Noatak River starts from several small cirque glaciers on the northeast flank of Mount Igikpak in the Schwatka Mountains and flows generally west for 425 miles (684 km) to Hotham Inlet in Kotzebue Sound, about 75 miles (121 km) southeast of Kivalina and 6 miles (10 km) north-northeast of Kotzebue, Alaska. In 1853, surgeon John Simpson of the Royal Navy named the river ‘Inland River’ on a map. The name appears to be a general translation of the Iñupiat word Nunulak, which can also mean ‘new land’ or ‘belonging to the land.’ The river drains a watershed of about 8,062,073 acres (3,262,608 ha) south of the Brooks Range continental divide and north of the Arctic Circle. Mount Igikpak, located in the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, rises to a summit of 8,510 feet (2,594 m). The source glaciers lie above 4,000 feet (1,219 m). From there, the river flows generally northwest for 50 miles (80 km) through the Central Brooks Range, then westward for about 200 miles (322 km) through the Aniuk Lowlands and the Cutler River Uplands in the Noatak National Preserve. Along this course, it passes through Grand and Noatak Canyons, draining the De Long Mountains to the north and the Baird Mountains to the south. The river then turns southwest, flowing about 105 miles (169 km) to the only permanent village along its course—also called Noatak—before continuing another 70 miles (113 km) through the Mission Lowlands to Hotham Inlet. The inlet was named in 1826 by Captain Frederick W. Beechey in honor of Sir Henry Hotham, a lord of the British Admiralty. The basin is the largest undeveloped watershed in the United States. Transportation relies on boats in summer, snow machines in winter, and aircraft year-round; although there are no roads, numerous winter trails are available. In 1980, 330 miles (531 km) of the upper Noatak were designated as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

During the Last Glacial Maximum of the late Pleistocene, glaciers advanced into the Noatak River valley from the east, north and south. They flowed down the upper valley from rugged peaks at its head, merging with tributary glaciers from cirque-headed valleys along the southern flank. Farther down, small glaciers advanced northward from the Baird Mountains while larger ones emerged from the De Long Mountains. The De Long glaciers expanded southward, covering parts of the valley floor and damming the river in successive advances to form a series of glacial lakes. More extensive advances dammed vast lakes that eventually overflowed, filling the Aniuk Lowland. Overflow water spilled north through Howard Pass, south via the Hunt River into the Kobuk system and west along channels skirting the glacier margins. The upper valley is dominated by a massive terminal moraine near Douglas Creek, deposited between 25,000 and 15,000 years ago. Older end moraines farther down lie beneath lake deposits in the Aniuk Lowland yet remain visible as arc-shaped drainage divides. The Cutler River area once hosted glacial lakes, the oldest likely dammed by the Cutler moraine that crosses the valley floor near the Cutler River mouth. The western Aniuk Lowland—stretching from the Cutler River mouth to the lower Nimiuktuk River—is marked by large end moraines deposited by De Long glaciers that flowed southeast along the Nimiuktuk valley before advancing up the Noatak. Downvalley from the Nimiuktuk, De Long glaciers flowed south through the Kalaktavik, Kugururok and Kelly drainage systems, deflecting the Noatak into a more southerly course along the north flank of the Baird Mountains. These glaciers dammed the river near their valley mouths, and when they receded, glacial lakes expanded northward. This glacial legacy has profoundly shaped the valley’s geomorphology. Today, glacier ice has vanished except for remnant cirques in the headwaters, although the entire watershed remains underlain by continuous permafrost, possibly to depths of 600–800 feet (183–244 m).

Archaeological investigations in the Noatak Valley have uncovered artifacts dating to 11,700 years ago. Historical Iñupiat inhabitants recognized two culturally distinct groups: the lower‐river Naupaktomiut (people of the trees) and the upper‐river Noatagmiut (people of the inland river). The groups maintained close ties that underscored their seasonal interdependence in hunting and fishing. The Noatagmiut spent most of their lives hunting inland caribou and, after the breakup in early summer, traveled to Sheshalik on the coast to hunt seals, beluga whales and trade. The Naupaktomiut journeyed west in spring to an area south of Kivalina and later headed south from there to Sheshalik for seals and belugas. They stayed briefly with the Noatagmiut before both groups ascended the river. Once inland, the Naupaktomiut fished for chum and pink salmon, while the Noatagmiut fished during their ascent and hunted caribou upon reaching their upper settlements. Iñupiat from the middle and upper Kobuk also traveled to the upper Noatak in fall to hunt sheep and caribou before reuniting with their wives at Kobuk fishing camps. Archaeological remains reveal villages along Noatak lakeshores dating to the 1600s—settlements likely disrupted, if not decimated, by diseases introduced by Europeans. In 1850, men from HMS Plover under William Pullen first explored the lower Noatak during an unsuccessful expedition to rescue Sir John Franklin and search for the Northwest Passage. Following the 1867 Alaska Purchase, further surveys occurred and prospectors arrived in 1898 as a consequence of the Klondike Gold Rush. The village of Noatak originated as a fishing and hunting camp in the 1800s. In the early 1900s, missionaries Robert and Carrie Samms settled there, prompting nearly all remaining valley inhabitants to concentrate in the village. These historical patterns reflect a long tradition of environmental adaptation in a challenging Arctic landscape. This continuum of cultural adaptation and resource management underscores the Iñupiat’s enduring resilience and deep connection to the Arctic landscape. Read more here and here. Explore more of the Noatak and Kotzebue Sound here: