Killik River

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2007)

The Killik River, which has its headwaters in the northern portion of Gates of the Arctic National Park, is a river on the North Slope of the central Brooks Range in Alaska.^[1] The Killik is a tributary of the Colville River, with which it merges south of Angoyavik Pass. It arises in the Endicott Mountains, in the vicinity of Survey Pass at about N 67° 46.5', and flows through a broad, U-shaped valley. The direction of flow initially is to the northwest, then bending approximately 90° to the northeast before heading generally north at about N 68° 56' and W 154° 12'. North of the Park boundary the river's course runs through the foothills of the Brooks Range and on to the coastal plain.

Major tributaries of the Killik are April Creek and Easter Creek, both of which approach the Killik from the southeast. North of Easter Creek, tributary streams, such as Aniakvik Creek and Nigaktukvik Creek, flow predominantly through short, narrow, V-shaped valleys. Numerous changes of the river's course within this valley have left behind a large number of lakes, as well as gravelbars and sandbars. The tundra in the Killik valley appears to be dominated by copious stretches of dwarf birch (betula nana), and sedges, with large expanses of sedge bogs and tussocks.

The Killik is fed largely by precipitation and snow melt, and hence its waters are relatively clear of the sediment that characterizes glacial streams.