Birch Creek (Alaska)
| Birch Creek | |
 Rain along Birch Creek
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Alaska |
| Census Area | Yukon–Koyukuk |
| Source | confluence of Ptarmigan and Eagle creeks |
| - location | near Porcupine Dome |
| - elevation | 2,275 ft (693 m) |
| - coordinates | 65°26′19″N 145°31′36″W / 65.43861°N 145.52667°W |
| Mouth | beginning of distributaries, Upper Mouth Birch Creek and Lower Mouth Birch Creek |
| - location | upstream on Birch Creek from distributaries' mouths on the Yukon River, Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge |
| - elevation | 453 ft (138 m) |
| - coordinates | 66°16′13″N 145°30′15″W / 66.27028°N 145.50417°WCoordinates: 66°16′13″N 145°30′15″W / 66.27028°N 145.50417°W |
| Length | 150 mi (241 km) |
 Location of the mouth of Birch Creek in Alaska
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Birch Creek is a 150-mile (240 km) tributary of the Yukon River in the U.S. state of Alaska. Beginning at the confluence of Ptarmigan and Eagle creeks near Porcupine Dome, it flows southwest, then south under the Steese Highway and into the Steese National Conservation Area. It then turns east, then north, again passing under the Steese Highway and entering the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge. Turning northwest, it ends where it splits into two distributaries, Lower Mouth Birch Creek and Upper Mouth Birch Creek, near Birch Creek, Alaska. The distributaries flow into the Yukon River at separate locations downstream of Fort Yukon.
The first human inhabitants of the region were probably Gwich'in people who hunted and fished along the creek. Gold was found along the creek in 1893. Circle City sprang up as the Alaska Interior's first gold town, governed democratically by traditional miners' meetings. Old mining and trapping cabins are part of the Birch Creek landscape, and mining continues in the 21st century.
Upper Mouth Birch Creek flows 35 miles (56 km) northwest from Birch Creek to enter the Yukon River 25 miles (40 km) southwest (downstream) of Fort Yukon. The coordinates of the mouth of the Upper Mouth are 66°31′15″N 146°09′09″W / 66.52083°N 146.15250°W.
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