Chilkoot River - Topography

Topography

The Chilkoot River near Haines has a short length of about 20 miles (32 km) from the source covering a watershed area of 100 square miles (260 km2). The source of the river is in the Takshanuk Mountains to the west and the Ferebee glacier and unnamed mountains to the east.

There are three stretches of the river from its source. These are: the "Upper Reach of the Chilkoot River" from the lake's mouth upstream to the glacier head, which is about 30 miles (48 km); the "Chilkoot Lake" fed by the upper reach of the river extends to about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) length followed by the "Chilkoot Lower reach", which is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) till it joins the Lynn Canal.

The Upper Chilkoot River originates from the glacier fields and flows in a southeasterly direction. It is a braided river and has a bed slope of 1 ft in 50 ft in the first 5 miles (8.0 km) stretch from the lake and about 1 ft in 100 ft in the balance reach of the river. The river is blocked with debris, rifles, log jams and boulders. Hence, the upper reach of the river is not navigable. The upstream reaches of the Chilkoot River and all other streams which flow into the lake are barred for fishing.

The Chilkoot Lake, which forms the middle stretch of the Chilkoot River, is marked on the quadrant map of the Skagway B 2 USGS in the Heines County at an altitude of 30 feet (9.1 m). The lake is about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long (3.6 miles is also mentioned in one source), and about 1 mile (1.6 km) in width and maximum depth of water in the lake is about 300 feet (91 m). It has been declared as navigable. The land around the lake (1,600 acres (650 ha)) is mostly under the control of the State. The lake area is generally windy. Canoes are the best form of boating facility for fishing on the lake as the shore line is considered difficult.

The lower reach of the Chilkoot River below the outlet from the Chilkoot Lake at 60°23′N 151°18′W / 60.383°N 151.3°W / 60.383; -151.3 is 1.5 miles (a figure of 1 mile (1.6 km) is also mentioned in some sources} long till it meets the Lynn Canal of the Chilkoot Inlet. The river runs in northwest-northeast direction and is really only a small stream. It has a width of about 3.6 yards (3.3 m) and has a depth of 2 feet (0.61 m) on an average. It is navigable up to about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) upstream of the Lynn Canal, extending to the fish and game weir site (established by the Department of Fish and Game to enumerate the fishes), when under the influence of tides. The river, in its first one eighth mile (below the lake) has formed a pool, and then flows through a number of rapids strewn with boulders covered with moss in some stretches and the remaining part is flat but with rocky bed. The estimated average discharge in the river varies widely from a minimum of 59 cubic feet (1.7 m3) per second in February to a maximum of 2,490 cubic feet (71 m3) per second in August.

The river, the recreation area on the southern shores of the Chilkoot Lake and the Lake are approached by road along the Lukat-Chilkoot River Roads, also popularly known as the 'Bear Highway', as brown bears frequent this road in search of Sockeye Salmon. The Chilkoot Lake and the Chilkoot River outlet are about 10 miles (16 km) away from the town of Haines. The river stretch is popular for coho fishing during September–October, pink salmon fishing during late July and August, and fish species of chum salmon, Dolly Varden and sockeye all through the year.