The Kuskokwim River (Kusquqvak in Central Yup'ik) is a river, approximately 724 mi (1,165 km) long, in southwest Alaska in the United States. It provides the principal drainage for an area of the remote Alaska Interior on the north and west side of the Alaska Range, flowing southwest into Kuskokwim Bay on the Bering Sea. Except for its headwaters in the mountains, the river is broad and flat for it's entire course, making it a useful transportation route for many types of watercraft. It is the longest free flowing river in the United States. The Yupik (Yupik/Юпик) people speak several distinct languages, depending on their location. ... Official language(s) English Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Area  Ranked 1st  - Total 663,267 sq mi (1,717,855 km²)  - Width 808 miles (1,300 km)  - Length 1,479 miles (2,380 km)  - % water 13. ... Fall in Interior Alaska The interior of Alaska makes up most of the state. ... View of Denali, the centre piece of the Alaska range, on a rare clear day . The Alaska Range is a mountain range that extends for about 650 km (400 mi) across south-central Alaska, from Iliamna Lake at the SW end to White River in Canada at the SE end. ... Kuskokwim Bay is a bay in southwestern Alaska, at about 59°30 North 162°30 West. ... Satellite photo of the Bering Sea Bering Sea and the North Pacific Ocean Bearing Sea with Kamchatka Peninsula and Alaska The Bering (or Imarpik) Sea is a body of water north of, and separated from, the north Pacific Ocean by the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands. ...

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. The Yupik (Yupik/Юпик) people speak several distinct languages, depending on their location. ...

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 of Mount Gerdine and flows NNW through the mountains, past Nikolai, and receiving other headstreams that descends from the Alaska Range northwest of Mount 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. The Kuskokwim Mountains is a range of mountains in southwestern Alaska west of the Alaska Range and southeast of the Yukon River, at about 61°00 North 155°00 West. ... Fairbanks (IPA: ) is a Home Rule City in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. ... Nikolai is a city located in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska. ... Denali redirects here. ... Medfra is an unincorporated village located in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska. ... McGrath is a city located in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska. ...

In southwest Alaska in emerges from the Kuskokwim Mountains in a vast lake-studded alluvial plain south of the Yukon River, surrounded by vast spruce forests. It passes a series of Eskimo 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 the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. An alluvial plain is a relatively flat and gently sloping landform found at the base of a range of hills. ... The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. ... Species About 35; see text. ... Distribution of Inuit language variants across the Arctic. ... Aniak is a city located in Bethel Census Area, Alaska. ... Bethel is a city located in Bethel Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska, 340 miles (540 km) west of Anchorage. ... Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge Map The Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge covering about 19 million acres (77,000 km²) in southwestern Alaska. ...

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 the Eek River from the east at Eek near its mouth on Kuskokwim Bay. The Swift River is a river in Alaska. ... The Stony River is a river in southwest Alaska. ... The Holitna River is a river in Alaska. ... The Aniak River is a river in Alaska. ... Eek is a city in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. ...

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 of gold along the upper river in 1898 led to the Placer Gold Rush in the early 20th century. The total production of gold through 1959 was 640,084 troy ounces (19,909 kg)^{[citation needed]}. The primary route of the Iditarod Trail crossed the upper river at McGrath. An Alberta fur trader in the 1890s. ... Illustration of a male Coho Salmon The Chinook or King Salmon is the largest salmon in North America and can grow to 1. ... General Name, Symbol, Number gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 6, d Appearance metallic yellow Atomic mass 196. ... 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Iditarod Trail is the name for several trails in Alaska. ...

See also

• List of Alaska rivers

This is a partial list of rivers in the U.S. state of Alaska. ...

External links

• Aniak, Alaska
• Iditarod National Historic Trail