Koyukuk River

Koyukuk was derived from the Central Yup'ik phrase kuik-yuk, meaning a river. The Koyukuk River was given this generic Central Yup'ik name by Russian explorer Petr Vasilii Malakhov, because he did not know the local Koyukon name for it (i.e., Ooghekuhno). The Western Union Telegraph Expedition used the spelling of Coyukuk before the United States Board on Geographic Names settled on Koyukuk. == History ==

The Russian Petr Vasilii Malakhov reached the river at its confluence with the Yukon in 1838. The United States acquired Alaska after the American Civil War, but it was 1885 before US representatives Lieutenant Henry Allen and Private Fred Fickett of the United States Army ascended and explored the river. The discovery of gold deposits by Johnnie Folger on the Middle Fork in 1893 on The Tramway bar led to a gold rush in 1898; trading posts and mining camps, including Bettles, were rapidly developed on the upper river. In 1929, Robert "Bob" Marshall explored the North Fork of the Koyukuk River, and identified what he called the Gates of the Arctic. In 1980 the United States Congress designated 100 mi (164 km) of the North Fork of the Koyukuk River in the Brooks Range as the Koyukuk Wild and Scenic River, which authorized certain levels of protection for the habitat. In 1994 the river flooded, sweeping away three villages, forcing the wholesale relocation of the population. ==Flora and fauna==

Vegetation along the Koyukuk River, sparse along the upper reaches, consists of tundra plants such as dwarf willows and other shrubs, sedges, and lichens. Further downstream at lower elevations, taiga and boreal forest plants are common except in the Koyukuk Flats near the mouth, where sedges and other herbaceous plants dominate the poorly drained muskeg. Trees found in more well-drained areas along the river include mountain alder, trembling aspen, white, and black spruce. Fish species frequenting the lower Koyukuk include Arctic lamprey and sockeye salmon. The sockeye and other salmon species, including Chinook and chum, also thrive along the upper reaches and tributaries. Through 2005, no one had published a study of invertebrates of the Koyukuk or its larger tributaries. General information included in a study related to pipeline construction through the watershed suggested the presence of a variety of true flies, midges, black flies, mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies. ==See also==

• Benke, Arthur C., ed., and Cushing, Colbert E., ed.; Bailey, Robert C. (2005). "Chapter 17: Yukon River Basin" in Rivers of North America. Burlington, Massachusetts: Elsevier Academic Press. . . ==External links==