', Hän: ''Tth'echù'' or ''Chuu k'onn'', Southern Tutchone: Chu Nìikwän, russian: Юкон, Yukon) is a major watercour ...
in Canada and the United States. It rises in the
Ogilvie Mountains north of
Dawson City
Dawson City, officially the City of Dawson, is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–99). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest town in Yuko ...
,
Yukon
Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
, Canada.
From there it flows north through the community of
Old Crow, veers southwest into the U.S. state 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 ...
, and enters the larger river at
Fort Yukon, Alaska.
It derives its name from the Gwich'in word for the river, Ch'oonjik, or "Porcupine Quill River".
The
Porcupine caribou
The Porcupine caribou ''(Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus'') is a herd or ecotype of barren-ground caribou, the subspecies of the reindeer or caribou found in Alaska, United States, and Yukon and the Northwest Territories, Canada. A recent revisio ...
herd, whose range includes the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR or Arctic Refuge) is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States on traditional Gwich'in lands. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest national wildli ...
(ANWR) in Alaska, gets its name from its calving grounds around the Porcupine River.
Possible (but disputed) evidence of the oldest known human habitation in North America comes from a cave on one of the Porcupine's tributaries, the
Bluefish River
The bluefish (''Pomatomus saltatrix'') is the only extant species of the family Pomatomidae. It is a marine pelagic fish found around the world in temperate and subtropical waters, except for the northern Pacific Ocean. Bluefish are known as ta ...
. Many apparently human-modified animal bones have been discovered in the
Bluefish Caves.
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon.
The method was de ...
has assessed them as 25,000 to 40,000 years old—several thousand years earlier than the generally accepted date for
human habitation of North America.
[
]
Boating
The Porcupine River offers the possibility of "an excellent novice river trip for those experienced in remote wilderness travel,"
according to author Karen Jettmar. Boaters can travel by canoe, kayak, or raft, though rafters may have difficulty with upriver winds. A float trip beginning at Summit Lake in the Yukon Territory, descending the Bell River to its confluence with the Porcupine, and continuing to Fort Yukon is all rated Class I (easy) on the
international scale of river difficulty. However, in high water the difficulty may rise to Class II in Upper and Lower Rampart canyons, downstream of the international border, where the current is swift.
See also
*
Old Crow River
Old Crow River is a transnational stream, long, that begins in the U.S. state of Alaska and flows generally southeast to meet the Porcupine River in the Canadian territory of Yukon. In turn, the Porcupine, a tributary of the Yukon River, flows b ...
*
List of longest rivers of Canada
Among the longest rivers of Canada are 47 streams of at least . In the case of some rivers such as the Columbia, the length listed in the table below is solely that of the main stem. In the case of others such as the Mackenzie, it is the combin ...
*
List of rivers of Alaska
This is a List of rivers in Alaska, which are at least fifth-order according to the Strahler method of stream classification, and an incomplete list of otherwise-notable rivers and streams. Alaska has more than 12,000 rivers, and thousands more st ...
*
List of rivers of Yukon
This is a list of rivers of Yukon.
Arctic Ocean watershed
* Mackenzie River watershed
**Upper Liard River
*** Rancheria River
**** Little Rancheria River
*** Frances River
*** Hyland River
*** Coal River
*** La Biche River
*** Beaver River (Liard ...
References
Works cited
* Benke, Arthur C., ed., and Cushing, Colbert E., ed.; Bailey, Robert C. (2005). "Chapter 17: Yukon River Basin" in ''Rivers of North America''. Burlington, Massachusetts: Elsevier Academic Press. . .
External links
''Treasures of the snow'' Manuscriptat Dartmouth College Library
{{Authority control
Fort Yukon, Alaska
International rivers of North America
Rivers of Alaska
Rivers of Unorganized Borough, Alaska
Rivers of Yukon
Rivers of Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska
Tributaries of the Yukon River