The Sheenjek River is a tributary of the

Porcupine River The Porcupine River (''Ch’ôonjik'' in Gwich’in) is a tributary of the Yukon River in Canada and the United States. It rises in the Ogilvie Mountains north of Dawson City, Yukon, Canada. From there it flows north through the community of ...

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.S. ...

. It begins in the eastern part of the

Brooks Range The Brooks Range ( Gwich'in: ''Gwazhał'') is a mountain range in far northern North America stretching some from west to east across northern Alaska into Canada's Yukon Territory. Reaching a peak elevation of on Mount Isto, the range is belie ...

and flows southward to meet the larger river northeast of

Fort Yukon Fort Yukon (''Gwichyaa Zheh'' in Gwich'in) is a city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska, straddling the Arctic Circle. The population, predominantly Gwich'in Alaska Natives, was 583 at the 2010 census, down from 595 ...

. Its name derives from the Gwich'in word "khiinjik," meaning " dog-salmon river"." Explorer J.H. Turner called it the Salmon River. In the United States, the geographic location most remote from human trails, roads, or settlements is found here, at the headwaters of the Sheenjek River.

Boating

The Sheenjek is suitable for boating by wide variety of watercraft between June and late September. The upper river is rated mostly Class II (medium) on the International Scale of River Difficulty, while the lower half of the river is Class I (easy). However, just after rainstorms, the river can suddenly rise and become more difficult. Dangers on the upper river include shallow, extremely braided channels, and

aufeis Aufeis, ( ), (German for "ice on top") is a sheet-like mass of layered ice that forms from successive flows of ground or river water during freezing temperatures. This form of ice is also called overflow, icings, or the Russian term, naled. The t ...

. Overhanging vegetation and submerged logs pose risks along the entire course, as do bears along the lower reaches in late summer and early fall.

References

{{authority control Rivers of North Slope Borough, Alaska Rivers of Alaska Rivers of Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska Brooks Range Tributaries of the Yukon River Rivers of Unorganized Borough, Alaska Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States

Boating

See also

References