The Kuk River is a 36 mi long river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in North Slope Borough

North Slope Borough, Alaska

-National protected areas:* Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge ** Cape Lisburne** Cape Thompson* Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ** Mollie Beattie Wilderness * Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve...

, Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, flowing into the Chukchi Sea

Chukchi Sea

Chukchi Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west by the De Long Strait, off Wrangel Island, and in the east by Point Barrow, Alaska, beyond which lies the Beaufort Sea. The Bering Strait forms its southernmost limit and connects it to the Bering Sea and the Pacific...

. It heads at the junction of the Avalik and Kaolak River, flows N to Wainwright Inlet, 6 mi SE of Wainwright

Wainwright, Alaska

Wainwright or Ulguniq or Kuuk is a city in North Slope Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 546, making it the third largest city in the North Slope Borough. The community was named after Wainwright Lagoon, which in turn was named an officer under Capt. F.W....

. It can also be known as Kok River, Koo River or Kook River.

Its Inuit

Inuit

The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...

name means simply "river."

Surgeon John Simpson's native map, 1853, shows "Koh," "Kong," and "Tutua Wing," streams connecting the Colville River with Wainwright Inlet.

Lt. Ray, (1885, p. 55), USA, records "River at Wainwright's Inlet "Ku." Published by USC&GS in 1869, as "Kook." U. S. Navy Hydrog. Chart 69, 1892, shows two rivers, one called "Koo" and the other "Kee."