Skagway River facts for kids

The Skagway River is a cool river that flows through two places: British Columbia in Canada and Alaska in the United States. It starts high up and flows southwest, crossing the border between these two countries.

After crossing the border, the river takes a slight turn northwest before heading south-southwest. It finally reaches the sea at a place called Taiya Inlet.

There are a few bridges over the Skagway River. You can find a bridge for cars at the north end of Skagway town. There are also two bridges for people to walk on. One is right next to the car bridge, and the other is closer to where the river meets the sea, near the airport.

You can't really use a raft, canoe, or kayak on this river. The water is too shallow and moves too fast, especially near the bridges. Plus, there's a lot of old metal and trash that has been thrown into the river over many years. Sometimes, people have tried to raft down to the ocean, but their rafts got stuck or broken under the bridges because of all the tree branches and plants piled up there.

Exploring the Skagway River's Branches

The Skagway River has several smaller streams, called branches, that flow into it as you go upstream (north) from its mouth. These branches are like smaller arms of the main river.

East Fork of Skagway River

The East Fork is one of these branches. It joins the Skagway River across from a spot called Mile Post 4.8 on the White Pass and Yukon Route railroad line. The railroad actually makes a big U-turn at Mile Post 5.8, crosses over the East Fork, and then loops back to follow the main Skagway River again.

White Pass Fork

Further upstream, the Skagway River turns east, and another branch called White Pass Fork splits off to the north. This happens near Mile Post 12 of the railroad. Just like with the East Fork, the railroad makes another U-turn at Mile Post 14.2. It crosses the main Skagway River and then loops back to follow the White Pass Fork.

Cut-off Gulch and Dead Horse Gulch

The White Pass Fork itself then splits into two more smaller streams. One is called Cut-off Gulch, which goes to the east. The other is Dead Horse Gulch, which heads north. These splits happen near Mile Post 18 of the railroad.

The railroad crosses Cut-off Gulch at Mile Post 18.6. After crossing Cut-off Gulch, the train goes through a tunnel. When it comes out of the tunnel, it's running alongside Dead Horse Gulch. The very beginning of Dead Horse Gulch is at a place called Pump House Lake, which is near Mile Post 20 on the railroad line.

Images for kids

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  The Skagway River in Alaska