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Yukon River

Yukon River

2.8
A large river that flows from the Yukon in Canada through Alaska to the Bering Sea
  • proper noun
  • /ˈjuːkɒn ˈrɪvər/
translation icon : río Yukón

Examples

  • On the Yukon River, he is in the canoe for sometimes 16 hours a day, and he ruminates over his duty as an environmental activist: "Public lands are sacred."

    Fiction book (1993)
  • By the end of the 36th day, we have covered 800 miles, navigating the Yukon River to where the water plunges into chaos, a place called the Yukon Flats.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The canoe glided smoothly along the Yukon River, surrounded by stunning wilderness and wildlife.

  • During the summer, the Yukon River attracts many adventurers who enjoy fishing and rafting.

  • The historic gold rush brought thousands of prospectors to the banks of the Yukon River in the late 1800s.

Synonyms

Yukon
vsYukon River
2 4.1

A large river in northwestern North America that flows from Canada through Alaska to the Bering Sea

is the fuller more specific name used for the same river

Surface Forms

Morphology

Yukon + river

This is a straightforward place-name + noun combination: 'Yukon' (a geographic name) + 'river' (a watercourse), so a learner who knows both constituents will infer it denotes the river associated with Yukon. The pattern (place + generic noun, e.g. River Thames, Río Amazonas) is cross-linguistically common and immediately comprehensible to B1 learners.

Etymology

Yukon River gets its name from a native word that may mean 'big river' or 'great river'. The name gives a simple image of a large, important waterway, which fits why we use it today for the long river running from Yukon in Canada to the Bering Sea.