Pinguk River
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox river
| name = Pinguk River
| native_name = {{native name|ik|Pinauk}}
| name_other =
| name_etymology = Iñupiaq languageBright, William. [https://books.google.com/books?id=5XfxzCm1qa4C&q=Pinguk+River&pg=PA384 Native American Placenames of the United States.] Page 384.
| nickname = Pinauk
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| pushpin_map = Alaska
| pushpin_map_size = 300
| pushpin_map_caption= Location of the mouth of the Pinguk River in Alaska
| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 = United States
| subdivision_type2 = State
| subdivision_name2 = Alaska
| subdivision_type3 = Region
| subdivision_name3 = Northwestern Alaska
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| source1 = Seward Peninsula of western Alaska
| source1_location = Brooks Mountain, Alaska, United States
| source1_coordinates= {{coord|65|51|07|N|167|09|23|W|display=inline}}
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| mouth = Arctic Ocean
| mouth_location = Arctic Ocean, Alaska, United States
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Pinguk River (alternate Iñupiaq language name, Pinauk meaning "hill"){{cite book|title=Geological Survey Professional Paper|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_a-gqAQAAIAAJ|accessdate=2 May 2013|year=1967|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_a-gqAQAAIAAJ/page/n769 757]–}} is a waterway located on the Seward Peninsula in the U.S. state of Alaska. The river runs in a northwesterly direction for {{convert|34|miles}} and then flows into the Arctic Lagoon about {{convert|30|miles}} northeast of Cape Prince of Wales.
River course
The river flows over a length of {{convert|34|miles}} in a zigzag course. Before the river joins the sea, at about {{convert|10|miles}} upstream it forms two branches; the western branch is called the York River and the eastern branch is called the McKillop River.{{cite book|last=Collier|first=Arthur James|title=A reconnaissance of the northwestern portion of Seward Peninsula, Alaska|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vG7nAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA52|accessdate=30 April 2013|edition=Public domain|year=1902|publisher=Government printing office|pages=52–}}
The York River rises on the eastern flanks of Brooks Mountain, the highest point in the York Mountains,{{cite book|author=Geological Survey|title=U.S. Geological Survey professional paper|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_2xXAAAAMAAJ&pg=SL4-PA203|accessdate=4 May 2013|year=1967|publisher=Government Printing Office|pages=4, D 203}} in the central part of the Teller Quadrangle.{{Cite web|url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1952/0214/report.pdf|title= The Occurrence of Zeunerite at Brooks Mountain Seward Peninsula, Alaska|accessdate =3 May 2013|publisher=United States Geological Survey}} It flows in a northeast direction and then confluences with the McKillop River. The river flows through a valley formation of {{convert|200|-|300|ft}} width. The geological formation reported in the valley consists of slate and is exposed in some stretches of the river. The river bed is strewn with gravel and pebbles of slate and limestone. The gravel and pebbles have their origin in the Kuzitrin series. The limestones are derivatives of the Port Clarence limestones.
The McKillop branch has its source in the limestone hills, which are an eastern arm of the York Mountains. The geological formation in this river valley is made up only of limestones and belongs to the Port Clarence formation.
Minerals
The York River, a branch of the Pinguk River, which rises in the Brooks Mountain, is reported to be rich in tin deposits in its head reaches in the mountains. The river bed is strewn with pebbles, boulders and granites, which is an indication that tin was embedded in granite contact zone in granite formations in the hills. However, no gold has been found in this river valley.{{cite book|author=Geological Survey (U.S.)|title=United States Geological Survey professional paper|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f2pXAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA51|accessdate=3 May 2013|year=1902|publisher=G.P.O.|pages=1–}}
References
- {{Source-attribution|A.J. Collier's "A reconnaissance of the northwestern portion of Seward Peninsula, Alaska" (1902)}}
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{{coord|65.85194|-167.15639|display=title}}
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