The Whiting River is a 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 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...

 and British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, entering the waters of Stephens Passage

Stephens Passage

Stephens Passage is a channel in the Alexander Archipelago in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of Alaska. It runs between Admiralty Island to the west and the Alaska mainland and Douglas Island to the east, and is about 170 km long...

 at the Borough of Juneau

Juneau, Alaska

The City and Borough of Juneau is a unified municipality located on the Gastineau Channel in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900...

 in the Alaska Panhandle

Alaska Panhandle

Southeast Alaska, sometimes referred to as the Alaska Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, which lies west of the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The majority of Southeast Alaska's area is part of the Tongass National Forest, the United...

 between the mouths of the Taku

Taku River

The Taku River is a river running from British Columbia, Canada, to the northwestern coast of North America, at Juneau, Alaska. Its mouth coincides with the Alaska-British Columbia border...

 and Stikine River

Stikine River

The Stikine River is a river, historically also the Stickeen River, approximately 610 km long, in northwestern British Columbia in Canada and southeastern Alaska in the United States...

s. The main tributary of the Whiting is the South Whiting. The river's basin is at the northern end of the Stikine Icecap

Stikine Icecap

The Stikine Icecap is a large icefield straddled on the Alaska–British Columbia boundary in the Alaska Panhandle region. It lies in the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains...

  The river crosses the international boundary at 58°11′00"N 133°13′00"W. Its origin is in the Chechidla Range

Chechidla Range

The Chechidla Range is a mountain range in northernwestern British Columbia, Canada, located about west of Dease Lake and 125–150 km south-southeast of Atlin. It has an area of 3236 km2 and lies roughly in between the Whiting and Sutlahine Rivers on the west and northwest and the Samotua...

, and its terminus is at Gilbert Bay, which empties into Stephens Passage

Stephens Passage

Stephens Passage is a channel in the Alexander Archipelago in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of Alaska. It runs between Admiralty Island to the west and the Alaska mainland and Douglas Island to the east, and is about 170 km long...

.
The river is 64 km (40 mi) in length and was named in 1888 for Lieutenant Commander C.M. Thomas, USN, for assistant surgeon Robert Whiting, USN, a member of his surveying party.