Mulchatna River

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title: "Mulchatna River" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["rivers-of-dillingham-census-area,-alaska", "rivers-of-lake-and-peninsula-borough,-alaska", "rivers-of-alaska", "wild-and-scenic-rivers-of-the-united-states", "rivers-of-unorganized-borough,-alaska"] topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulchatna_River" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox river"]

Field	Value
name	Mulchatna River
native_name	tfn
image	MulchatnaRiver.jpg
image_caption	Mulchatna River
image_size	300
map_size	300
pushpin_map	USA Alaska
pushpin_map_size	300
pushpin_map_caption	Location of the mouth of the Mulchatna River in Alaska
subdivision_type1	Country
subdivision_name1	United States
subdivision_type2	State
subdivision_name2	Alaska
subdivision_type4	Census Area
subdivision_name4	Dillingham
length	160 mi
source1	Turquoise Lake
source1_location	west of the Chigmit Mountains, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
source1_coordinates
source1_elevation	2506 ft
mouth	Nushagak River
mouth_location	65 mi northeast of Dillingham
mouth_coordinates
mouth_elevation	151 ft
extra	{{Designation list
embed	yes
designation1	nwsr
designation1_type	Wild
designation1_date	December 2, 1980
::

| name = Mulchatna River | native_name = tfn | name_other = | name_etymology = | image = MulchatnaRiver.jpg | image_caption = Mulchatna River | image_size = 300 | map = | map_size = 300 | map_caption = | pushpin_map = USA Alaska | pushpin_map_size = 300 | pushpin_map_caption= Location of the mouth of the Mulchatna River in Alaska | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = United States | subdivision_type2 = State | subdivision_name2 = Alaska | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_type4 = Census Area | subdivision_name4 = Dillingham | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 = | length = 160 mi | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location= | discharge1_min = | discharge1_avg = | discharge1_max = | source1 = Turquoise Lake | source1_location = west of the Chigmit Mountains, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve | source1_coordinates= | source1_elevation = 2506 ft | mouth = Nushagak River | mouth_location = 65 mi northeast of Dillingham | mouth_coordinates = | mouth_elevation = 151 ft | progression = | river_system = | basin_size = | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra = {{Designation list | embed = yes | designation1 = nwsr | designation1_type = Wild | designation1_date = December 2, 1980 | designation1_number =

The Mulchatna River (Dena'ina: Vałts'atnaq') is a 160 mi tributary of the Nushagak River in the U.S. state of Alaska. Beginning at Turquoise Lake, it flows generally southwest to meet the larger river 65 mi northeast of Dillingham. The Mulchatna's mouth is slightly south (downstream) of the village of Koliganek on the Nushagak, which continues southwest to Nushagak Bay, an arm of Bristol Bay.

The upper 24 mi of the river, which flow through Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, became part of the National Wild and Scenic River System in 1980. Aside from scattered cabins, the Mulchatna River is undeveloped. However, there is a proposal to build a large copper/gold mine, the Pebble Mine, in the watershed of one of the Mulchatna tributaries, the Koktuli River.

Recreation

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/September_27,2011_The_Mulchatna_River(6990838746).jpg" caption="Mulchatna river in 2011"] ::

The Mulchatna River and one of its tributaries, the Chilikadrotna River, are popular Southwest Alaska destinations for floatfishing. Other Mulchatna tributaries, including the Stuyahok and Koktuli rivers, are also popular fishing streams. The main game fish frequenting the Mulchatna are king salmon, silver salmon, char, Arctic grayling, and rainbow trout.

Varying from Class I (easy) to III (difficult) on the International Scale of River Difficulty, the Mulchatna is floatable by many kinds of watercraft on the Class I water below Bonanza Creek. The upper 50 mi or so of the river, however, vary between Class II (medium) and III, may require portages, and are sometimes too shallow to float. Other dangers include ledge drops and haystack waves above Bonanza Creek and possible logjams and overhanging vegetation along the rest of the river.

References

References

1. Orth, Donald J.. (1971). "Dictionary of Alaska Place Names: Geological Survey Professional Paper 567". United States Government Printing Office.
2. Derived by entering source coordinates in [[Google Earth]].
3. (March 31, 1981). "Mulchatna River". Geographic Names Information System.
4. (2010). "Alaska Atlas & Gazetteer". DeLorme.
5. "Mulchatna River, Alaska". National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
6. Northern Dynasty Mines. (2006). "Pebble Project: Application for Groundwater Right". Alaska Department of Natural Resources.
7. Limeres, Rene. (2005). "Alaska Fishing: The Ultimate Angler's Guide". Publishers Design Group.
8. Jettmar, Karen. (2008). "The Alaska River Guide: Canoeing, Kayaking, and Rafting in the Last Frontier". Menasha Ridge Press.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::