Sixtymile River facts for kids

Sixtymile River (sometimes called "Sixtymile Creek") is a river that flows into the Yukon River. It starts in the U.S. state of Alaska before crossing into Yukon, Canada. The Hän people, who are a First Nation group, call it Khel ndek.

Where is the Sixtymile River?

The Sixtymile River begins in Alaska. Once it crosses into Canada, it flows for about 70 miles (110 km) (113 kilometres (70 mi)) if you measure along the valley. If you follow all its twists and turns, the river is about 125 miles (201 km) (201 kilometres (125 mi)) long in total.

From the border to where it meets the Yukon River, the Sixtymile River drops about 1,425 feet (434 m) (434 meters (1,424 ft)). This means the valley slopes down about 20 feet (6.1 m) (6 meters (20 ft)) for every mile.

At the international border, the river is fast and winding. It's about 20 feet (6.1 m) (6 meters (20 ft)) wide. There are often shallow spots with only a few inches of water. The upper part of the river, from the border to a place called California Creek, is very hard to travel by boat. Below California Creek, the river gets wider and the water flows a bit more smoothly. However, there are still many shallow areas and fast-moving parts almost all the way to its mouth. This makes it tricky to travel upstream.

Most of the smaller streams that flow into the Sixtymile River are not very big. But two larger streams join it about 4 miles (6.4 km) (6 kilometres (3.7 mi)) from each other, near Indian River. These two streams almost double the amount of water in the Sixtymile River. Near where it joins the Yukon River, the Sixtymile River is usually about 120–150 feet (37–46 m) (37–46 meters (121–151 ft)) wide.

The valley of the Sixtymile River is mostly flat at the bottom. These flat areas can be from 600 feet (180 m) (183 meters (600 ft)) to nearly 1 mile (1.6 km) (1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi)) wide. The sides of the valley often have flat steps, like terraces. In some places, the river has cut a new, narrower channel with rock walls through the bottom of its old valley. This is similar to what you see on the Indian River and Stewart River.

The land around the Sixtymile River is part of the Yukon plateau. This is a high area with rounded hills and long, winding ridges. There are no big, continuous mountain ranges here. However, some high hills, often made of a rock called andesite, stick up a few hundred feet above the rest of the land.

Tributaries and Mountains

Several smaller streams flow into the Sixtymile River. These include:

• Miller Creek, which joins the Sixtymile River about 70 miles (110 km) (113 kilometres (70 mi)) from its mouth.
• Glacier Creek
• Gold Creek
• Little Gold Creek
• Bed Rock Creek

Sixtymile Butte is a tall mountain located near the start of the Sixtymile River. It is made of granite rock.

What is the Geology Like?

Near the border and down the valley to Bedrock Creek, the rocks are mainly igneous schists. These are rocks that have been changed by heat and pressure. Many of them are granite-gneisses, which are a type of granite. You can also find quartzites and other types of schists here. These schists are important because they are the rocks where gold is found.

Below Bedrock Creek, these rocks are replaced by andesites. Andesites are another type of igneous rock. These rocks continue for about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) (2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi)) west of the mouth of Gold Creek. The andesites also extend up Miller Creek for nearly 3 miles (4.8 km) (4.8 kilometres (3.0 mi)) and up Gold Creek for over 7 miles (11 km) (11 kilometres (6.8 mi)).

History of the Sixtymile River

The Sixtymile River and the nearby Fortymile River were important areas during the Klondike Gold Rush. This was a time in the late 1800s when many people rushed to the Yukon to find gold. In 1895, at least 1,000 miners were working along these two rivers.

A small town was built at the mouth of the Sixtymile River, also named Sixtymile. This town became a main spot for over 100 miners. A company called Arthur Harper & Co. had a trading post and a sawmill on an island at the river's mouth. These were managed by Joseph Ladue, who was one of the partners in the company. Ladue had also worked for the Alaska Commercial Company before this.