INNOKO RIVER

river, west-central Alaska, U.S., the westernmost major tributary of the Yukon River. It rises in the Kuskokwim Mountains west of the town of McGrath and flows north, then southwest for about 500 miles (800 km) before joining the Yukon near Holy Cross. The name Innoko, first used by the Russian explorer Lavrenty Zagoskin during his 184244 expedition, is probably an Ingalik Indian word, but its meaning is unknown. During the 1907 gold rush, prospectors rushed into the valley and set up several mining camps, which included Ophir, Poorman, and Cripple. The streams, however, never produced much alluvial gold, and the Innoko valley remains largely wilderness.