The Kuskokwim Mountains is a range of mountains in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area

Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska

Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,588. It is part of the unorganized borough and therefore has no borough seat...

, 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...

, west of the Alaska Range

Alaska Range

The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 650-km-long mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest end to the White River in Canada's Yukon Territory in the southeast...

 and southeast of the Yukon River

Yukon River

The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. The source of the river is located in British Columbia, Canada. The next portion lies in, and gives its name to Yukon Territory. The lower half of the river lies in the U.S. state of Alaska. The river is long and empties into...

, at about 62°52′N 156°15′W. The Kuskokwim Mountains begin in the interior west of Fairbanks. The mountain range is about 400 km (248.5 mi) long from northeast to southwest and about 80 km (49.7 mi) wide.

The range takes its name from the Kuskokwim River

Kuskokwim River

The Kuskokwim River or Kusko River is a river, long, in Southwest Alaska in the United States. It is the ninth largest river in the United States by average discharge volume at its mouth and seventeenth largest by basin drainage area.The river provides the principal drainage for an area of the...

, which flows through the mountains.

Reported and defined in 1898 by Josiah Edward Spurr

Josiah Edward Spurr

Josiah Edward Spurr was an American geologist, explorer, and author.He led the first United States Geological Survey expedition to map and chart the interior regions of Alaska, starting with the Yukon Territory in 1896 and continuing with the Kuskokwim River region in 1898. His books were seen as...

of the USGS. Spurr applied the name "Tanana Hills" to the low mountains at the northeast end of what are now the Kuskokwim Mountains.