Kvichak River

The Kvichak River is a river in southwestern Alaska, located at the conjunction of the Alaska Peninsula, to the Alaska mainland at about coord|58|40|N|157|34|W| With headwaters in Lake Iliamna, it drains the lake into Kvichak Bay, an arm of Bristol Bay. The river is about 97 km (60 miles) long. The communities of Levelock, King Salmon, Naknek, and Igiugig lie on the Kvichak River. The Kvichak is navigable along its entire length, and is used as a short cut by boats getting between Cook Inlet and Bristol Bay via the Lake Iliamna portage.

The Kvichak River is part of the watershed downstream of the proposed Pebble Mine.

Historically, the river was navigated and subsistence fished by local Alaska Natives. The name of the river means "from"- or "up to"- "great water", a reference to Iliamna Lake, Alaska's largest freshwater lake. The name persisted despite being briefly re-named the Bristol River by British explorer Captain James Cook in 1778.

External links

* [http://www.aktrekking.com/pebble/Kvichak/KvichakPhotos.html Kvichak River Photos]