The Kasilof River or Ggasilatnu in the Dena'ina language is a river on the western Kenai Peninsula

Kenai Peninsula

The Kenai Peninsula is a large peninsula jutting from the southern coast of Alaska in the United States. The name Kenai is probably derived from Kenayskaya, the Russian name for Cook Inlet, which borders the peninsula to the west.-Geography:...

 in southern Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

. The name is an anglicization of Reka Kasilova, the name given to the river by early Russian settlers in the area. It begins at Tustumena Lake

Tustumena Lake

Tustumena Lake is a lake on the west side of the Kenai Peninsula in southcentral Alaska, near the town of Kasilof. The lake is long and up to wide and receives drainage from Tustumena Glacier. The outlet forms the headwaters of the Kasilof River. The lake and the area around it are known for...

 and flows northwest to Cook Inlet

Cook Inlet

Cook Inlet stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage....

 near Kasilof

Kasilof, Alaska

Kasilof is a census-designated place in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 549.-Geography:Kasilof is located at ....

. The upper section of the river is very swift, with several sections considered Class II whitewater, and underwater hazards are difficult to detect, due to the silt

Silt

Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...

y nature of the glacial runoff that comprises most of the river. The entire river has powerful currents and is very cold. There is public access to the lower section from the Sterling Highway

Sterling Highway

The Sterling Highway is a 142-mile highway in the Southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, leading from the Seward Highway at Tern Lake Junction, south of Anchorage, to Homer....

. Drift and bank fishing for salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

is popular on the lower Kasilof.