Kanektok River

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Kanektok River
Togiak Refuge (12293842965).jpg
The Kanektok River flows through the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge.
Relief map of USA Alaska.png
Red pog.svg
Location of the mouth of the Kanektok River in Alaska
Location
Country United States
State Alaska
Census Area Bethel
Physical characteristics
SourceKagati Lake
 - location Togiak National Wildlife Refuge
 - coordinates 59°52′48″N160°07′25″W / 59.88000°N 160.12361°W / 59.88000; -160.12361 [1]
 - elevation1,059 ft (323 m) [2]
Mouth Kuskokwim Bay
 - location1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Quinhagak
 - coordinates 59°44′46″N161°55′53″W / 59.74611°N 161.93139°W / 59.74611; -161.93139 Coordinates: 59°44′46″N161°55′53″W / 59.74611°N 161.93139°W / 59.74611; -161.93139 [1]
 - elevation0 ft (0 m) [1]
Length75 mi (121 km) [3]
Basin features
Basin size752 sq mi (1,950 km2) [4]

The Kanektok River is a 75-mile (121 km) stream in southwestern Alaska in the United States. [3] Beginning in the Ahklun Mountains at Kagati and Pegati lakes, it flows westward into Kuskokwim Bay on the Bering Sea at the city of Quinhagak. [5] Almost all of the river's course lies within the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge. [5] The Quinhagak Village Corporation owns the land bordering the lowermost 17 miles (27 km) of the river. [6]

Alaska State of the United States of America

Alaska is a U.S. state in the northwest extremity of North America, just across the Bering Strait from Asia. The Canadian province of British Columbia and territory of Yukon border the state to the east and southeast. Its most extreme western part is Attu Island, and it has a maritime border with Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. To the north are the Chukchi and Beaufort seas—southern parts of the Arctic Ocean. The Pacific Ocean lies to the south and southwest. It is the largest U.S. state by area and the seventh largest subnational division in the world. In addition, it is the 3rd least populous and the most sparsely populated of the 50 United States; nevertheless, it is by far the most populous territory located mostly north of the 60th parallel in North America: its population—estimated at 738,432 by the United States Census Bureau in 2015— is more than quadruple the combined populations of Northern Canada and Greenland. Approximately half of Alaska's residents live within the Anchorage metropolitan area. Alaska's economy is dominated by the fishing, natural gas, and oil industries, resources which it has in abundance. Military bases and tourism are also a significant part of the economy.

Ahklun Mountains mountain in United States of America

The Ahklun Mountains are located in the northeast section of the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge in southwest Alaska. They extend southwest from the Kanektok and Narogurum Rivers to Hagemeister Strait and Kuskokwim Bay and support the only existing glaciers in western Alaska. They are the highest Alaskan mountain range west of the Alaska Range and north of the Alaska Peninsula: some summits in the range have many glaciers. To the west is the Kuskokwim River and to the east are the Bristol Bay lowlands.

Kuskokwim Bay

Kuskokwim Bay is a bay in southwestern Alaska, at about 59°30′N162°30′W. It is about 160 km (99 mi) long, and 160 km (99 mi) wide.

Contents

Recreation

The Kanektok River, varying from Class I (easy) to II (medium) on the International Scale of River Difficulty, is floatable by many kinds of watercraft. The upper reaches below Kagati Lake are sometimes too shallow for boats. Below this, swift currents, braided channels, logjams, and overhanging or submerged vegetation make the float "not a trip for beginners." [4] In high water, the difficulty along the upper 55 miles (89 km) of the river may increase to Class III (difficult). [4]

Alaska Fishing describes the river as "one of Alaska's most celebrated salmon and trout streams". [6] The main game fish are rainbow trout, char, Arctic grayling, king (Chinook), silver (Coho), chum, and red (sockeye) salmon. Anglers can float down from the headwaters , hire a boat to go upriver from Quinhagak, or fish near tent camps and lodges along the lower river. [6]

Game fish fish hunted for sport or food

Game fish are fish pursued by recreational anglers. They can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught. Some game fish are also targeted commercially, particularly salmon.

Rainbow trout species of trout

The rainbow trout is a trout and species of salmonid native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coastal rainbow trout(O. m. irideus) or Columbia River redband trout (O. m. gairdneri) that usually returns to fresh water to spawn after living two to three years in the ocean. Freshwater forms that have been introduced into the Great Lakes and migrate into tributaries to spawn are also called steelhead.

<i>Salvelinus</i> genus of fishes

Salvelinus is a genus of salmonid fish often called char or charr; some species are called "trout". Salvelinus is a member of the subfamily Salmoninae within the family Salmonidae. The genus has a northern circumpolar distribution, and most of its members are typically cold-water fish that primarily inhabit fresh waters. Many species also migrate to the sea.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Kanektok River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. March 31, 1981. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  2. ↑ Derived by entering source coordinates in Google Earth.
  3. 1 2 Orth, Donald J.; United States Geological Survey (1971) [1967]. Dictionary of Alaska Place Names: Geological Survey Professional Paper 567 (PDF). University of Alaska Fairbanks. United States Government Printing Office. p. 493. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 Jettmar, Karen (2008) [1993]. The Alaska River Guide: Canoeing, Kayaking, and Rafting in the Last Frontier (3rd ed.). Birmingham, Alabama: Menasha Ridge Press. pp. 187&ndash, 88. ISBN   978-0-89732-957-6.
  5. 1 2 Alaska Atlas & Gazetteer (7th ed.). Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. 2010. pp. 54&ndash, 55. ISBN   978-0-89933-289-5.
  6. 1 2 3 Limeres, Rene; Pedersen, Gunnar; et al. (2005). Alaska Fishing: The Ultimate Angler's Guide (3rd ed.). Roseville, California: Publishers Design Group. p. 248. ISBN   1-929170-11-4.
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