| Draanjik River | |
| Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Alaska |
| Pushpin Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the mouth of the Black River in Alaska |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Alaska |
| Subdivision Type4: | Census Area |
| Subdivision Name4: | Yukon - Koyukuk |
| Length: | 160miles |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 65.5592°N -141.8553°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 2356feet[1] |
| Mouth: | Black River Slough, Porcupine River |
| Mouth Location: | 16miles northeast of Fort Yukon, Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 66.6642°N -144.7278°W[2] |
| Mouth Elevation: | 440feet |
The Draanjik or Black River is a river in eastern Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, United States. It flows generally northwest 160miles from its source to its mouth on the Black River Slough of the Porcupine River near the city of Fort Yukon.[2] In January 2014, the Alaska Historical Commission voted to rename the river to Draanjik, its Gwich'in name, a decision which later found approval by the Board of Geographic Names.[3] [4]
The local Gwich'in name for the river is "Draanjik," which translates as "Caches Along The River." The river gives its name to the Draanjik Gwich'in of Chalkyitsik.
The river has borne several other names: Big Black River (in order to distinguish it from similarly named streams), Orange Creek, Salmon Fork, Salmon River, Squirrel Creek, and Squirrel River. The Board on Geographic Names officially ruled in favor of "Black River" in 1959.[2]