The Andreafsky River (

Yup'ik The Yup'ik or Yupiaq (sg & pl) and Yupiit or Yupiat (pl), also Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Central Yup'ik, Alaskan Yup'ik ( own name ''Yup'ik'' sg ''Yupiik'' dual ''Yupiit'' pl; russian: Юпики центральной Аляски), are an I ...

: ''Negeqliq'') is a tributary of the

Yukon River The Yukon River ( Gwich'in: ''Ųųg Han'' or ''Yuk Han'', Yup'ik: ''Kuigpak'', Inupiaq: ''Kuukpak'', Deg Xinag: ''Yeqin'', Hän: ''Tth'echù'' or ''Chuu k'onn'', Southern Tutchone: Chu Nìikwän, russian: Юкон, Yukon) is a major watercour ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...

. The Andreafsky flows south from near Iprugalet Mountain in the

Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge The Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge covering about in southwestern Alaska. It is the second-largest National Wildlife Refuge in the country, only slightly smaller than the Arctic National Wildlife R ...

to meet the larger river at Pitkas Point, near the village of St. Mary's. In 1980, the Andreafsky and the East Fork Andreafsky rivers became part of the

National Wild and Scenic Rivers System The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free- ...

. The designation covers about 265

river mile A river mile is a measure of distance in miles along a river from its mouth. River mile numbers begin at zero and increase further upstream. The corresponding metric unit using kilometers is the river kilometer. They are analogous to vehicle ro ...

s (RM) or 426 river kilometers (RK) along the two streams and their headwaters. About 198 RM (319 RK) of these flow through the Yukon Delta Wilderness; 54 RM (87 RK) cross private lands, and 13 RM (21 RK) flow through a wild-river corridor within non-wilderness refuge lands.

Flora and fauna

Black spruce ''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories. It is the official tree of the province of Newfoundland and Lab ...

and white spruce, balsam poplar, and large

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

s dominate the land near the rivers, while

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

shrubs, mosses,

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mou ...

at higher elevations in the watershed. Wildlife includes foxes, beavers, bald eagles, golden eagles, falcons, hawks, owls, geese, and large populations of

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is k ...

s. Bristle-thighed curlews have one of their main nesting grounds in the upstream (Nulato Hills) portion of the wilderness. Grayling,

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus '' Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Onco ...

, and Dolly Varden trout are found in both rivers.

Boating

The Andreasky is suitable for boating by small raft, folding canoe or kayak, or inflatable canoe or kayak for of its length, and the East Fork is similarly suitable for . Both rivers are rated Class I (easy) on the International Scale of River Difficulty. The put-in places on the upper rivers are remote and difficult to reach, either by hired boat out of St. Mary's or an air taxi that can land on gravel bars. Dangers include bears. Neither river is ice-free until June 1 or later. Water levels fluctuate after that: high in June, low in July, high again by mid-August, and usually floatable throughout September.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Nome Census Area, Alaska Rivers of Alaska Rivers of Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States Tributaries of the Yukon River Rivers of Unorganized Borough, Alaska

Flora and fauna

Boating

See also

References