Information About

Chandalar River

Chandalar River

Quick Facts
Region:
  • Yukon-Koyukuk (CA)
Nearest City:
Tributary to:
Length:
  • 100 mi (160.93 km)
Elevation:
  • 387 ft (117.96 m)
Tributaries:
Wildlife:
About

approx. 660 mi. long; heads in the Brooks Range on Bureau of Land Management land 6.4 mi. NE of Atigun Pass, 22 mi. WSW of the source of Your Creek at 68°10’59”N, 149°16’07”W, flows generally S and then SE along the boundary of and into Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge to enter the Yukon River 0.4 mi. downstream of Venetie Landing; Tps21-27N, Rgs8-1E and Tps26-37N, Rgs1-8W, Fairbanks Meridian and Tps16-14S, Rgs12&13E, Umiat Meridian

History of Chandalar River

The name is the traditional Gwich’in name for the feature and means “Luminous River,” “Shimmering River,” or “Light Amid the Waters River”. The former name, Chandalar River, derived from the name given to the Kutchin Indians along this stream by the French employees of the Hudson's Bay Company located at Fort Yukon. The French name was "Gens de Large," or "nomadic people," which, when written in English from its local pronunciation evolved into "Chandalar." Early U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) field notes spelled the name "Chand-da-larg." C. W. Raymond, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, recorded the stream's Indian name as "Achenchik" in 1869.