Noatak River

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Noatak River
The Noatak River near its mouth south of Noatak

The Noatak River near its mouth south of Noatak

Data
Water code US :  1418960
location Alaska (USA)
River system Noatak River
Headwaters on Mount Igikpak in the Schwatka Mountains ( Brooks range )
67 ° 22 ′ 44 ″  N , 154 ° 53 ′ 37 ″  W
Source height approx.  1300  m
muzzle Kotzebue-Sund , north of Kotzebue coordinates: 66 ° 58 '53 "  N , 162 ° 30' 23"  W 66 ° 58 '53 "  N , 162 ° 30' 23"  W
Mouth height 0  m
Height difference approx. 1300 m
Bottom slope approx. 1.9 ‰
length 675 km
Catchment area 31,080 km² (near Noatak)
Discharge at the Noatak
A Eo gauge: 31,080 km²
Location: 105 km above the mouth 		MQ 1966/1966
Mq 1966/1966
 		258 m³ / s
8.3 l / (s km²)
Left tributaries Cutler River , Eli River , Agashashok River
Right tributaries Aniuk River , Anisak River , Nimiuktuk River , Kugururok River , Kelly River
Communities Noatak
Upper course of the Noatak River in the Brook range

Upper course of the Noatak River in the Brook range

The Noatak River is a 675 km long river in northwestern Alaska .

It rises on the slopes of Mount Igikpak in the Schwatka Mountains of the Brooks range in the Gates-of-the-Arctic National Park and flows north of Kotzebue at the exit of Hotham Inlet into Kotzebue Sound , a bay of the Chukchi Sea .

Most of the river's course lies in the Noatak National Preserve , the area of ​​which corresponds to the catchment area of the river west of the national park. The Noatak River flows through these two protected areas except for the last few kilometers before its mouth. Parts of the catchment area at Kotzebue Sound, but not the river itself, are in the Cape Krusenstern National Monument . At 26,300 km², the Noatak River catchment area is the largest protected river system in the United States .

Protection status

In 1976 UNESCO designated the Noatak Biosphere Reserve . On December 2, 1980, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act declared 530 km from the source of the Noatak River to the mouth of the Kelly River in the Noatak National Preserve to be a National Wild and Scenic River under the administration of the National Park Service .

Flora and fauna

Caribou crossing the Noatak River

The vegetation at Noatak is determined by tundra and boreal coniferous forest in the river plains and alpine tundra with willows , heather , sour grass and mosses in the adjacent high areas. Cotton grasses , dwarf birches and alders can be found in the damp mountain foothills . Spruce forests are common throughout the region.

Caribou , elk , dall sheep , grizzly bears , wolves , foxes , lynxes , martens , beavers and muskrats live on the Noatak River. In the river itself and its tributaries there are large populations of arctic char and arctic grayling .

Web links

Commons : Noatak River  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Noatak River in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
  2. ↑ a b USGS 15746000 NOATAK R AT NOATAK AK
  3. ↑ National Wild & Scenic Rivers - Noatak River ( Memento from April 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive )