Kokolik River
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| Kokolik River | |
|---|---|
  Location of the mouth of the Kokolik River in Alaska | |
| Native name | Qaqalik (Inupiaq) |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| Borough | North Slope |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | De Long Mountains |
| • coordinates | 68°30′21″N 162°09′45″W / 68.50583°N 162.16250°W |
| • elevation | 2,631 ft (802 m)[1] |
| Mouth | Kasegaluk Lagoon, Chukchi Sea, Arctic Ocean |
• location | 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Point Lay |
• coordinates | 69°46′15″N 162°59′48″W / 69.77083°N 162.99667°W[2] |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m)[2] |
| Length | 200 mi (320 km)[3] |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • right | Avingak Creek |
The Kokolik River (Iñupiaq: Qaqalik) is a stream, 200 miles (320 km) long, in the western North Slope of the U.S. state of Alaska.
The Kokolik River (Iñupiaq: Qaqalik) is a stream, 200 miles (320 km) long, in the western North Slope of the U.S. state of Alaska.[3] It rises in the De Long Mountains of the western Brooks Range and flows generally north and northwest into the Kasegaluk Lagoon.[2] The river mouth is 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Point Lay, on the Chukchi Sea of the Arctic Ocean.[2]
Its Inuit name, Qaqalik, refers to the alpine bistort, an edible plant found in the region. A variant name, Kepizetka (qipigsatqaq), recorded on an Inuit map in the late 19th century, means "it twists" or "crooked".[2]
Geology
The river passes through the Nanushuk Formation in the westernmost National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). The sandstone contains oil, which is thought to have been generated beneath Western North Slope and migrated northeastward into NPR-A.[4]
