Noatak Wilderness
Noatak Wilderness is a vast, undeveloped basin in northwest Alaska, encircled by mountains and drained by the Noatak River. It offers remote canoeing, caribou migrations, and pristine tundra.
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Geography
| Continent | North America |
|---|---|
| Region | Alaska |
| Subregion | Alaska-Yukon Borderlands |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| County | Northwest Arctic Borough |
| District | Noatak Valley |
| Timezone | AmericaAnchorage |
| Latitude | 67.2 |
| Longitude | -164.7 |
| Maps |
5:14 PM LOCAL TIMENoatak Wilderness is a sprawling expanse of tundra and boreal forest in northwest Alaska, centered around the Noatak River and located entirely within federal public lands. It forms a largely uninterrupted drainage basin between the De Long Mountains and the Haasina Mountains, with an elevation range from sea level on the river to roughly 900 meters in the surrounding valleys. The core conservation area is characterized by braided river channels, broad floodplains, and sparse muskeg, supporting migratory *caribou*, *moose*, and key *fisheries*. The region has a subarctic climate — cold, long winters and short, productive summers — making travel heavily seasonal and largely dependent on river access and land navigation skills. Activities are mainly primitive camping, backcountry boating, and wildlife viewing, with minimal infrastructure—visitors should plan for long trips, seasonal closures, and variable weather. Nearby and offline resources such as USGS topographic maps, US Fish and Wildlife Service guides, and local trip reports provide critical trip planning info.
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