Selawik River

Selawik River
Flowing through the Selawik National Wildlife Refuge
Location of the mouth of the Selawik River in Alaska
Native name	Siiḷivium Kuuŋa (Inupiaq)
Location
Country	United States
State	Alaska
District	Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Northwest Arctic Borough
Physical characteristics
Source	Purcell Mountains
• location	Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area
• coordinates	66°16′52″N 156°50′51″W[1]
• elevation	1,825 ft (556 m)[2]
Mouth	Selawik Lake
• location	8 miles (13 km) north of Selawik, Northwest Arctic Borough
• coordinates	66°36′06″N 160°19′47″W[1]
• elevation	0 ft (0 m)[1]
Length	140 mi (230 km)[3]
National Wild and Scenic River
Type	Wild 168.0 miles (270.4 km)
Designated	December 2, 1980[4]

The Selawik River (Iñupiaq: Siiḷivium Kuuŋa; Koyukon: Nozaatne) is a stream, 140 miles (230 km) long, in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Alaska.^[3] Originating in the Purcell Mountains near the Zane Hills, it flows generally west through the Selawik National Wildlife Refuge to Selawik Lake, which empties into the Kotzebue Sound in the Chukchi Sea.^[5] The river is approximately at the latitude of the Arctic Circle.^[5]

The village of Selawik is along the river near its mouth.^[5] The river is used for subsistence fishing by residents and for rafting and sport fishing by tourists.

See also

• List of rivers of Alaska

References

1. "Selawik River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. March 23, 2001. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
2. Derived by entering source coordinates in Google Earth.
3. Orth, Donald J.; United States Geological Survey (1971) [1967]. Dictionary of Alaska Place Names: Geological Survey Professional Paper 567 (PDF). United States Government Printing Office. p. 852. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
4. "National Wild and Scenic Rivers System". rivers.gov. National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
5. Alaska Atlas & Gazetteer (7th ed.). Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. 2010. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-89933-289-5.