Klehini River

Last updated
Klehini River
Klehini River.JPG
Near mile 27 of the Haines Highway
Relief map of USA Alaska.png
Red pog.svg
Location of the mouth of the Klehini River in Alaska
Location
Country Canada, United States
Physical characteristics
Sourceunnamed glacier
  locationNadahini Mountain, British Columbia
Mouth Chilkat River
  location
opposite Klukwan, 22 miles (35 km) west of Skagway, Saint Elias Mountains, Alaska
  coordinates
59°24′42″N135°55′48″W / 59.41167°N 135.93000°W / 59.41167; -135.93000 [1]
  elevation
112 ft (34 m) [1]
Length42 mi (68 km) [2]

The Klehini River is a large, glacially fed stream in the vicinity of Haines in the U.S. state of Alaska.

Contents

The Klehini River is about 42 miles (68 km) long from its source in British Columbia to its mouth at the Chilkat River, [2] of which it is the largest tributary. The Klehini River is renowned for its salmon runs, its biannual congregation of bald eagles the second largest in the Haines area after the Chilkat River's Council Groundsand for the Klehini Falls. The Klehini also delineates the northern boundary of the Chilkat Range.

The name Klehini appears to be derived from the Tlingit phrase l’éiw héeni, which translates to river with sand or gravel in it. [3] The Klehini River contains abundances of both sand and gravel.

The lower Klehini is located within the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve.

Walt Disney's 1991 rendition of White Fang was filmed along the Klehini River.

Klehini Falls

Uppermost cataract of Klehini Falls Klehini falls.jpg
Uppermost cataract of Klehini Falls

The Klehini Falls are a series of four cataracts in far northwestern British Columbia occurring in a narrow gorge near the headwaters of the Klehini River. The falls are separated from one another by a distance of approximately 300 feet (91 m), with an average plunge of 30 to 40 feet (9.1 to 12.2 m). The individual cataracts are currently unnamed.

Threats

The Klehini and Chilkat Rivers were listed among America's Most Endangered Rivers in 2023 due to threats from the Palmer Project, a proposed underground copper and zinc mine sited upstream from the Tlingit village of Klukwan. If built, the project is feared to result in pollution from acidic wastewater laced with heavy metals and hydrocarbons. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tlingit</span> Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America

The Tlingit or Lingít are Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America and constitute two of the 231 federally recognized Tribes of Alaska. Although the majority, about 14,000 people, are Alaska Natives, there is a small minority, 2,110, who are Canadian First Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haines, Alaska</span> Home Rule Borough in Alaska, United States

Haines is a census-designated place located in Haines Borough, Alaska, United States. It is in the northern part of the Alaska Panhandle and near Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. As of the 2020 census, the population of the Haines CDP was 1,657, down from 1,713 in 2010; it has 79.6% of Haines Borough's total population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mosquito Lake, Alaska</span> Census-designated place in Alaska, United States

Mosquito Lake is a census-designated place (CDP) in Haines Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 309, up from 221 at the 2000 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Klukwan, Alaska</span> Census-designated place in Alaska, United States

Klukwan is a census-designated place (CDP) in Alaska, United States. It is technically in Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, though it is an enclave of Haines Borough. At the 2010 census the population was 95, down from 139 at the 2000 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Admiralty Island</span> Island in southeast Alaska, US

Admiralty Island is an island in the Alexander Archipelago in Southeast Alaska, at 57°44′N134°20′W. It is 145 km (90 mi) long and 56 km (35 mi) wide with an area of 4,264.1 km2 (1,646.4 sq mi), making it the seventh-largest island in the United States and the 132nd largest island in the world. It is one of the ABC islands in Alaska. The island is nearly cut in two by the Seymour Canal; to its east is the long, narrow Glass Peninsula. Most of Admiralty Island—955,747 acres (3,868 km2)—is protected as the Admiralty Island National Monument administered by the Tongass National Forest. The Kootznoowoo Wilderness encompasses vast stands of old-growth temperate rainforest. These forests provide some of the best habitat available to species such as brown bears, bald eagles, and Sitka black-tailed deer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynn Canal</span> Natural inlet in Alaska Panhandle, US

Lynn Canal is an inlet into the mainland of southeast Alaska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chilkat River</span> River in Canada, United States

The Chilkat River is a river in British Columbia and southeastern Alaska that flows southward from the Coast Range to the Chilkat Inlet and ultimately Lynn Canal. It is 84 kilometres (52 mi) long. It begins at Chilkat Glacier, in Alaska, flows west and south in British Columbia for 27 kilometres (17 mi), enters Alaska and continues southwest for another 60 kilometres (37 mi). It reaches the ocean at the abandoned area of Wells, Alaska and deposits into a long delta area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haines Highway</span> Highway in Alaska and Yukon Territory

The Haines Highway or Haines Cut-Off is a highway that connects Haines, Alaska, in the United States, with Haines Junction, Yukon, Canada, passing through the province of British Columbia. It follows the route of the old Dalton Trail from the port of Haines inland for about 180 km (110 mi) to Klukshu, Yukon, and then continues to Haines Junction. The highway is about 244 km (152 mi) long, of which 72 km (45 mi) is in Alaska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chilkat Range</span> Mountain range in Haines Borough, Alaska

The Chilkat Range is a mountain range in Haines Borough and the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska, west of the city of Juneau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taku River</span> River in Canada, United States

The Taku River is a river running from British Columbia, Canada, to the northwestern coast of North America, at Juneau, Alaska. The river basin spreads across 27,500 square kilometres (10,600 sq mi). The Taku is a very productive salmon river and its drainage basin is primarily wilderness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park</span> Provincial park in the Stikine Region of British Columbia, Canada

Tatshenshini-Alsek Park or Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Wilderness Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. The park is 9,580 km2 (3,700 sq mi) in size. It was established in 1993 after an intensive campaign by Canadian and American conservation organizations to halt mining exploration and development in the area, and protect the area for its strong natural heritage and biodiversity values.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boundary Ranges</span> Subrange of the Coast Mountains in Alaska, British Columbia, and Yukon

The Boundary Ranges, also known in the singular and as the Alaska Boundary Range, are the largest and most northerly subrange of the Coast Mountains. They begin at the Nass River, near the southern end of the Alaska Panhandle in the Canadian province of British Columbia and run to the Kelsall River, near the Chilkoot Pass, beyond which are the Alsek Ranges of the Saint Elias Mountains, and northwards into the Yukon Territory flanking the west side of the Yukon River drainage as far as Champagne Pass, north of which being the Yukon Ranges. To their east are the Skeena Mountains and Stikine Plateau of the Interior Mountains complex that lies northwest of the Interior Plateau; the immediately adjoining subregion of the Stikine Plateau is the Tahltan Highland. To their northeast is the Tagish Highland, which is a subregion of the Yukon Plateau. Both highlands are considered in some descriptions as included in the Coast Mountains. The Alexander Archipelago lies offshore and is entirely within Alaska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chilkat Pass</span>

The Chilkat Pass is a mountain pass on the border of Alaska, United States, and the province of British Columbia, Canada, at the divide between the Klehini (S) and Kelsall Rivers just northwest of Haines, Alaska. At an elevation of 3510 ft, it is used by the Haines Highway and was the route used by the Dalton Trail during the days of the Klondike Gold Rush. It also marks the boundary between the Coast Mountains and Saint Elias Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve</span>

The Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve is a state park and wildlife refuge in the U.S. state of Alaska near Haines. Established in 1982, the park covers 49,320 acres (199.6 km2), mainly along the Chilkat River, with sections along the Klehini and Tsirku rivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatshenshini River</span> River in Canada

The Tatshenshini River is a river in the Canadian boreal forest, in the southwestern Yukon and the northwestern corner of British Columbia. It originates in British Columbia, near Haines Highway. It flows north into Yukon, then it turns west and south before it returns into British Columbia, where it flows through the Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Wilderness Park. There it joins the Alsek River, which then flows into the Pacific Ocean in Alaska, United States. It is popular for wilderness rafting trips.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsirku River</span> River in Alaska, United States

The Tsirku River is a glacier-fed stream in Southeast Alaska near the town of Haines in the U.S. state of Alaska. The river's source is found at the Tsirku Glacier, a large, sprawling ice mass at the border of Alaska and the Canadian province of British Columbia. The river ends in a 4-mile (6 km) wide delta near the Tlingit village of Klukwan. While many of the feeding glaciers are primarily in British Columbia, the river course lies entirely in Alaska.

Chilkat or The Chilkat, or Chilkats, may refer to:

<i>Gold Rush: White Water</i> American television series

Gold Rush: White Water is a reality television series that airs on the Discovery Channel. A spin-off of Gold Rush, the series follows placer gold miners "Dakota" Fred Hurt and his son Dustin Hurt, returning to the wilderness of Haines Borough, Alaska, seeking their fortune by suction dredge diving within its raging whitewater creeks. The series debuted in 2018, and eight seasons have been aired through mid-2024.

Lani Hotch, also known as Saantaas', Sekwooneitl and Xhaatooch, is a Native American artist of Tlingit ancestry known for being a contemporary Chilkat weaver who uses Ravenstail weaving in her works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chilkat State Park</span> State park in Alaska, United States

Chilkat State Park is a 9,837-acre Alaska state park on a peninsula south of the town of Haines, Alaska between the Chilkat and Chilkoot inlets. Remote and known for the steep 14% grade gravel access road, the park offers campsites with minimal amenities and is open to fishing, hiking, boating, sea kayaking, and sightseeing. The campground is closed from October to mid-May due to winter concerns.

References

  1. 1 2 "Klehini River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. January 1, 2000. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  2. 1 2 Orth, Donald J.; United States Geological Survey (1971) [1967]. Dictionary of Alaska Place Names: Geological Survey Professional Paper 567 (PDF). United States Government Printing Office. p. 530. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  3. See, Edwards, Keri (2009). Dictionary of Tlingit (PDF). Sealaska Heritage Institute. pp. 16 (possessive suffix –[y]i), 118 (héen), 187 (l’éiw). ISBN   978-0-9825786-6-7 . Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  4. Rosen, Yereth (19 April 2023). "Looming mine development puts Southeast's Chilkat-Klehini system on list of endangered rivers". Alaska Beacon. Retrieved 8 August 2023.