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Yukon River

Coordinates: 62°35′55″N 164°48′00″W / 62.59861°N 164.80000°W / 62.59861; -164.80000
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yukon River
Canoeing the Yukon River
Location of the Yukon River and watershed
Native name
Location
Countries
StateAlaska
Province/Territory
Physical characteristics
SourceLlewellyn Glacier at Atlin Lake
 • locationAtlin District, British Columbia, Canada
 • coordinates59°10′N 133°50′W / 59.167°N 133.833°W / 59.167; -133.833
 • elevation669 m (2,195 ft)[1]
MouthBering Sea
 • location
Kusilvak, Alaska, U.S.
 • coordinates
62°35′55″N 164°48′00″W / 62.59861°N 164.80000°W / 62.59861; -164.80000
 • elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Length3,190 km (1,980 mi)
Basin size854,700 km2 (330,000 sq mi)[2]
Width 
 • average0.8 km (0.50 mi) Rampart to Tanana;[3] 820 to 1,000 m (2,690 to 3,280 ft) (Pilot Station)[4]
Depth 
 • average9.1–12.1 m (30–40 ft) (Rampart to Tanana);[3]
 • maximum40 m (130 ft) (Rampart);[3] 24.4 m (80 ft) (Pilot Station)[4]
Discharge 
 • locationYukon Delta
 • average7,000 m3/s (250,000 cu ft/s)[5][6]
Discharge 
 • locationPilot Station
 • average(Period: 1976–2023)235,600 cu ft/s (6,670 m3/s)[7][8]
 • minimum35,000 cu ft/s (990 m3/s)(Year: 1984)[7]
 • maximum1,240,000 cu ft/s (35,000 m3/s)(Year: 2005)[7]
Discharge 
 • locationStevens Village
 • average(Period: 1977–2023)123,200 cu ft/s (3,490 m3/s)[10][9]
 • minimum14,000 cu ft/s (400 m3/s) (Year: 1997)[9]
 • maximum827,000 cu ft/s (23,400 m3/s) (Year: 1992)[9]
Discharge 
 • locationDawson
 • average(Period: 1944–1980)78,000 cu ft/s (2,200 m3/s)[11][2]
 • maximum527,000 cu ft/s (14,900 m3/s) (Year: 1964)[12]
Discharge 
 • locationWhitehorse
 • average(Period: 1944–2010)8,600 cu ft/s (240 m3/s)[11][2][13]
Basin features
ProgressionBering Sea
River systemYukon River
Tributaries 
 • leftWhite, Fortymile, Birch Creek, Tanana, Nowitna, Innoko
 • rightTagish River, Atlin, Teslin, Big Salmon, Pelly, Stewart, Klondike, Porcupine, Christian, Chandalar, Melozitna, Koyukuk, Anvik, Atchuelinguk, Andreafsky
[14][15] Map

The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. From its source in British Columbia, it flows through Canada's territory of Yukon (itself named after the river). The lower half of the river continues westward through the U.S. state of Alaska. The river is 3,190 kilometres (1,980 mi)[15][16] long and empties into the Bering Sea at the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta. The average flow is 6,400–7,000 m3/s (230,000–250,000 cu ft/s).[5][6][2] The total drainage area is 854,700 km2 (330,000 sq mi),[2] of which 323,800 km2 (125,000 sq mi) lies in Canada.[17] The total area is more than 25% larger than Texas or Alberta.

The longest river in Alaska and Yukon, it was one of the principal means of transportation during the 1896–1903 Klondike Gold Rush. A portion of the river in Yukon—"The Thirty Mile" section, from Lake Laberge to the Teslin River—is a national heritage river and a unit of Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park.[18][19] Paddle-wheel riverboats continued to ply the river until the 1950s, when the Klondike Highway was completed. After the purchase of Alaska by the United States in 1867, the Alaska Commercial Company acquired the assets of the Russian-American Company and constructed several posts at various locations on the Yukon River.

The Yukon River has a recent history of pollution from military installations, dumps, wastewater, and other sources.[20][failed verification][citation needed] However, the Environmental Protection Agency does not list the Yukon River among its impaired watersheds, and water-quality data from the U.S. Geological Survey shows relatively good levels of turbidity, metals, and dissolved oxygen.[21] The Yukon and Mackenzie rivers have much higher suspended sediment concentrations than the great Siberian Arctic rivers.[22]

The Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council, a cooperative effort of 70 First Nations and tribes in Alaska and Canada, has the goal of making the river and its tributaries safe to drink from again by supplementing and scrutinizing government data.

Name

[edit]

The name Yukon, or ųųg han, is a contraction of the words in the Gwich'in phrase chųų gąįį han, which means white water river and refers to "the pale colour" of glacial runoff in the Yukon River.[23][24] The contraction is Ųųg Han, if the /ųų/ remains nasalized, or Yuk Han, if there is no vowel nasalization.[25] In the 1840s, different tribes had different opinions as to the literal meaning of Yukon. In 1843, the Holikachuks had told the Russian-American Company that their name for the river was Yukkhana and that this name meant big river.[26] However, Yukkhana does not literally correspond to a Holikachuk phrase that means big river.[27][28] Then, two years later, the Gwich'ins told the Hudson's Bay Company that their name for the river was Yukon and that the name meant white water river.[23] White water river in fact corresponds to Gwich'in words that can be shortened to form Yukon.[24] Because the Holikachuks had been trading regularly with both the Gwich’ins and the Yup'iks,[29] the Holikachuks were in a position to borrow the Gwich'in contraction and to conflate its meaning with the meaning of Kuig-pak [River-big], which is the Yup'ik name for the same river. For that reason, the documentary evidence suggests that the Holikachuks had borrowed the contraction Ųųg Han [White Water River] from Gwich'in, and erroneously assumed that this contraction had the same literal meaning as the corresponding Yup'ik name Kuig-pak [River-big].

The Lewes River is the former name of the upper course of the Yukon, from Marsh Lake to the confluence of the Pelly River at Fort Selkirk.

Course

[edit]
Map of the Yukon River watershed

The generally accepted source of the Yukon River is the Llewellyn Glacier at the southern end of Atlin Lake in British Columbia. Others suggest that the source is Lake Lindeman at the northern end of the Chilkoot Trail. Either way, Atlin Lake flows into Tagish Lake (via the Atlin River), as eventually does Lake Lindeman after flowing into Bennett Lake. Tagish Lake then flows into Marsh Lake (via the Tagish River). The Yukon River proper starts at the northern end of Marsh Lake, just south of Whitehorse. Some argue that the source of the Yukon River should really be Teslin Lake and the Teslin River, which has a larger flow when it reaches the Yukon at Hootalinqua. The upper end of the Yukon River was originally known as the Lewes River until it was established that it actually was the Yukon. North of Whitehorse, the Yukon River widens into Lake Laberge, made famous by Robert W. Service's "The Cremation of Sam McGee". Other large lakes that are part of the Yukon River system include Kusawa Lake (into the Takhini River) and Kluane Lake (into the Kluane and then White River).

The river passes through the communities of Whitehorse, Carmacks, (just before the Five Finger Rapids) and Dawson City in Yukon, and crossing Alaska into Eagle, Circle, Fort Yukon, Stevens Village, Rampart, Tanana, Ruby, Galena, Nulato, Grayling, Holy Cross, Russian Mission, Marshall, Pilot Station, St. Marys (which is accessible from the Yukon at Pitkas Point), and Mountain Village. After Mountain Village, the main Yukon channel frays into many channels, sprawling across the delta. There are a number of communities after the "head of passes," as the channel division is called locally: Nunum Iqua, Alakanuk, Emmonak, and Kotlik. Of those delta communities, Emmonak is the largest with roughly 760 people in the 2000 census. Emmonak's gravel airstrip is the regional hub for flights.

Hazards

[edit]
The bridge across the Yukon River at Carmacks on the Klondike Highway
The E. L. Patton Yukon River Bridge carries the Dalton Highway over the Yukon north of Fairbanks.

Navigational obstacles on the Yukon River are the Five Finger Rapids and Rink Rapids downstream from Carmacks.

Bridges

[edit]

Despite its length, there are only four vehicle-carrying bridges across the river, listed from upstream to downstream:

A car ferry crosses the river at Dawson City in the summer; it is replaced by an ice bridge over the frozen river during the winter. Plans to build a permanent bridge were announced in March 2004, although they are currently on hold because bids came in much higher than budgeted.

There are also two pedestrian-only bridges in Whitehorse, as well as a dam across the river and a hydroelectric generating station. The construction of the dam flooded the White Horse Rapids, which gave the city its name, and created Schwatka Lake.

Transportation is also performed along the river in summer by barge, enabling heavy goods, oil, and vehicles to be transported to communities along the Yukon, Tanana, Innoko, and Koyukuk rivers. This service is performed by Ruby Marine and reaches Tanana on the Yukon River and Nenana on the Tanana River.[30]

Geography and ecology

[edit]

Some of the upper slopes of this watershed (e.g. Nulato Hills) are forested by Black Spruce.[31] This locale near the Seward Peninsula represents the near westernmost limit of the Black Spruce, Picea mariana,[32] one of the most widespread conifers in northern North America.

The river flows into several parklands and refuges including:

Crossing the Lake Laberge by canoe

Discharge

[edit]

Yukon at Pilot Station (121 miles upstream of mouth) minimum, average and maximum discharge:[33][34][35][36]

Water year Discharge (Period: 1975/10/01 – 2023/09/30)
Min Mean Max
cfs m3/s cfs m3/s km3 cfs m3/s
1975/76 65,000 1,840 218,300 6,182 195 700,000 19,800
1976/77 44,000 1,250 204,100 5,779 182 669,000 18,900
1977/78 42,000 1,190 185,300 5,247 166 465,000 13,200
1978/79 40,000 1,130 224,200 6,349 200 587,000 16,600
1979/80 50,000 1,420 236,900 6,708 212 660,000 18,700
1980/81 40,000 1,130 229,600 6,502 205 563,000 15,900
1981/82 38,000 1,080 240,800 6,819 215 866,000 24,500
1982/83 45,000 1,270 218,900 6,199 196 554,000 15,700
1983/84 35,000 990 231,900 6,567 207 642,000 18,200
1984/85 40,000 1,130 239,200 6,773 214 1,100,000 31,150
1985/86 50,000 1,420 231,400 6,553 207 585,000 16,600
1986/87 47,000 1,330 223,800 6,337 200 649,000 18,400
1987/88 50,000 1,420 218,700 6,193 195 680,000 19,300
1988/89 55,000 1,560 225,500 6,385 202 800,000 22,650
1989/90 47,000 1,330 235,400 6,666 210 900,000 25,500
1990/91 50,000 1,420 249,800 7,074 223 1,070,000 30,300
1991/92 46,000 1,300 239,500 6,782 214 788,000 22,300
1992/93 50,000 1,420 240,400 6,807 215 854,000 24,200
1993/94 50,000 1,420 253,700 7,184 227 660,000 18,700
1994/95 42,000 1,190 218,300 6,182 195 696,000 19,700
1995/96 36,000 1,020 209,700 5,938 187 502,000 14,200
1996/97 No incomplete data have been used

for statistical calculation

1997/98
1998/99
1999/00
2000/01 46,000 1,300 249,500 7,067 223 901,000 25,500
2001/02 38,000 1,080 210,400 5,958 188 884,000 25,000
2002/03 48,000 1,360 236,500 6,697 211 543,000 15,400
2003/04 46,500 1,320 211,800 5,998 189 648,000 18,350
2004/05 41,000 1,160 254,600 7,209 228 1,240,000 35,100
2005/06 45,000 1,270 252,300 7,144 226 920,000 26,050
2006/07 38,000 1,080 213,600 6,048 191 531,000 15,000
2007/08 40,500 1,150 231,600 6,558 207 775,000 21,950
2008/09 48,000 1,360 231,900 6,567 207 1,090,000 30,900
2009/10 42,000 1,190 205,600 5,822 184 675,000 19,100
2010/11 47,000 1,330 227,000 6,428 203 670,000 19,000
2011/12 44,000 1,250 247,700 7,014 221 660,000 18,700
2012/13 48,500 1,370 231,700 6,561 207 820,000 23,200
2013/14 45,000 1,270 266,400 7,544 238 553,000 15,700
2014/15 55,000 1,560 229,400 6,499 205 621,000 17,600
2015/16 58,000 1,640 274,600 7,776 245 603,000 17,100
2016/17 46,700 1,320 214,900 6,085 192 562,000 15,900
2017/18 48,000 1,360 257,600 7,294 230 669,000 18,900
2018/19 60,900 1,730 233,300 6,606 208 647,000 18,300
2019/20 52,400 1,480 290,900 8,237 260 704,000 19,900
2020/21 50,900 1,440 262,200 7,425 234 589,000 16,700
2021/22 49,400 1,400 269,900 7,643 241 682,000 19,300
2022/23 64,900 1,840 300,900 8,520 269 1,140,000 32,300

Fisheries

[edit]

The Yukon River is home to one of the longest salmon runs in the world. Each year Chinook, coho, and chum salmon return to their terminal streams in Alaska, the Yukon Territory, and British Columbia. As salmon do not eat during their spawning migration, Yukon River salmon must have great reserves of fat and energy to fuel their thousands-mile-long journey. The Chinook, which arrive at the mouth of the Yukon River in early June, have the longest journey – as many as 2,000 miles against the current, with an estimated 35–50% bound for Canada. As a result, Chinook salmon are noted for their especially rich and fatty meat and are the priciest of all Pacific salmon species.[37]

The villages along the Yukon have historically relied on and continue to rely on salmon for their cultural, subsistence, and commercial needs. Salmon are traditionally dried, smoked, and frozen for both human and sled dog consumption. Common methods of fishing on the Yukon include set gillnets, drift nets, dip nets, and fish wheels. The preference of certain gear is largely dependent on the river's varied characteristics in different areas. Some parts of the river do not have eddies to make set-nets successful, whereas in other places the tributaries are small enough to make drifting impractical.

Over the last 20 years salmon recruitment, the number of returning adults, has taken several shocks. The late 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s have been marked by radically reduced runs for various salmon species. In the summer of 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service counted 58,500 Chinook salmon, the second lowest season on record.[38] The United States Department of Commerce issued a Federal Disaster Declaration for the 2008 and 2009 Commercial Chinook Yukon River fisheries, calling for the complete closure of commercial fishing along with restrictions on subsistence fishing.[citation needed] The root cause of these poor returns remains debated, with questions about the effects of climate change on ocean food-supply & disease prevalence in returning adults, the methods of fishing used on the river, and the effects of the Bering Sea Pollock trawl fleet on food supply and salmon bycatch.[39][40] In 2010, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game's Board of Fisheries issued the first-ever restriction for net mesh size on the Yukon, reducing it to 7.5 inches (190 mm).[41] In 2021, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game's Division of Commercial Fisheries banned all fishing of Chinook and chum salmon, including for subsistence.[37][42]

Various organizations are involved to protect healthy salmon runs into the future. The Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association was formed in 1990 by a consensus of fishers representing the entire drainage in response to recent disaster years. Its organizational goals include giving voice to the village fishers that have traditionally managed these resources, enabling communication between fishers and fishery managers, and helping to preserve the ecological integrity of salmon runs and local cultures' Traditional Ecological Knowledge[43]

In March 2001, the U.S. & Canadian governments passed the Yukon River Salmon Agreement to better manage an internationally shared resource and ensure that more Canadian-originated salmon return across the border.[44] The agreement is implemented through the Yukon River Panel, an international body of 12 members, equal-parts American and Canadian, that advises managers of Yukon River fisheries concerning restoration, conservation, and coordinated management.[45]

Tribal organizations such as the Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP), Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments (CATG), and Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) work to sustain Yukon River salmon to promote healthy people, cultures, and communities.

Tributaries

[edit]
Yukon River near Carmacks

Yukon Territory

[edit]
The Yukon River, as seen from the Midnight Dome in Dawson City, Yukon

Alaska

[edit]
Anabranches near the junction of the Yukon River and the Koyukuk River in Alaska, August 24, 1941

List of major tributaries

[edit]

The main river and tributaries are (sorted in order from the mouth heading upstream):[46][6]

Left

tributary

Right

tributary

Length

(km)

Basin size

(km2)

Average discharge

(m3/s)*

Yukon 3,190 854,700 7,000
Yukon Delta
Nanvaranak Slough 1,735 28.1
Archuelinguk 56 705 12.8
Lower Yukon
Andreafsky 193 5,369 91.4
Kashunuk

(distributary)

362 2,906 51.7
Atchuelinguk 266 5,439 73.8
Reindeer 97 1,191 22
Talbiksok 129 1,857 26.5
Kako Creek 550 9.8
Innoko 805 36,517 335.5
Koserefski 48 897 13.1
Bonasila 201 3,108 43.7
Anvik 225 4,610 65
Khotol 137 2,331 40.1
Nulato 114 2,287 54.2
Koyukuk 805 81,326 770
Bear Creek 789 10.8
Kala Creek 893 13
Yuki 137 2,771 33.4
Melozitna 217 7,045 67.6
Big Creek 814 4.6
Nowitna 455 18,596 102.4
Blind 34 587 3.4
Boney Creek 72 788 3.9
Tozitna 134 4,248 28.2
Tanana 1,061 113,959 1,246
Middle Yukon
Hess Creek 80 3,082 15.6
Ray 69 1,751 14.2
Dall 129 3,714 17.6
Old Lost Creek 10.3
Hodzana 201 4,323 19.5
Beaver Creek 290 5,426 54.9
Hadweenzic 150 2,422 19.4
Birch Creek 241 13,064 127
Chandalar 328 24,165 141.8
Christian 225 8,827 67.8
Porcupine 916 116,431 623
Charley 142 4,377 22.7
Kandik 132 2,840 19.7
Nation 113 2,411 24.6
Tatonduk 110 15.6
Upper Yukon
Seventymile 93 7.5
Fortymile 97 16,602 79.4
Klondike 161 8,044 63.9
Indian 2,242 20.4
Sixtymile 137 3,719 25.4
Stewart 533 51,023 510
White 322 46,900 566
Pelly 608 48,174 412
Nordenskiöld 6,371 16
Little Salmon 3,626 9.7
Big Salmon 240 6,760 67.6

Teslin

393 35,014 331
Takhini 180 6,993 103.1
Atlin 6,812 110

*Period: 1971–2000

In media

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Atlin Lake". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e Timothy, P. Brabets (2000). "Environmental and Hydrologic Overview of the Yukon River Basin, Alaska and Canada" (PDF).
  3. ^ a b c "Rapids Information for Yukon River Panel, Canada". rapidsresearch.com.
  4. ^ a b "Yukon (Pilot) Site and River, Alaska Fisheries Sonar, Alaska Department of Fish and Game". www.adfg.alaska.gov.
  5. ^ a b Douglas, J. Martin; Clifford, J. Whitmus; Lon, E. Hachmeister (1987). DISTRIBUTION AND SEASONAL ABUNDANCE OF JUVENILE SALMON AND OTHER FISHES IN THE YUKON DELTA (PDF).
  6. ^ a b c Tilman, Eric. "Rivers Network - Yukon". Rivers Network.
  7. ^ a b c "Water-Year Summary for Site USGS 15565447".
  8. ^ Stadnyk, Tricia A.; Tefs, A.; Broesky, M.; Déry, S. J.; Myers, P. G.; Ridenour, N. A.; Koenig, K.; Vonderbank, L.; Gustafsson, D. (2021). "Changing freshwater contributions to the Arctic". Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. 9 (1): 00098. Bibcode:2021EleSA...9...98S. doi:10.1525/elementa.2020.00098. S2CID 236682638.
  9. ^ a b c "Water-Year Summary for Site USGS 15453500".
  10. ^ "USGS Surface Water data for USA: USGS Surface-Water Annual Statistics". waterdata.usgs.gov.
  11. ^ a b "Transport of Water, Carbon, and Sediment Through the Yukon River Basin". 2008.
  12. ^ "USGS Surface Water for USA: Peak Streamflow". nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov.
  13. ^ Marsh Lake Fall-Winter Storage Concept Hydrology Baseline Report (PDF). 2011.
  14. ^ Brabets, Timothy P; Wang, Bronwen; Meade, Robert H. (2000). "Environmental and Hydrologic Overview of the Yukon River Basin, Alaska and Canada" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  15. ^ a b Yukon River at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  16. ^ "Yukoninfo.com". Yukoninfo.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-24. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
  17. ^ Walvoord, Michelle A.; Striegl, Robert G. (2007-06-28). "Increased groundwater to stream discharge from permafrost thawing in the Yukon River basin: Potential impacts on lateral export of carbon and nitrogen". Geophysical Research Letters. 34 (12): L12402. Bibcode:2007GeoRL..3412402W. doi:10.1029/2007GL030216. ISSN 0094-8276. S2CID 128894194.
  18. ^ The Thirty Mile (Yukon River) National Heritage River Archived January 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, National Heritage Rivers System
  19. ^ Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park Archived October 9, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Parks Canada
  20. ^ "Earth Snapshot • Yukon River". Eosnap.com. Archived from the original on 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  21. ^ "USGS Water Quality Samples – 1 sites found". Nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
  22. ^ "Arctic Great Rivers Observatory". Arctic Great Rivers. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
  23. ^ a b "Dear Sir, I have great pleasure in informing you that I have at length after much trouble and difficulties, succeed[ed] in reaching the 'Youcon', or white water River, so named by the (Gwich'in) natives from the pale colour of its water. ..., I have the honour to Remain Your obt Servt, John Bell" Hudson's Bay Company Correspondence to George Simpson from John Bell (August 1, 1845), HBC Archives, D.5/14, fos. 212-215d, also quoted in, Coates, Kenneth S. & William R. Morrison (1988). Land of the Midnight Sun: A History of the Yukon. Hurtig Publishers. p. 21. ISBN 0-88830-331-9. Retrieved 2017-10-16.
  24. ^ a b In Gwich'in, adjectives, such as choo [big] and gąįį [white], follow the nouns that they modify. Thus, white water is chųų gąįį [water white]. White water river is chųų gąįį han [water white river]. Peter, Katherine (1979). Dinjii Zhuh Ginjik Nagwan Tr'iłtsąįį: Gwich'in Junior Dictionary (PDF). Univ. of Alaska. pp. ii (ą, į, ų are nasalized a, i, u), xii (adjectives follow nouns), 19 (nitsii or choo [big]), 88 (ocean = chųų choo [water big]), 105 (han [river]), 142 (chųų [water]), 144 (gąįį [white]). Retrieved 2017-10-16.
  25. ^ Gwich'in vowels may or may not be nasalized. A hook under a vowel, as in "ų," indicates that the vowel is nasalized. Peter (1979). Dinjii Zhuh Ginjik Nagwan Tr'iłtsąįį., at page ii (footnote). English, of course, has no nasalized vowels.
  26. ^ "[The Yukon] in the language of the Kang-ulit (Yup'ik) people is Kvikhpak; in the dialect of the downriver Inkilik (Holikachuk), Yukkhana; of those upriver (Koyukon), Yuna. All these terms mean the same thing in translation–'Big River.' I have kept the local names as a clearer indication of the different tribes along the river." Lt. Zagoskin's Note 63 (1848), translated in, Zagoskin, Lavrenty A.; Henry N. Michael, eds. (1967). Lieutenant Zagoskin's Travels in Russian America, 1842-1844: The First Ethnographic and Geographic Investigations in the Yukon and Kuskokwim Valleys of Alaska. University of Toronto Press., at page 295. Zagoskin did not come into contact with the Gwich'in Indians and had no access to the information that Yukon means white water river in Gwich'in – the language from which the word came.
  27. ^ In Holikachuk, big river or big water would be xinmiksekh, xinchux, toomiksekh, or toochux. Kari, James; et al. (1978). Holikachuk Noun Dictionary (PDF). Univ. of Alaska Fairbanks. p. 19 (xin [river], too [water]). Retrieved 2017-10-16.; Zagoskin; Michael (1967). Lieutenant Zagoskin's Travels., at page 309 (Inkilik proper [Holikachuk] tu [water], miksekh [large]); Hargus, Sharon (2008). Vowel quality and duration in Deg Xinag (PDF). Univ. of Washington. p. 29 (note 33: Holikachuk chux [big]). Retrieved 2017-10-16. Adjectives followed the nouns that they modified in Holikachuk.
  28. ^ Thirty-nine pages of cited "Sources," representing over a century of research, did not verify Zagoskin's report that Yukon means big river. Orth (1967). Dictionary of Alaska Place Names., at pp. 6-44 ("Sources of Names"), 1069 ("The Eskimo ... descriptively called it 'Kuikpak' meaning 'big river.' The Indian name 'Yukon' probably means the same thing."). Orth does not say "probably" when discussing Kuikpak's meaning. Orth's use of "probably" is limited to the discussion of Yukon's meaning, which indicates that Zagoskin's report that Yukon means big river was never verified. In addition, Orth's "Sources" do not even include the Hudson's Bay Company correspondence, which states that Yukon means white water river in Gwich'in. Nor do Orth's "Sources" include aboriginal dictionaries.
  29. ^ Lt. Zagoskin reported that: "The ... Inkilit [Holikachuk] ... live along the routes of communication between the Yukon and the coast and are occupied almost exclusively with buying up furs from the natives living along the Yunnaka (Koyukuk River, a Yukon tributary)." Zagoskin also reported that: "The Inkalik [Holikachuk] ..., who are chiefly occupied in trading both with their fellow tribesmen and with the neighboring tribes of Kang-ulit (Yup'ik), have adopted the way of life of the latter ..." Zagoskin; Michael (1967). Lieutenant Zagoskin's Travels., at pp. 196-97, 244. Because they had adopted the Yup’ik (Eskimo) way of life, and because they were the ones trading upriver, the Holikachuk would have been "the Esquimaux" referred to in John Bell's 1845 report: "The Esquimaux to the westwards likewise ascends the 'Youcon' and carry on a trade with the natives, as well as with the Musquash [Gwich'in] Indians ... I have seen a large camp of the latter tribe on the Rat River on my return, who, had about a doz: of beat [hammered] Iron Kettles of Russian Manufacture which they bartered from the Esquimaux." See, Hudson's Bay Company Correspondence to Simpson from Bell (1845), HBC Archives, D.5/14, fos. 212, 213. For these reasons, the Holikachuk were in a position to conflate the meanings of the Gwich'in and Yup'ik names, and to furnish this conflated information to the Russian-American Company.
  30. ^ "Ruby Marine". Rubymarineinc.com. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  31. ^ Scott R. Robinson. 1988. Movement and Distribution of Western Arctic Caribou Herd across the Buckland Valley and Nulato Hills, U.S. Bureau of Land Management Open file Report 23, Alaska
  32. ^ C. Michael Hogan, Black Spruce: Picea mariana, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg, November, 2008 Archived October 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  33. ^ "USGS 15565447 YUKON R AT PILOT STATION AK". waterdata.usgs.gov.
  34. ^ "USGS Surface Water data for USA: USGS Surface-Water Daily Statistics". waterdata.usgs.gov.
  35. ^ "USGS Current Conditions for USGS 15565447 YUKON R AT PILOT STATION AK". waterdata.usgs.gov.
  36. ^ "USGS Surface Water data for USA: USGS Surface-Water Annual Statistics". waterdata.usgs.gov.
  37. ^ a b Graham, Max (November 9, 2023). "Salmon are vanishing from the Yukon River — and so is a way of life". Grist. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  38. ^ "2023 Preliminary Yukon River Salmon Fisheries Review" (PDF). www.doi.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  39. ^ Thiessen, Mark. Feds declare fisheries disaster for Yukon River Archived December 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Retrieved 15 March 2010
  40. ^ Hopkins, Kyle. Pollock vs. salmon bycatch issue stirs waters at meeting Archived June 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 15 March 2010
  41. ^ Associated Press. Fisheries board restricts Yukon salmon gillnets Archived March 9, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 15 March 2010
  42. ^ "Request Rejected" (PDF).
  43. ^ Sea Grant Alaska. Yukon Fishermen Celebrate Ten Years. Arctic Science Journeys. Retrieved 15 March 2010
  44. ^ Yukon River Salmon Agreement. Yukonriverpanel.com, March 2001
  45. ^ Bylaws of the Yukon River Panel Society. Yukonriverpanel.com, November 2002
  46. ^ "Alaska Guide - Wilderness Tours and Information". alaska.guide.
  47. ^ Alcinii, Daniele (June 26, 2015). "Nat Geo sets summer premieres for adventure series". Real Screen. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yukon River.
Wikisource has the text of the 1905 New International Encyclopedia article "Yukon River".
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