# Fortymile River

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River in United States, Canada

Fortymile River The Fortymile River in eastern Alaska Location of the mouth of the Fortymile River in Yukon Native name Ch'èdà Dëk (Hän) Location Countries United States Canada States/Territories Alaska Yukon Physical characteristics Source confluence of the river's North Fork and South Fork • location northwest of Chicken, Alaska, United States • coordinates 64°14′34″N 141°45′15″W / 64.24278°N 141.75417°W / 64.24278; -141.75417[2] • elevation 1,424 m (4,672 ft)[3] Mouth Yukon River • location Forty Mile, Yukon, Canada • coordinates 64°25′35″N 140°32′00″W / 64.42639°N 140.53333°W / 64.42639; -140.53333[1] • elevation 950 ft (290 m)[3] Length 60 mi (97 km)[2] Basin size 6,600 sq mi (17,000 km2)[4] National Wild and Scenic River Type Wild 179 miles (288 km) Scenic 203 miles (327 km) Recreational 10.0 miles (16.1 km) Designated December 2, 1980[5]

The **Fortymile River** is a 60-mile (97 km) tributary of the [Yukon River](/source/Yukon_River) in the U.S. state of [Alaska](/source/Alaska) and the Canadian territory of [Yukon](/source/Yukon_Territory).[2] Beginning at the confluence of its north and south forks in the [Southeast Fairbanks Census Area](/source/Southeast_Fairbanks_Census_Area%2C_Alaska), the Fortymile flows generally northeast into Canada to meet the larger river 32 miles (51 km) southeast of [Eagle, Alaska](/source/Eagle%2C_Alaska).[2]

## History

Prospectors named the river after gold was discovered there in 1886. The name reflected the distance of the [river mouth](/source/River_mouth) from [Fort Reliance](/source/Fort_Reliance), a former [Hudson's Bay Company](/source/Hudson's_Bay_Company) post upstream along the Yukon River.[2] Miners eventually extracted more than a half-million ounces of gold from the Fortymile watershed.[6] After the gold discovery, two [Alaska Commercial Company](/source/Alaska_Commercial_Company) traders, [Jack McQuesten](/source/Jack_McQuesten) and [Arthur Harper](/source/Arthur_Harper_(trader)), built a post at the mouth of the river.

Between 1968 and 1978, Cassiar Mining extracted about a million metric tons of [asbestos](/source/Asbestos) from three open pits along Clinton Creek, a tributary of lower Fortymile River in the Yukon.[7] After abandoning the site, the company went bankrupt in 1992, and the territorial and Canadian governments and others removed or buried mine wastes, stabilized the creek banks, and worked to partly restore the land.[7]

## Wild and scenic designation

In 1980, a total of 392 miles (631 km) of stream segments within the Alaska portion of the Fortymile River watershed were added to the [National Wild and Scenic Rivers System](/source/National_Wild_and_Scenic_Rivers_System) of the United States.[8] This included 179 miles (288 km) designated "wild", 203 miles (327 km) called "scenic", and 10 miles (16 km) designated "recreational".[8]

The [Bureau of Land Management](/source/Bureau_of_Land_Management) oversees the Fortymile Wild and Scenic River, accessible via the [Taylor Highway](/source/Taylor_Highway) in Alaska as well the Clinton Creek Road branching off from the [Top of the World Highway](/source/Top_of_the_World_Highway) in the Yukon Territory. Float trips, camping, and sightseeing are among the recreational possibilities in the watershed.[9]

## Climate

Climate data for Fortymile River, Alaska, 2005–2017 normals: 1252ft (382m) Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °F (°C) 30 (−1) 47 (8) 59 (15) 71 (22) 87 (31) 94 (34) 93 (34) 90 (32) 76 (24) 59 (15) 33 (1) 31 (−1) 94 (34) Mean maximum °F (°C) 15.6 (−9.1) 28.7 (−1.8) 48.4 (9.1) 59.5 (15.3) 78.4 (25.8) 83.9 (28.8) 84.5 (29.2) 82.9 (28.3) 68.8 (20.4) 50.5 (10.3) 22.6 (−5.2) 17.6 (−8.0) 86.8 (30.4) Mean daily maximum °F (°C) −6.3 (−21.3) 3.8 (−15.7) 23.7 (−4.6) 47.2 (8.4) 61.7 (16.5) 71.3 (21.8) 72.4 (22.4) 68.2 (20.1) 55.8 (13.2) 31.8 (−0.1) 2.7 (−16.3) −2.8 (−19.3) 35.8 (2.1) Daily mean °F (°C) −14.3 (−25.7) −8.4 (−22.4) 3.5 (−15.8) 30.3 (−0.9) 46.3 (7.9) 56.1 (13.4) 58.6 (14.8) 54.1 (12.3) 43.3 (6.3) 23.2 (−4.9) −5.0 (−20.6) −10.6 (−23.7) 23.1 (−4.9) Mean daily minimum °F (°C) −22.4 (−30.2) −20.6 (−29.2) −16.7 (−27.1) 13.4 (−10.3) 31.0 (−0.6) 40.9 (4.9) 44.8 (7.1) 40.0 (4.4) 30.8 (−0.7) 14.6 (−9.7) −12.7 (−24.8) −18.4 (−28.0) 10.4 (−12.0) Mean minimum °F (°C) −44.4 (−42.4) −41.2 (−40.7) −37.5 (−38.6) −4.5 (−20.3) 21.7 (−5.7) 31.2 (−0.4) 35.4 (1.9) 27.6 (−2.4) 18.4 (−7.6) −6.9 (−21.6) −32.8 (−36.0) −38.8 (−39.3) −47.2 (−44.0) Record low °F (°C) −64 (−53) −64 (−53) −63 (−53) −28 (−33) 14 (−10) 18 (−8) 22 (−6) 19 (−7) 4 (−16) −24 (−31) −50 (−46) −51 (−46) −64 (−53) Source: XMACIS2[10]

## Boating

The Fortymile River [main stem](/source/Main_stem) as well as the North Fork, South Fork, and other tributaries offer a variety of boating possibilities for experienced paddlers of rafts and kayaks, or experienced canoeists willing to [portage](/source/Portage) around difficult rapids. The many runnable segments vary from Class I (easy) on the [International Scale of River Difficulty](/source/International_Scale_of_River_Difficulty) to Class V (extremely difficult). In addition to rapids, dangers include overhanging or submerged vegetation and the high probability of confusing one bend in a stream with another—thus entering rapids disoriented and unprepared—without the aid of a map and compass.[4]

One of the watershed's hydrologic features, [the Kink](/source/The_Kink), is an artificial channel that is part of a Class V rapids on the North Fork. Mining interests blasted the channel through a ridge in 1904 in order to expose 3 miles (5 km) of the original riverbed for prospecting on dry land. The Kink is listed on the [National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places) as a significant engineering feat of the early 20th century.[4]

## See also

- [List of rivers of Alaska](/source/List_of_rivers_of_Alaska)

- [List of rivers of Yukon](/source/List_of_rivers_of_Yukon)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Fortymile River"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110608095359/http://geonames2.nrcan.gc.ca/cgi-bin/v9/sima_unique_v9?english%3FKACGL%3FC). [Natural Resources Canada](/source/Natural_Resources_Canada). Archived from [the original](http://geonames2.nrcan.gc.ca/cgi-bin/v9/sima_unique_v9?english?KACGL?C) on June 8, 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2010.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-gnis_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-gnis_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-gnis_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-gnis_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-gnis_2-4) ["Fortymile River"](https://edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/search/names/1402291). *Geographic Names Information System*. United States Geological Survey. March 31, 1981. Retrieved November 9, 2013.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Google_Earth_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Google_Earth_3-1) Derived by entering source coordinates in [Google Earth](/source/Google_Earth).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Alaska_River_Guide_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Alaska_River_Guide_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Alaska_River_Guide_4-2) Jettmar, Karen (2008) [1993]. *The Alaska River Guide: Canoeing, Kayaking, and Rafting in the Last Frontier* (3rd ed.). Birmingham, Alabama: Menasha Ridge Press. pp. 114–17. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-89732-957-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-89732-957-6).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["National Wild and Scenic Rivers System"](https://www.rivers.gov/). *rivers.gov*. National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Retrieved 2023-01-05.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["History and Natural Setting"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131109234430/http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/nlcs/fortymile_nwsr/history_and_natural.html). Bureau of Land Management. July 13, 2013. Archived from [the original](https://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/nlcs/fortymile_nwsr/history_and_natural.html) on November 9, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2013.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-asbestos_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-asbestos_7-1) Hurst, Sarah (June 19, 2005). ["Mining News: Worst Is Over at Yukon Asbestos Mine"](http://www.petroleumnews.com/pntruncate/407577605.shtml). *North of 60 Mining News*. **10** (25). Petroleum Newspapers of Alaska. Retrieved November 9, 2013.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-wild_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-wild_8-1) ["Fortymile River, Alaska"](https://www.rivers.gov/rivers/fortymile.php). National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Retrieved November 10, 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Fortymile River at a Glance"](https://web.archive.org/web/20161001150326/http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/nlcs/fortymile_nwsr/fortymile_at_a_glance.html). Bureau of Land Management. April 10, 2010. Archived from [the original](https://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/nlcs/fortymile_nwsr/fortymile_at_a_glance.html) on October 1, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-XMACIS2_10-0)** ["xmACIS"](https://xmacis.rcc-acis.org/). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved July 10, 2024.

## External links

- [Fortymile Wild and Scenic River](https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/alaska/fortymile-wsr) - BLM page

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Fortymile River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortymile_River) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortymile_River?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.