Slims River Explained

The Slims River (Ä’äy Chù) was a glacially fed river in the Canadian territory of Yukon.^[1] Until 2016,^[2] it originated in the Kaskawulsh Glacier, then ran approximately 15 mi (24 km) into the southern terminus of Kluane Lake.^[3]

Over the course of a few days in the spring of 2016 the flow of the river was changed.^[4] Where the meltwater of the Kaskawulsh Glacier had been draining in two directions, now it was all draining into the south-flowing Kaskawulsh River, and further on into the Gulf of Alaska, drastically reducing the size of the Slims.^[5] Researchers suggested the change in flow could be due to manmade climate change; this was the first time manmade climate change was implicated in the reorganization of a river.^{[6] [7]}

Naming

The Slims River was purportedly named after a pack horse that drowned while attempting to ford the stream during the 1903 Kluane gold rush.^[8] It is crossed by the Alaska Highway at Mile 1065 (Kilometre 1704) just south of its confluence with the lake.

The Indigenous name of the river (Ä’äy Chù) refers to it being the outflow from Ä’äy.^[9]

References

61.0111°N -138.4917°W

Notes and References

1. Web site: Kaskawulsh Glacier - Canadian Glacier Inventory Project. cgip.wikifoundry.com. 2016-01-17.
2. News: Retreating Yukon glacier makes river disappear. CBC News. 2017-02-20. en.
3. Web site: Slims River, Kluane National Park – Map Portfolio – Brodie Elder. bemaps.wordpress.com. 2016-01-17.
4. Shugar. Daniel H.. Clague. John J.. Best. James L.. Schoof. Christian. Willis. Michael J.. Copland. Luke. Roe. Gerard H.. May 2017. River piracy and drainage basin reorganization led by climate-driven glacier retreat. Nature Geoscience. en. 10. 5. 370–375. 10.1038/ngeo2932. 1752-0894.
5. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/apr/17/receding-glacier-causes-immense-canadian-river-to-vanish-in-four-days-climate-change "Receding glacier causes immense Canadian river to vanish in four days"
6. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/science/ct-climate-change-reroutes-yukon-river-20170417-story.html#scso=uid_WPT5eQACsIQKY9dH_gHD-Q_1:0 For the first time on record, human-caused climate change has rerouted an entire river
7. Web site: Loukili . Youssef . Pomeroy . John . 30 November 2018 . The Changing Hydrology of Lhù’ààn Mǟn - Kluane Lake - under Past and Future Climates and Glacial Retreat . University of Saskatchewan Centre for Hydrology.
8. Web site: The Slims River Bridge, Alaska Highway. explorenorth.com. 2016-01-17.
9. Wong . Carmen . Ballegooyen . Kate . Ignace . Lawrence . Johnson . Mary Jane (Gùdia) . Swanson . Heidi . 2020 . Towards reconciliation: 10 Calls to Action to natural scientists working in Canada . FACETS . 5 . 1 . 769–783 . 10.1139/facets-2020-0005. free .