Author Description

From its origin in rugged granitic highlands of the central Brooks Range, the Noatak River flows westward between the De Long Mountains and the Baird Mountains before turning south to enter Kotzebue Sound. Glaciers of middle and late Pleistocene age entered the Noatak River valley from the east, north, and south. Glaciers flowed down the upper Noatak River valley from the rugged peaks at its head, merging with tributary glaciers that issued from cirque-headed valleys along its south flank. Farther downvalley, small glaciers flowed northward from the Baird Mountains and much larger glaciers issued from the De Long Mountains. The De Long Mountains glaciers expanded southward to cover parts of the Noatak valley floor; they dammed the Noatak River during successive advances, creating a series of glacial lakes. The more extensive glacial advances dammed huge lakes that filled the Aniuk Lowland to overflowing. At various times, overflow waters spilled northward through Howard Pass, southward via Hunt River into the Kobuk River system, and westward down a series of channelways that skirted south of the glacier margins.