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〕 | mouth_elevation_imperial = 0 | mouth_elevation_note = 〔 | length_imperial =350 | length_round = 0 | length_note = 〔 | watershed_imperial = 20500 | watershed_round = -3 | watershed_note = | discharge_location = | discharge_imperial = | discharge_round = 1 | discharge_note = | discharge_max_imperial = | discharge_min_imperial = | discharge1_location = | discharge1_note = | map = Colvillerivermap.png | map_size = 300 | map_caption = Colville River course and drainage basin in northern Alaska. |map_alt = | map1 = | map1_size = 300 | map1_caption = | map1_locator = |map1_alt = | commons = }} The Colville River (Inupiat: ''Kuukpik'') is a major river of the Arctic Ocean coast of Alaska in the United States, approximately long.〔 One of the northernmost major rivers in North America, it drains a remote area of tundra on the north side of the Brooks Range entirely above the Arctic Circle. The river is frozen for more than half the year and floods each spring. It rises on the north slope of the De Long Mountains, at the western end of the Brooks Range, north of the continental divide in the southwestern corner of the National Petroleum Reserve. It flows initially north, then generally east through the foothills on the north side of the range, broadening as it receives the inflow of many tributaries that descend from the middle Brooks Range.〔 Along its middle course it forms the southeastern border of the National Petroleum Reserve.〔 At the Iñupiat village of Umiat it turns north to flow across the Arctic plain, entering the western Beaufort Sea in a broad delta near Nuiqsut,〔 approximately 120 mi (190 km) west of Prudhoe Bay. Measuring about , the river's triangular delta includes 34 distributaries, each with its own mouth, at normal water stages. During high water, the number of distributaries may reach 5,000. The largest distributary is the Nechalic Channel, which flows through Nuiqsut.〔 The river valley contains unexploited petroleum and natural gas deposits. A current proposal by the State of Alaska to bridge the river near Nuiqsut would be the first major river crossing north of the Arctic Circle in North America. According to the United States Geological Survey, in 1837 British explorers P. W. Dease and Thomas Simpson named the river for Andrew Colvile, whose last name they spelled "Colville".〔 ==Wildlife== The Colville River and its adjacent hills are home to a variety of Arctic wildlife. The Colville runs through the range of the Teshekpuk and Central Arctic caribou herds, making it a landmark and obstacle in one of the world's largest animal migrations.〔Alaska Department of Fish and Game, ''Caribou Species Profile'', http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=caribou.main〕 It is also home to brown bears and, nearer the Arctic coast, polar bears. The Colville River has been called "hawk heaven" for its incredible concentration of peregrine falcons, gyrefalcons, and golden eagles. The steep, loose bluffs of the Colville River provide prime nesting habitat for many birds.〔On Arctic Ground, "Colville River Special Area: Arctic River of Raptors", http://www.onarcticground.org/colville-river/〕〔Alaska Department of Fish and Game, "Bird Viewing: Gyrfalcon", http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=birdviewing.birdersbirds&species=gyrfalcon〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Colville River (Alaska)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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