File:Beaver Creek Wild and Scenic River, Alaska - 35799884894.jpg

English: Beaver Creek has its headwaters in the White Mountains, approximately 50 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska. The river flows west past the jagged limestone ridges of the White Mountains before flowing to the north and east, where it enters the Yukon Flats and joins the Yukon River.

Beaver Creek has long been a popular destination for river adventurers. The river's clear water, modest rapids and unparalleled scenery make for a relaxing trip. The river flows through the heart of the White Mountains, whose massive, white limestone formations up to several thousand feet thick offer stunning scenery and peaceful solitude. Floating Beaver Creek can take from seven days to three weeks to complete. Beaver Creek's fishery consists primarily of Arctic grayling. Northern pike, sheefish and whitefish are also present in the lower reaches of the river.

Photo by Bob Wick, BLM.

The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act provides three levels of river classification: wild, scenic, and recreational.

Wild rivers are free of dams, generally inaccessible except by trail, and represent vestiges of primitive America. Scenic rivers are free of dams, with shorelines or watersheds that are still largely primitive and shorelines that are largely undeveloped, but accessible in places by roads.

Recreational rivers are readily accessible by road or railroad, may have some development along their shorelines, and may have been dammed in the past.