Kanektok River
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox river
| name = Kanektok River
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| image = Togiak Refuge (12293842965).jpg
| image_caption = The Kanektok River flows through the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge.
| image_size = 300
| map =
| map_size = 300
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| pushpin_map = USA Alaska
| pushpin_map_size = 300
| pushpin_map_caption= Location of the mouth of the Kanektok River in Alaska
| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 = United States
| subdivision_type2 = State
| subdivision_name2 = Alaska
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| subdivision_type4 = Census Area
| subdivision_name4 = Bethel
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| source1 = Kagati Lake
| source1_location = Togiak National Wildlife Refuge
| source1_coordinates= {{coord|59|52|48|N|160|07|25|W|display=inline}}
| source1_elevation = {{convert|1059|ft|abbr=on}}Derived by entering source coordinates in Google Earth.
| mouth = Kuskokwim Bay
| mouth_location = {{convert|1.5|mi|km}} west of Quinhagak
| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|59|44|46|N|161|55|53|W|display=inline,title}}{{cite web | work = Geographic Names Information System| publisher = United States Geological Survey | date = March 31, 1981|url={{gnis3|1404411}} | title = Kanektok River| accessdate = November 16, 2013}}
| mouth_elevation = {{convert|0|ft|abbr=on}}
| progression =
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| basin_size = {{convert|752|sqmi|abbr=on}}
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The Kanektok River is a {{convert|75|mi|km|adj=on}} stream in southwestern Alaska in the United States. Beginning in the Ahklun Mountains at Kagati and Pegati lakes, it flows westward into Kuskokwim Bay on the Bering Sea at the city of Quinhagak.{{cite book|title=Alaska Atlas & Gazetteer|publisher=DeLorme|location=Yarmouth, Maine|pages=54–55|edition=7th|year=2010|isbn=978-0-89933-289-5}} Almost all of the river's course lies within the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge. The Quinhagak Village Corporation owns the land bordering the lowermost {{convert|17|mi|km}} of the river.{{cite book|last=Limeres|first=Rene|author2=Pedersen, Gunnar|title=Alaska Fishing: The Ultimate Angler's Guide|edition=3rd|publisher=Publishers Design Group|location=Roseville, California|year=2005|page=248|isbn=1-929170-11-4|display-authors=etal}}
Recreation
The Kanektok River, varying from Class I (easy) to II (medium) on the International Scale of River Difficulty, is floatable by many kinds of watercraft. The upper reaches below Kagati Lake are sometimes too shallow for boats. Below this, swift currents, braided channels, logjams, and overhanging or submerged vegetation make the float "not a trip for beginners."{{cite book|last=Jettmar|first=Karen|title=The Alaska River Guide: Canoeing, Kayaking, and Rafting in the Last Frontier|publisher=Menasha Ridge Press|location=Birmingham, Alabama|edition=3rd|year=2008|origyear=1993|pages=187–88|isbn=978-0-89732-957-6}} In high water, the difficulty along the upper {{convert|55|mi|km}} of the river may increase to Class III (difficult).
Alaska Fishing describes the river as "one of Alaska's most celebrated salmon and trout streams". The main game fish are rainbow trout, char, Arctic grayling, king (Chinook), silver (Coho), chum, and red (sockeye) salmon. Anglers can float down from the headwaters, hire a boat to go upriver from Quinhagak, or fish near tent camps and lodges along the lower river.