Nushagak River
Encyclopedia
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
in southwest 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...
, USA. It begins in the Alaska Range
Alaska Range
The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 650-km-long mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest end to the White River in Canada's Yukon Territory in the southeast...
and flows southwest 450 km (279.6 mi) to Nushagak Bay, an inlet of Bristol Bay
Bristol Bay
Bristol Bay is the eastern-most arm of the Bering Sea, at 57° to 59° North 157° to 162° West in Southwest Alaska. Bristol Bay is 400 km long and 290 km, wide at its mouth...
, east of Dillingham, Alaska
Dillingham, Alaska
- Natural resources :Dillingham was once known as the Pacific salmon capital of the world and commercial fishing remains an important part of the local economy...
.
The Mulchatna River
Mulchatna River
The Mulchatna River is a river in Alaska.The Mulchatna River is located in Southwest Alaska. Its headwaters are in Turquoise Lake, in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. The 24 miles of the river within the park are designated as a National Wild and Scenic River. Aside from scattered cabins,...
is a major tributary. Other navigable tributaries include the Nuyakuk River
Nuyakuk River
The Nuyakuk River is a river in southwestern Alaska. From its source at Nuyakuk Lake in Wood-Tikchik State Park it flows eastward into the larger Nushagak River....
and the King Salmon River
King Salmon River (Nushagak River)
The King Salmon River is a tributary of the Nushagak River, in southwest Alaska.It flows eastward from headwaters at a small unnamed lake in the Taylor Mountains to its confluence with the Nushagak River approximately north of Nushagak Bay....
.
Jet-boats are commonly used to access these tributaries and the upper Nushagak. The Iowithla River and the Kokwok River are smaller tributaries.
The villages of Portage Creek
Portage Creek, Alaska
Portage Creek is a census-designated place in Dillingham Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 2 at the 2010 Census.-Geography:Portage Creek is located at ....
, Ekwok
Ekwok, Alaska
Ekwok is a city in Dillingham Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 130.-Geography:Ekwok is located at ....
, Koliganek
Koliganek, Alaska
Koliganek is a census-designated place in Dillingham Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 182.-Geography:Koliganek is located at ....
and New Stuyahok
New Stuyahok, Alaska
New Stuyahok is a city in Dillingham Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 471.-Geography:New Stuyahok is located at ....
are on the river. The town of Dillingham
Dillingham, Alaska
- Natural resources :Dillingham was once known as the Pacific salmon capital of the world and commercial fishing remains an important part of the local economy...
(Pop. 2,466) is on Nushagak Bay
Nushagak Bay
Nushagak Bay is a large estuary covering over 100 km2 in southwest part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It opens to Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the eastern Bering Sea north of the Alaska Peninsula....
.
The Nushagak River is downstream of the proposed Pebble Mine
Pebble Mine
Pebble Mine is the common name of an advanced mineral exploration project investigating a very large porphyry copper, gold, and molybdenum mineral deposit in the Bristol Bay region of Southwest Alaska, near Lake Iliamna and Lake Clark. The proposal to mine the ore deposit, using large-scale...
, whose tailings storage lake would sit at the headwaters of the Koktuli River, one of the Nushagak's tributaries. Villages on the Nushagak are among the major opponents of the proposal.
All five species of Pacific 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...
(Chinook, Coho, Sockeye, Chum and Pink) spawn in the river or its tributaries. Commercial, subsistence and sport fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
are important in the area. Most notable is the annual run of King (Chinook) Salmon which occurs from mid-June to mid-July. Rainbow trout, northern pike, grayling, burbot, whitefish and arctic char are also present in the Nushagak.