Kiwalik River facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kiwalik River |
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 Location of the mouth of the Kiwalik River in Alaska
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| Native name | Kee-wa-lik |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| Borough | Northwest Arctic |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source | Seward Peninsula near Granite Mountain 1,467 ft (447 m) 65°27′56″N 161°15′59″W / 65.46556°N 161.26639°W |
| River mouth | Spafarief Bay on Kotzebue Sound of the Chukchi Sea Mud Creek Channel near Candle 13 ft (4.0 m) 65°56′28″N 161°52′40″W / 65.94111°N 161.87778°W |
| Length | 58 mi (93 km) |
| Basin features | |
| Basin size | 800 sq mi (2,100 km2) |
The Kiwalik River is a stream located on the Seward Peninsula in Alaska, a state in the United States. It starts near Granite Mountain in the eastern part of the peninsula. The river then flows north into Kiwalik Lagoon, which is part of the Chukchi Sea.
The old mining town of Candle is found on the western side of the river. It sits where Candle Creek joins the Kiwalik River. This river basin is known for various minerals like gold, silver, lead, zinc, and tungsten.
Contents
River Name: What Does Kiwalik Mean?
The name "Kiwalik" comes from the Inuit people. Around 1880, the British Admiralty published a map (Chart 593) that spelled the name as "Kee-wa-lik."
Kiwalik River Geography
The Kiwalik River flows on the northern side of the Seward Peninsula. It begins in a low mountain ridge. The river travels about 70 miles (110 km) north. Finally, it empties into Spafarief Bay, which is a part of Kotzebue Sound.
For about 30 miles (48 km) of its lower path, the river flows through wide, flat lowlands. However, upstream from the town of Candle, the river narrows to about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) wide for a few miles. After Candle, it widens into a lagoon. This lagoon has large areas of mud flats that become visible when the tide is low.
Streams Joining the Kiwalik River
The Kiwalik River has many smaller streams, called tributaries, that flow into it.
Western Tributaries
Many tributaries come from the west side of the river. These streams often form narrow valleys with long, low ridges separating them. Some of these western tributaries include Canoe Creek, Gold Run, Glacier Creek, Dome Creek, Bonanza Creek, Eldorado Creek, Candle Creek, and Minnehaha Creek.
Glacier Creek is an important stream that provides water for the town of Candle. It starts on the eastern slope of Monument Mountain, which is the highest peak in the Fairhaven district. Glacier Creek joins the Kiwalik River about 25 miles (40 km) upstream from where the Kiwalik meets the sea. During seasons with low water, the river gets water from limestone springs. However, during warmer seasons, the water level increases a lot from melting glaciers.
Gold Run is another stream that joins the Kiwalik River. It connects about 2 miles (3.2 km) upstream from where Glacier Creek joins. Gold Run also gets its water from springs, but it doesn't carry as much water as Glacier Creek. During a dry summer in 1909, both streams together only released about 2.5 cubic meters (88 cu ft) of water per second. Other nearby streams also have very low flows during dry periods. For example, Candle Creek, which has a drainage area of 60 square miles (160 km2), can even dry up completely during the lean season.
Eastern Tributaries
From the eastern side of the Kiwalik River basin, streams like Quartz Creek and Hunter Creek flow in. Quartz Creek has a larger drainage area, with rugged and hilly land on its eastern and southern edges. It joins the Kiwalik River about 6 miles (9.7 km) upstream from Glacier Creek.
The ground in this basin is covered by a thin layer of moss. The hillsides are steep, so rainwater quickly drains into the river, which has a bed made of loose gravel. Other streams that flow into Quartz Creek are Hunter Creek and Bear Creek. Hunter Creek carries less water than Quartz Creek. Lava Creek, another small tributary from the east, drains a flat area of lava north of Hunter Creek. It has a lot of runoff during rainy months. The banks of the Kiwalik River and its creeks are lined with spruce trees and willow plants in certain areas.
History of Mining on the Kiwalik River
The Kiwalik River has a very gentle slope, which slows down its flow. The slope is usually only about 5 feet per mile (0.95 m/km), except closer to where the river starts. This gentle slope made it hard to use a mining method called hydraulicking, which uses powerful jets of water to wash away gravel and find gold. This was a problem when gold mining in Alaska was at its busiest.
To help with mining, the Candle-Alaska Hydraulic Gold Mining Company dug a ditch (an unlined canal) in 1907. This ditch collected water from Glacier and Dome creeks. It then carried the water to a spot near Candle. This allowed miners to use the water to extract gold from the gravels of Candle Creek.
During dry seasons, when streams like Quartz and Hunter creeks had low water levels, an extra canal was built in the summers of 1908 and 1909. This helped provide enough water for the hydraulicking process. These ditches were quite long, with about 60 miles (97 km) of canals and an additional 14,000 feet (4,300 m) of pipeline. This pipeline carried water to a point about 303 feet (92 m) above the mouth of Candle Creek.
Gold and Other Minerals in the Kiwalik River Area
The Kiwalik River is the third-largest river in its region that crosses a "gold belt." Its tributary, Candle Creek, has gold deposits that were profitable to mine. Candle Creek and the nearby town of Candle were major gold extraction sites, with a lot of work done by Arctic Circle Explorations Inc.
Attempts were also made to dredge the bed of the Kiwalik River for gold, but these were not successful. Gold deposits were also found in Quartz Creek. Scientists have also discovered small amounts of uranium (more than 0.025% of equivalent uranium) in the gold deposits found in the headwaters of the Kiwalik River's tributaries.
The town of Candle, located on Candle Creek (a tributary of the Kiwalik River), experienced a gold rush in 1901 and again in 1906. It became a central area for placer gold mining. During this time, the town's population grew to about 546 people. However, by 1938, after the gold rush ended, the population had dropped to just 85.
