History
The Russian Petr Malakov reached the river at its confluence with the Yukon in 1838. Lt. Henry Allen and Private Fred Fickett of the United States Army ascended and explored the river in 1885. The discovery of gold deposits on the Middle Fork in 1893 led to a gold rush in 1898 with the establishment of trading posts and mining camps, including Bettles, on the upper river. In 1929, Robert Marshall explored the North Fork of the Koyukuk River and gave the name Gates of the Arctic to the high Brooks Range along the river.
In 1980 the United States Congress designated 100 mi (164 km) of the North Fork of the Koyukuk River in the Brooks Range as the Koyukuk Wild and Scenic River.
In 1994 floods on the river swept away three villages, forcing the wholesale relocation of the population.
Read more about this topic: Koyukuk River
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“America is the only nation in history which miraculously has gone directly from barbarism to degeneration without the usual interval of civilization.”
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