Yukon River, Yukon Territory, Canada; Whitewater Canoeing

The Yukon River is a major waterway bridging the U.S. and Canada in northwest North America. Over half of the Yukon River lies in Alaska, with most of the rest of this historic river flowing through Canada and serving as the basis for the name of the “Yukon Territory”. The Yukon River’s wide valley descends gently from the mountains of northern British Columbia, through the Yukon Territory and across Alaska to the Bering Sea. Boats can navigate all the way from the Alaskan coast to Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon Territory.

The Yukon River is one of three rivers that roughly tie as the 2nd longest river in North America at 2,300 miles (with the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers). Yukon means "great river" in Gwich'in. The river was called Kwiguk, or "large stream", in Yupik. The Lewes River is the former name of the upper course of the Yukon, from Marsh Lake to the confluence of the Pelly River at Fort Selkirk.

The Yukon River flows northwest extending 3,700 kilometres (2,300 miles) in length with the river emptying into the Bering Sea at the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. The source of the Yukon River is a stream fed by the Llewellyn Glacier at the south end of Atlin Lake. The Yukon River’s drainage area is more than 25% larger than Texas or Alberta and the river discharges 195 cubic kilometres of water per year.

History of the Yukon River
The valley of the Yukon River is believed by some anthropologists to have been the main immigration route for North America's first human inhabitants across a now-submerged isthmus joining present-day Alaska with Russia's Siberia.

Historically, the Yukon River was one of the principal means of transportation during the 1896–1903 Klondike Gold Rush and the Klondike Stampede of 1897. To move people and freight from Whitehorse to Dawson City, the White Pass Railway built a fleet of steam powered, sternwheeler boats. At their peak, about 200 sternwheelers were running on the Yukon River.

The White Pass and Yukon network of trains and sternwheeler riverboats continued to be the only practical way to move goods into the Yukon until World War II. Fearing an invasion of Alaska by their enemy, the Japanese, the United States then decided to build an inland road that would be safe from attack by warships. Thousands of Americans bulldozed a rough highway from northern Alberta, through the Yukon, into Alaska. The United States Army pushed the Alaska Highway into the Yukon in 1942, crossing the Yukon River at Whitehorse. The Yukon River continued to be the last waterway in North America whose riverside settlements depended on the proud sternwheelers. Once an all-weather highway linked Whitehorse and Dawson City in 1955, the riverboats were forced out of business.

Nahanni River Adventures, Nahanni offers exceptional expeditions by raft and canoe on the great rivers from Alaska to Nunavut including: South Nahanni River, Tatshenshini River, Alsek River, Firth River, Snake River, Wind River, Stikine River, Burnside River, Coppermine River, Horton River, Mountain River, Yukon River, Taku River, Gataga River and Sea Kayaking and whale watching at Point Adolphus, Alaska, over-looking Glacier Bay National Park.

Our expeditions encompass Nahanni National Park (South Nahanni River), Kluane National Park (Alsek River), Ivvavik National Park (Firth River), Glacier Bay National Park (Alsek River), Herschel Island Territorial Park (Firth River).

Nahanni River Adventures operates in Alaska (United States of America), Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and British Columbia (Canada).

Nahanni.com is the online presence of the company, Nahanni River Adventures Ltd.

Nahanni River Adventures works with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society to ensure the environmental integrity of our wild places.

Neil Hartling, founder of Nahanni River Adventures, is also the author of: Nahanni, River of Gold...River of Dreams. Alaska to Nunavut - The Great Rivers. Nahanni River Guide. These books may all be purchased through Nahanni.com.

Common misspellings of the name are Nahani, Nahannie, Nahanie, Nahoni, Nahonni.
Nahanni River Adventures.