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The Unalakleet River from its headwaters to the confluence of the Chiroskey River has been designated as a wild river and is included in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Yearly low flow, which occurs during the winter, is sustained by ground-water discharge; there are few lakes in the basin and the cold climate prevents winter runoff. The amount of winter streamflow was greatest in the lower parts of streams with the exception of the South River and was apparently proportional to the amount of unfrozen alluvium upstream from the measuring sites. Unit discharge in late winter ranged from nearly zero at the mouth of the South River to 0.24 cubic foot per second per square mile in the Unalakleet River main stem below Tenmile River. Summer runoff at the time of the reconnaissance may have been slightly higher than normal owing to recent rains. Unit runoff ranged from a low of 1.0 cubic foot per second per square mile at the South River, to a high value of 2.4 cubic feet per second per square mile at the North Fork Unalakleet River. Flood marks were present in the basin well above streambank levels but suitable sections to measure the maximum evident flood by slope-area methods were not found. Flood peaks were calculated for the Unalakleet River and its tributaries using basin characteristics. Calculated unit runoff for the 50-year flood ranged from about 17 to 45 cubic feet per second per square mile. Water quality was good throughout the basin, and an abundant and diversified community of benthic invertebrates was found in samples collected during the summer reconnaissance. Permafrost underlies most of the basin, but ground water can be found in unfrozen alluvium in the stream valleys, most abundantly in the lower part of the main tributaries and along the main stem of the Unalakleet River. Ground water sustains river flow through the winter; an estimate of its quantity can be found through low-flow measurements. Ground-water quality in the basin appears to be satisfactory for most uses. Currently, little ground water is used within the basin. The water supply for Unalakleet is obtained from a well and gallery in a small valley north of the airport, outside the Unalakleet River basin. INTRODUCTION The Unalakleet River system in northwestern Alaska (fig. 1) provides spawning and rearing habitat for anadromous salmon that are important to commercial, subsistence, and sport fisheries. The rivers also form the main avenues for transportation within the region by boat in summer and by snowmobile, dog team, and small all-terrain vehicles in winter. The Unalakleet River was added to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System by Public Law 96-487 of December 2, 1980. Called the "Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act" (ANILCA), the law defined the main stem of the Unalakleet River from its headwaters to the confluence of the Chiroskey River as a wild river area. As a result of that classification, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) developed a management plan for the Unalakleet River. Because of the lack of any hydrologic information for the basin, the U.S. Geological Survey was asked to cooperate with BLM in a reconnaissance study of the water resources, giving particular emphasis to definition of streamflow characteristics. In addition to information from the reconnaissance studies, peak discharges were calculated for selected sites based on the analysis of basin characteristics. An initial reconnaissance was made in August 1982, by Don Kernodle and Andy Records of U.S. Geological Survey and Ron Huntsinger and Mark Phillips of BLM. The trip was made in two boats from the mouth of the river at Unalakleet to Old Woman River and return, with side excursions into the major tributaries. Stream discharge and field water-quality constituents were measured and dip-net samples of benthic invertebrates were collected near the mouths of the tributaries. Indirect measurements of the maximum evident flood were attempted but even though flood marks were readily 18 0° 70 * 17 2° 16 4° 15 6" 1 4 8 ' 1 4 0 9 13 2° 1 2 4 ° 70 " to E X PL A N A T IO N B as in b ou nd ar y

Hydrologic reconnaissance of the Unalakleet River basin, Alaska, 1982-83