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Yukon River Basin

This is a map showing the exact location of the Yukon River Basin. It runs through Alaska and the Yukon Territory.

The Yukon river basin is located between the Yukon Territory in Canada and Alaska. This basin is made up of 13 other individual basins which will drain into the Yukon River and other joining rivers and tributaries. Around the mid to late 1800s, the Yukon River Basin was explored and was discovered to have a tremendous amount of useful resources. These resources, including a wide variety of minerals and soils, proved to be very intriguing to explorers, which resulted in the increase of popularity for the Yukon River Basin.

The Yukon River Basin's impressive length ranks it the fourth largest basin in North America.

The Yukon River Basin has a relatively intact ecosystem. The basin is home to a large variety of plants and animals, which all serve as an important and vital contribution to the basin. Many of those who live around or near the basin tend to use both the water and these plants and animals as a means of survival. The Yukon River Basin is a very important and useful resource to those that come in contact with it daily, as well as travelers who may just be passing through.

History

Some of the oldest known humans that inhabited North America are said to have lived around the western part of the Yukon Basin. They got here by crossing the land bridge, Beringia. Most of these people lived on their own and didn't receive any type on influence from other cultures for hundreds of years.

The earliest exploration of the Yukon River Basin happened in 1840 by Robert Campbell. Campbell explored different rivers, but also explored the Yukon River Basin and placed an outpost there. Other early explorers like Campbell, came not for gold and riches, but for furs. Once the 1870's hit, explorers like Leroy McQuesten, Arthur Harper, and Alfred Mayo, started realizing how plentiful the Yukon river and Yukon River basin was with minerals. They had put up outposts, just like the earlier explorers, but with their frequent returns in the summer lead them to see these minerals. Their business began growing and spreading. Once their employed miners reached the Stewart River they found gold. From then on, gold was a huge attraction for many people.

Geography

The Alaskan Range is apart of the topography in the Yukon River Basin. The mountains range from 6,000 ft. to 9,000 ft. in elevation.

The Yukon River Basin is approximately 333,000 miles in ares and 1,980 miles in length. This makes the Yukon River Basin the fourth largest basin in North America. It is located between the Rocky Mountains in the north and the Pacific Mountain system to the south. The Basin is spread out between Canada in the Yukon Territory and Alaska. The Yukon Flats basin is south of the Yukon River Basin and it drains deposits and reworked materials into the Flats. It is within the Arctic Complex of the Arctic-Atlantic Bioregion, therefore has freshwater. The Yukon River Basin is made up of 13 other individual basins and stretches across two countries, America and Canada. While there are 13 individual basins within the Yukon Basin, there are also 5 physiographic regions. The topography of the Basin is very diverse with different elevations, so that is why there are regions. They include, Alaska Range (6,000-9,000 ft), Central and Eastern Brooks Range (7,000-8,000 ft), Indian River Uplands (1,500-2,000 ft), Innoko Lowlands (flat flood plains), and Kolkrine-Hodzana Highlands (2,000-4,000 ft).

Geology

Half of the Yukon River Basin lies in Canada, with the other half occupying space in Alaska. The Yukon River Basin is made up of many different geological terranes, which is why there is a variety of different rocks that make up the basin itself. A few of the many types of rocks includes various types of sedimentary rocks, intrusive rocks, volcanic rocks, and metamorphic rocks. There are several different land types that make up the entirety of the Yukon River Basin. These include the needleleaf forrest, tall and low shrublands, broadleaf forrest, lichens, barren, wet herbaceous, dwarf shrublands, dry herbaceous, ice/snow, and rivers, streams, and lakes. There are also many different types of soils that make up the Yukon River Basin. These soils include Entisols, Gelisols, Inceptisols, Inceptisols/Gelisols, Mollisols, Spodosols, and Rough Mountainous Land.

Permafrost is a major component of the Yukon River Basin. Because of the excessive amount of permafrost in the basin, the basin itself is far more prone to flash floods. The melting of permafrost is believed to be one of the reasons that the Yukon River Basin's flow has increased over the years. On top of increasing the basin's flow, the permafrost is also believed to have had a very active role in the erosion of the basin. On the contrary, however, the flow of the Yukon River Basin tends to slow down during the warmer months.

Hydrology

The hydrology of the Yukon River Basin is very important for many reasons. The water itself and the fish and other animals throughout the basin are used by local citizens for various reasons, which is why it is very important that the quality of the water be checked often and be healthy. The water is used for drinking, is a habitat for the fish, and is also used as a means of transportation for many travelers. Water quality varies from site to site throughout the Yukon River Basin, for example the density throughout the eastern and southern sites of the basin is much more prominent than that of the western and northern cites. Because of it’s northern location, the Yukon River Basin is frozen over for nearly 8 months out of the year.

There are many factors that go into making up the chemical composition of the water in the basin. Many of these factors are simply the uncontrollable natural factors. The Yukon River Basin drains from east to west, with the temperature of the water increasing as the water flows down stream. The streamflow of the Yukon River Basin is not affected by hydropower.

Climate

The climate around the Yukon River Basin varies because of factors like it's topography and large size. This large area covers land from Alaska and from parts of the Yukon Territory in Canada. Due to the variation factors, the climate is calculated by precipitation and temperature.

The precipitation over the entire basin is approximately 19 inches per year. With the diverse topography certain places receive more rain than others. Some areas receive less than 10 inches of rainfall a year and others receive up to 50 inches.With that being said, annual rainfall is greater on tall, rugged mountains than on flat lowland areas of the whole region.

In recent studies, the temperatures have been steadily rising throughout the region since the 1840's. The average temperature now for the Yukon River Basin is approximately 30 degrees Celsius in the summer and 40 degrees below Celsius in the winter. That average is not very accurate, however, because it has some of the most extreme temperature changes for an area that is located in a continental zone.

Climate change has been a serious, on-going issue around the Yukon River Basin and other surrounding areas. With drier, hotter temperatures, there have been more natural problems like forest fires and melting permafrost, which leads to changes in water flows.

Ecosystems

This is a picture of an Aspen Forest located near the Yukon River Basin,in a physiographic region called the Yukon Flats.

The Yukon river basin has a relatively intact ecosystem. It is a quality habitat for birds, mammal, fish, invertebrates, and one amphibian.The basin consists of thousands of lakes, ponds, sloughs, wetlands, and rivers/streams to provide habitats for these animals.Within the basin there are more than 150 bird species, 40 mammals, and 18 fish species.  There is an estimated 1.5 million ducks that breed here annually. It is also home to the longest salmon runs in history.

The plant life of the Yukon river basin consists of white spruce, paper birch, and quaking aspen forests, willow and alder thickets, grasslands, and meows. In these areas are where the animals of the ecosystem thrive.

Salmon Patterns

The Yukon river basin is home to the longest salmon runs in history. Many studies have been done to watch the migratory patterns of the salmon. In one particular study researchers studied the migratory patterns of wild chinook salmon. 

There are four towns/cities around the Yukon River Basin and 43 villages. Within those towns,cities, and villages, approximately 126,000 people are currently living there. Out of the 126,000 people living there, ten percent still rely solely on the land and 83 percent are indigenous. In the towns of Dawson and Faro, there are 1,000-2,000 residents. The city Whitehorse has over 23,000 residents, while Fairbanks had around 84,000 residents. Villages around the basin are holding anywhere from 30 to 800 people.

See Also

Yukon River

Yukon Territory

Preliminary Bibliography

The USGS Environmental and Hydrology Overview 2.This is a government research article/journal /report. It is published by the USGS 3. This is a reliable source because it is researched by a government association (U.S. Geological Survey). This is their job to do this research. It was also funded by the government. 4. It is useful for the “history” section in our article because it has a section in the research article about the history and exploration of the Basin. It also has a section about climate which could be said in our article because we have a climate section. There is a decent size section on the geology of the basin which we could use for the section “geology” in our article. It also has some ecosystem details such as shrublands, forests, lichens, etc. Which is also good for our section “ecosystems”. There is a big section on hydrology and the streamflow of the basin. Which will help with our sub-heading “hydrology.” This research source has a lot of good charts and pictures we could use in our article as well.

Integrated Ecosystems This academic article is good for ecosystems, geology, and hydrology. The man who wrote this has a Ph.D in sciences. I looked him up.

Studies of Climate Change in the Yukon River Basin

Yukon River Drainage Basin 2. This source is a book called "Water-supply Paper." It gives many visual aids including charts and graphs explaining various statistics about the Yukon River Basin. 3. Author is notable in this field and has done many other works concerning the hydrology of basins. 4. This source contains information that will be useful under the hydrology category of our article.)

Rivers of North America 2. This source is a book that discusses the climate, landscape, and the physiography of the Yukon River Basin. Provides a visual aid to further explain these things.  3. This source is reliable because editor of this source has a PhD in Biological Sciences. 4. This will be a useful source especially under the categories of climate and geology/geography.

Geological Survey Bulletin 2. This is a geological survey bulletin, a compilation of different statistics, tables and figures of the Yukon River Basin. Mainly discusses the geology of the basin. 3. This source is from the US Department of the Interior, Geological Survey; Washington DC. 4. This will be a very useful source because it provides a lot of statistical information regarding the basin.

Increased groundwater to stream discharge from permafrost thawing in the Yukon River basin: Potential impacts on lateral export of carbon and nitrogen 2. This source gives some statistical facts about the Yukon River Basin, most likely falling under the geology category. 3. From psu.edu. The information is reliable because Author Robert Striegl has a PhD in oceanography and limnology and is a research aquatic biogeochemist/hydrologist. Author Michelle A. Walvoord has a PhD in Earth and environmental Science and is also a research hydrologist. 4. This source will be very useful for providing information under the hydrology of the Yukon River Basin.

Indigenous Knowledge of Hydrologic Change in the Yukon River Basin: A Case Study of Ruby, Alaska 2. This academic article focuses more on the hydrology of the river basin. 3. It's reliability can be proved because the Author Nicole J Wilson is a PhD candidate in resource management and environmental studies. Author M Todd Walter is a professor and director in the department of biological and environmental engineering. 4. This will be useful in our article when we write about the hydrology the Yukon River Basin.

Chinook, Chum and Whitefish Ecology in the Yukon River Basin

Trends in streamflow in the Yukon River Basin from 1944 to 2005 and the influence of the pacific Decadal Oscillation Hydrology Journal 2. This is an academic journal based on hydrology. It was created by Timothy Brabets and Michelle Walvoord and published by USGA 3.It is reliable because the authors of this academic journal are professionals who work for the USGS. Timothy works in the Alaska Science center of USGS and Michelle is in the National Research Program. 4. This whole journal is based on the Hydrology of the Yukon Basin which will help with our sub-heading “Hydrology”.

Migratory Patterns of Wild Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha Returning to a Large, Free-Flowing River Basin. Fish Ecology 2. This is a master’s search project by Jennie Morawetz 3. This is a reliable source because it is done by a student at Duke University. It is a Master’s project done in April 2013. It is a masters project in the master of the environmental Management degree. 4. It is useful for the sections “Ecosystems” and “Geology” in our article. There are many facts on the different types of fish that live in the basin within the ecosystem, and there are many landscapes and rivers that connect to the basin that it lists within the project, which is good for our section “Geology”. It also has a little paragraph that states some climate in the area of the Yukon Basin. There is also a demographic section of this article on the people who reside near the Yukon basin.

Spatially explicit estimation of aboveground boreal forest biomass in the Yukon River Basin, Alaska. International Journal Of Remote Sensing Boreal Forest Biomass 2. This is a scientific, academic journal. It is published by Taylor & Francis 3. This is a reliable source because it is a business intelligence. It publishes and creates books created by many scholars, researchers, etc. It is one of the world’s leading publishers. 4. This source can be used for the section “ecosystems” in our article. It is research conducted on the boreal forest, which is an ecosystem around the Yukon Basin. Within the article there are descriptions of where the basin is located and how much shrublands take up space, etc.

Yukon River Condition Summary This is a scientific research article. It was published by Alaska Department of Enviromental Conservation, Alaska Monitoring and Assessment Program, University of Alaska Anchorage, and a couple others. 3. It is a reliable source because the publishers who created this scientific research article are government environmental programs and a university. 4. This article will be useful for our section “geography” or “geology” because it gives you pictures and descriptions of the geography of the basin and areas that it is spilt in to. For example, it divides the basin into four physiographic sections: rolling topography and gentle slopes, low mountains, plains and lowlands, and high rugged mountains. It will also help for our section “ecosystems”. It has many good facts on plants, fish, etc. It also gives a few brief facts on the climate in that area, which will be good for the section “climate”.