The Utukok River is a 180 miles (289.7 km) long river

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 the North Slope Borough

North Slope Borough, Alaska

-National protected areas:* Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge ** Cape Lisburne** Cape Thompson* Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ** Mollie Beattie Wilderness * Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve...

 of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of 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...

 that flows into the Chukchi Sea

Chukchi Sea

Chukchi Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west by the De Long Strait, off Wrangel Island, and in the east by Point Barrow, Alaska, beyond which lies the Beaufort Sea. The Bering Strait forms its southernmost limit and connects it to the Bering Sea and the Pacific...

.

Rising at 68°34′00"N 161°06′00"W in the De Long Mountains at the confluence of Kogruk Creek and Tupik Creek and flowing north, northeast, and then northwest, to Kasegaluk Lagoon

Kasegaluk Lagoon

The Kasegaluk Lagoon is a coastal lagoon located in the western part of the North Slope of Alaska. It is separated from the Chukchi Sea by a series of long, thin barrier islands that stretch south and north-east from the town of Point Lay and westwards down to Icy Cape. There are seven passes...

 and the Arctic Ocean, 20 miles (32.2 km) southwest of Icy Cape, Arctic Plain.

History

"Utoqaq" is the Inuit name for "Icy Cape" and means "old" or "ancient." The name of the river appears to have been first mentioned by Lt. Zagoskin (1847, p. 74), IRN, when he referred to the Utukak-myut, or Utukak people, "on river of same name." Zagoskin received this information from Kashevarov, whose Creole guide, Utuktak, drew a map of the coast south of Point Barrow

Point Barrow

Point Barrow or Nuvuk is a headland on the Arctic coast in the U.S. state of Alaska, northeast of Barrow. It is the northernmost point of all the territory of the United States, at...

in 1838. The name was published in 1899 by USC&GS as "Ootokok River."