The Kvichak River (Yup'ik: Kuicaraq[4]) is a large river, about 50 miles (80 km) long, in southwestern Alaska in the United States.[3] It flows southwest from Lake Iliamna to Kvichak Bay, an arm of Bristol Bay, on the Alaska Peninsula.[5] The communities of Igiugig and Levelock lie along the Kvichak River.[5] The Kvichak is navigable along its entire length, and is used as a short cut by boats getting between Cook Inlet and Bristol Bay via the Lake Iliamna portage.

Kvichak River
Kvichak River
Location of the mouth of the Kvichak River in Alaska
Etymology	small river
Native name	Kuicaraq  (Central Yupik)
Location
Country	United States
State	Alaska
Borough	Lake and Peninsula, Bristol Bay
Physical characteristics
Source	Iliamna Lake
• location	Lake and Peninsula
• coordinates	59°19′51″N 155°52′56″W[1]
• elevation	46 ft (14 m)[2]
Mouth	Kvichak Bay
• location	9 miles (14 km) north of Naknek, Bristol Bay, Alaska Peninsula
• coordinates	58°52′50″N 157°02′14″W[1]
• elevation	0 ft (0 m)[1]
Length	50 mi (80 km)[3]
Basin size	16,830 km2 (6,500 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	503 m3/s (17,800 cu ft/s)

The Kvichak River is home to the largest red salmon run in the world. Commercial harvests are worth hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars annually.

The Kvichak River is part of the watershed downstream of the proposed Pebble Mine.

Historically, the river was navigated and subsistence fished by local Alaska Natives. The name of the river means from- or up to- great water, a reference to Iliamna Lake, Alaska's largest freshwater lake.

The Kvichak River was a finalist for the 2017 Riverprize Award for being one of the best-managed and sustainable rivers in the world.[6]

See also

• List of rivers of Alaska

References

External links

• Kvichak River Photos
• Wildlife of the Kvichak and Nushagak watersheds – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

На других языках

[de] Kvichak River

[ru] Квичак