Old Crow River
title: "Old Crow River" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["rivers-of-yukon", "tributaries-of-the-yukon-river", "rivers-of-alaska"] topic_path: "general/rivers-of-yukon" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Crow_River" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox river"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Old Crow River |
| map_size | 300 |
| pushpin_map | USA Alaska |
| pushpin_map_size | 300 |
| pushpin_map_caption | Location of the mouth of the Old Crow River in Yukon |
| subdivision_type1 | Countries |
| subdivision_name1 | |
| subdivision_type2 | Territories/States |
| subdivision_name2 | |
| length | 282 km |
| source1_location | Davidson Mountains, Alaska, United States |
| source1_coordinates | |
| source1_elevation | 837 m |
| mouth | Porcupine River |
| mouth_location | Porcupine Plateau, Yukon, Canada |
| mouth_coordinates | |
| mouth_elevation | 255 m |
| :: |
| name = Old Crow River | name_native = | name_native_lang = | name_other = | name_etymology = | image = | image_caption = | map = | map_size = 300 | map_caption = | pushpin_map = USA Alaska | pushpin_map_size = 300 | pushpin_map_caption= Location of the mouth of the Old Crow River in Yukon | subdivision_type1 = Countries | subdivision_name1 = | subdivision_type2 = Territories/States | subdivision_name2 = | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 = | length = 282 km | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location= | discharge1_min = | discharge1_avg = | discharge1_max = | source1 = | source1_location = Davidson Mountains, Alaska, United States | source1_coordinates= | source1_elevation = 837 m | mouth = Porcupine River | mouth_location = Porcupine Plateau, Yukon, Canada | mouth_coordinates = | mouth_elevation = 255 m | progression = | river_system = | basin_size = | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra =
Old Crow River is a transnational stream, 282 km long, that begins in the U.S. state of Alaska and flows generally southeast to meet the Porcupine River in the Canadian territory of Yukon. In turn, the Porcupine, a tributary of the Yukon River, flows back into the United States, and its water eventually reaches the Bering Sea.
Archaeology finds
Richard E. Morlan of the Canadian Museum of Civilization and Archaeological Survey of Canada conducted a study of modified bones found on Old Crow River sites in the 1970s. Morlan stated that the bones found exhibited signs of intentional human work before the bones were fossilized. This would suggest humans were in Canada during the late Pleistocene. This would place humans in the Americas earlier than thought by scientists.{{citation | author = Morlan, R.E. | title = Pleistocene archaeology in Old Crow Basin: a critical reappraisal. In Bryan, A.L.,ed. New Evidence for the Pleistocene Peopling of the Americas. Orono, Maine, Center for the study of Early Man, pp. 27–48. | year = 1986}}
Later R.M. Thorson and R.D. Guthrie tried to refute Morlan's research in a study they conducted. Thorson and Guthrie claimed that river action could cause the markings on the bones that Morlan attributed to humans.{{citation |author1=Thorson, R. M. |author2=Guthrie, R.D. |name-list-style=amp | title = River ice as a taphonomic agent:an alternative hypothesis for bone 'artfacts.'Quaternary Research,22:172–88. | year = 1984}} Morlan believed Thorson's experiments have not shown that all the altered fossils from Old Crow Basin can be attributed to river icing and breakup.
References
References
- Orth, Donald J.. (1971). "Dictionary of Alaska Place Names: Geological Survey Professional Paper 567". University of Alaska Fairbanks.
- {{cite gnis. 1407479. Old Crow River. August 16, 2013
- (2010). "Alaska Atlas & Gazetteer". DeLorme.
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