Fortymile River
| Fortymile River (Hän language Ch'èdà Dëk) | |
 Fortymile River from Taylor Highway
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| Countries | United States, Canada |
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| States/Territories | Alaska, Yukon |
| Source | confluence of the river's North Fork and South Fork |
| - location | northwest of Chicken, Alaska, United States |
| - elevation | 1,424 m (4,672 ft) |
| - coordinates | 64°14′34″N 141°45′15″W / 64.24278°N 141.75417°W |
| Mouth | Yukon River |
| - location | Forty Mile, Yukon, Canada |
| - elevation | 950 ft (290 m) |
| - coordinates | 64°25′35″N 140°32′00″W / 64.42639°N 140.53333°WCoordinates: 64°25′35″N 140°32′00″W / 64.42639°N 140.53333°W |
| Length | 60 mi (97 km) |
| Basin | 6,600 sq mi (17,100 km2) |
 Location of the mouth of the Fortymile River in Yukon
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The Fortymile River is a 60-mile (97 km) tributary of the Yukon River in the U.S. state of Alaska and the Canadian territory of Yukon. Beginning at the confluence of its north and south forks in the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, the Fortymile flows generally northeast into Canada to meet the larger river 32 miles (51 km) southeast of Eagle, Alaska.
Prospectors named the river after gold was discovered there in 1886. The name reflected the distance of the river mouth from Fort Reliance, a former Hudson's Bay Company post upstream along the Yukon River. Miners eventually extracted more than a half-million ounces of gold from the Fortymile watershed. After the gold discovery, two Alaska Commercial Company traders, Jack McQuesten and Arthur Harper, built a post at the mouth of the river.
Between 1968 and 1978, Cassiar Mining extracted about a million metric tons of asbestos from three open pits along Clinton Creek, a tributary of lower Fortymile River in the Yukon. After abandoning the site, the company went bankrupt in 1992, and the territorial and Canadian governments and others removed or buried mine wastes, stabilized the creek banks, and worked to partly restore the land.
In 1980, a total of 392 miles (631 km) of stream segments within the Alaska portion of the Fortymile River watershed were added to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System of the United States. This included 179 miles (288 km) designated "wild", 203 miles (327 km) called "scenic", and 10 miles (16 km) designated "recreational".
The Bureau of Land Management oversees the Fortymile Wild and Scenic River, accessible via the Taylor Highway in Alaska as well as an unpaved road branching from the Top of the World Highway in the Yukon Territory. Float trips, camping, and sightseeing are among the recreational possibilities in the watershed.
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Wikipedia