Yukon River

E32566

The Yukon River is a major waterway in northwestern North America that flows through Canada’s Yukon Territory and Alaska to the Bering Sea, historically significant for transportation, Indigenous cultures, and the Klondike Gold Rush.


Statements (51)
Predicate Object
instanceOf river
waterway
associatedEvent Klondike Gold Rush
basinArea over 328,000 square miles
over 850,000 square kilometers
basinCountry Canada
United States of America
borderFunction forms part of the border between Yukon and Alaska in some stretches
continent North America
country Canada
United States of America
culturalSignificance central to subsistence lifestyles of many Indigenous communities
dischargeLocation Bering Sea
drainageTo Pacific Ocean via Bering Sea
ecoregion boreal forest
subarctic
flowsThrough Alaska
Yukon Territory
freezeThawPattern breakup usually occurs in late spring
typically freezes in winter
hasTributary Koyukuk River
Pelly River
Porcupine River
Stewart River
Tanana River
White River
historicalSignificance important for Indigenous cultures of the region
key route during the Klondike Gold Rush
transportation route in northwestern North America
indigenousPeoplesAssociated Athabaskan peoples
Gwich’in
Yupik
length approximately 1,979 miles
approximately 3,185 kilometers
majorCityOnRiver Dawson City
Fairbanks
Whitehorse
majorSettlementOnRiver Fort Yukon
Galena
Nome region via coastal access
mouth Bering Sea
mouthLocation Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta
nameEtymology derived from a Gwich’in word often interpreted as "great river"
navigability navigable for large portions of its length in summer
source Llewellyn Glacier region
sourceCountry Canada
sourceRegion Northern British Columbia
supportsSpecies Pacific salmon
chinook salmon
chum salmon
coho salmon

Referenced by (18)

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