- Kuskokwim River
Infobox_River
river_name = Kuskokwim River
image_size =
caption = Shoreline of the Kuskokwim River atAniak inAlaska
origin = coord|63|05|16|N|154|38|33|W|region:US-AK_type:river_source:GNISEast Fork Kuskokwim River andNorth Fork Kuskokwim River
mouth = coord|60|04|59|N|162|20|02|W|region:US-AK_type:river_source:GNISKuskokwim Bay on theBering Sea inWestern Alaska
basin_countries =United States of America
length = convert|450|mi|km
elevation = Unit ft|0|0
mouth_elevation = Unit ft|0|0
discharge = convert|67000|cuft|m3 per second at mouth
watershed = convert|48000|sqmi|km2The Kuskokwim River is the 9th. largest river in the United States of America, ranked by average discharge volume at its mouth; 17th. largest by basin drainage area. cite web
title = Largest Rivers in the United States
publisher =USGS
url = http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1987/ofr87-242/
format =PDF ]The Kuskokwim River ("Kusquqvak" in Central Yup'ik) is a river, approximately 724 mi (1,165 km) long, in southwest
Alaska in theUnited States . It provides the principal drainage for an area of the remoteAlaska Interior on the north and west side of theAlaska Range , flowing southwest intoKuskokwim Bay on theBering Sea . Except for its headwaters in the mountains, the river is broad and flat for its entire course, making it a useful transportation route for many types of watercraft. It is the longest free flowing river in the United States. It is also the longest river entirely within one state in the U.S., edging out the Trinity River of Texas by 14 miles."Kuskokwim" in Yupik is a bastardization of a Yup'ik word to English. A compound word means big slow moving 'thing'. Be clear that 'thing' is to be recognized as an object.
Origin
Eskimo name apparently obtained in 1818 byUstiugov (cnna) and published by Lt.Sarichev (1826, map 3),IRN, as "Ryka Kuskokvim."Tanana Indian name for the stream was "Chin-ana", now obsolete except among the old Indians. cite web
title = United States of America, Department of Interior, Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
publisher =USGS
url = http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic]Location
Heading at the
confluence ofEast Fork Kuskokwim River andNorth Fork Kuskokwim River , 5 mi E ofMedra , and flowing SW toKuskokwim Bay and theBering Sea ;Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta . ]Description
It rises in several forks in central and south central Alaska. The North Fork (250 mi/400 km) rises in the
Kuskokwim Mountains approximately 200 mi (320 km) WSW of Fairbanks and flows southwest in a broad valley. The South Fork (200 mi/320 km) rises in the southwestern end of the Alaska Range.west ofMount Gerdine and flows NNW through the mountains, past Nikolai, and receiving other headstreams that descends from the Alaska Range northwest ofMount McKinley . The two forks join near Medfra and flows southwest, past McGrath, in a remote valley between the Kuskokwim Mountains to the north and the Alaska Range to the south.In southwest Alaska in emerges from the Kuskokwim Mountains in a vast lake-studded
alluvial plain south of theYukon River , surrounded by vastspruce forests. It passes a series ofEskimo villages, including Aniak, and approaches within 50 mi (80 km) of the Yukon before diverging southwest. Southwest of Bethel, the largest community on the river, it broadens into a wide marshy delta that enters Kuskokwim Bay approximately 50 mi (80 km) SSW of Bethel. The lower river below Aniak is located within theYukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge .It receives the Big River from the south approximately 20 mi (32 km) southwest of Medfra. It receives the Swift, Stony, and Holitna rivers from the south at the southern end of the Kuskokwim Mountains before emerging on the coastal plain. It receives the
Aniak River from the south at Aniak. Approximately 20 mi (32 km) upstream from Bethel it receives the Kisaralik and Kwethluk rivers from the south. It receives theEek River from the east at Eek near its mouth on Kuskokwim Bay.History
The principal economic activities along the river have historically been fur trapping and fishing. Subsistence fishing for chinook
salmon provides a staple of the Eskimo diet along the river. The discovery ofgold along the upper river in 1898 led to thePlacer Gold Rush in the early 20th century. The total production of gold through 1959 was 640,084 troy ounces (19,909 kg)Fact|date=February 2007. The primary route of theIditarod Trail crossed the upper river at McGrath.References
See also
*
List of Alaska rivers External links
* [http://www.iditarodnationalhistorictrail.org/ Iditarod National Historic Trail]
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