Stikine

Stikine, river in western North America, 610 km (379 mi) long. It rises in the Stikine Mountains in northwestern British Columbia, and flows west, through the Coast Mountains, before emptying into the Pacific Ocean near Wrangell, southeastern Alaska. It is navigable by shallow-draft vessels for 270 km (168 mi) upstream, to Telegraph Creek. The river was an important link to the Canadian interior during the 19th century, and it served as an access route during the Klondike gold rush of the late 1890s. The scenic Stikine, a name meaning “great river,” is now increasingly used for recreation.