Nahanni River Rafting, Canoeing; Nahanni National Park, NWT Canada

The Nahanni River is truly the icon of Canadian wilderness rivers. The Nahanni is situated in a mountainous landscape and flows through Canada’s deepest river canyons, past hot springs and geological features so unique that the Nahanni River was declared the first World Heritage Site by the United Nations in 1978.

The South Nahanni River, lying within Nahanni National Park is one of North America's finest wild rivers and rushes 322 kilometres through the park. At Virginia Falls, the river cascades down the cliffs of Nahanni National Park to form this continent's most spectacular undeveloped waterfall with twice the height of Niagara Falls. Immediately downriver from Virginia Falls lie eight kilometres of nearly continuous rapids and standing waves created as the Nahanni River flows through Fourth Canyon. Nahanni National Park contains a number of strikingly different landscapes within it. Four great canyons, up to 1,200 metres deep, line the Nahanni. At Rabbitkettle Hotsprings, warm (20°C) water radiates outward to form an intricately terraced mound of tufa rock, more than 27 metres high.

The Nahanni River’s reputation as a land of mystery and romance is supported by names like Deadmen’s Valley, Headless Creek, Funeral Range , Burial Range , Hells Gate and Painted Canyon . Inhabited by moose, caribou, Dall Sheep, grizzly and black bear and a host of others, the Nahanni River is also rich in human history with legends and lore inseperable from its physical beauty.

Each of our Nahanni canoeing and rafting expeditions include Virginia Falls, the canyons and the small and isolated First Nation community of Nahanni Butte. All of our Nahanni River canoeing and whitewater rafting trips depart from Fort Simpson and all include opportunities for hiking. We predict you too will fall in love with this regal river with such a beautiful name.

History of the Nahanni River
For thousands of years, the ancestors of the modern day Dene people lived and hunted in the Nahanni. Over time, three distinct regional bands of native people became established in the area. The Slavey people lived along the shores of the MacKenzie and Liard Rivers while the mountainous country to the west was home to two nomadic bands of natives, the Mountain Indians and a small group of Kaska Indians known to the Slavey as the 'Nahaa'. These were the mysterious Indians referred to as the 'Nahannis' by the white fur traders who came into the country in the 1800's. The South Nahanni River is named after this group of indigenous people.

Alexander McLeod, the Chief Trader at Fort of the Forks, a Hudsons Bay Company Post later renamed Fort Simpson, was the first recorded European to venture into the land of the Nahaa in the year 1823. Others seeking furs and gold soon followed, Macabre incidents and traditional native lore intertwined to weave legends about the Nahanni region. In 1908, the headless skeletons of the McLeod brothers were found along the river in what is today known as Deadmen Valley. Other skeletons and corpses followed and the Nahanni became fertile ground for lurid tales - a place where brave men and women feared to go.

It wasn't until the late 1920s, when prospector Albert Faille and adventurer R.M. Patterson ventured up the river, that some of the myths were dispelled. Patterson's book, Dangerous River, brought world-wide attention to the region. Although rumours of gold in the Nahanni still abound, this precious treasure has never been found in any quantity in the Nahanni region.

Geographic Highlights of the Nahanni
The Nahanni River’s headwaters lie in the Selwyn Mountains. The river flows through the mountains and gorges of the MacKenzie Mountains and ends in the wide valley flats near its mouth. Geographers describe the river as an antecedent river, meaning “one whose direction of flow was established before the mountains rose”. Before the mountains in this area were created, the Nahanni wandered across a wide plain. When the rock uplifts occurred, the river maintained its course by cutting through the rock strata. This resulted in the formation of canyons believed to be 1.4 million years old. Unlike most of Canada, this area was not completely covered by ice during the last ice age. Because of this, parts of the Nahanni River Valley were not affected by glaciations for at least 300,000 years. It is believed that the scouring and widening of the Nahanni river valley was caused by advancing glaciers 2 million years ago.

The wilderness region surrounding the Nahanni contains rugged mountains and one of the deepest river canyon systems in the world. It also hosts one of the most remarkable karst limestone landscapes found anywhere. Caves, hot springs, tufa mounds, sand blowouts, spectacular plateaux, fossils and countless other geological phenomena are evident along the Nahanni valley.

Weather on the Nahanni
The Nahanni River is located in a semi arid region. Be prepared for a wide range of weather conditions. Summer weather may be hot and dry although (on the rare occasion) it could snow, especially near the end of August. While inclement weather is a possibility at anytime, the weather is usually moderate. The average July temperature is 16°C. and during August is 14°C. Summer precipitation is mainly convective in nature, occurring mainly in the afternoons or evenings in the form of showers or thunderstorms. We provide you with appropriate recommendations for what to pack and wear in our Nahanni trip information.

Flora and Fauna
The flora of the Nahanni River area may be more diverse than that of any other region of comparable size in the NWT. Although white and black spruce predominate, there is a fascinating variety of other vegetation in the region. This is primarily due to the existence of highly specialized habitats like hot springs, mist zones near waterfalls, unglaciated terrain and areas of discontinuous permafrost.

Wildlife in the Nahanni region are diverse and abundant. Moose, woodland caribou, wood buffalo, Dall sheep, mountain goat, grizzly and black bears frequent the South Nahanni River Valley, as do porcupine, beaver and a number of smaller rodents. Because the river is often silty, fishing is not as plentiful however Dolly Varden, lake trout and grayling can be caught in the clearer waters of the many tributaries that join the river. One hundred and seventy species of birds have been recorded in the park including trumpeter swans, bald eagles, golden eagles, peregrine and gyrfalcons.

Reading List

Your guides will carry a small reference library that will include field reference books. Following are some books for winter reading

Nahanni - River of Gold... River of Dreams by Neil Hartling. This is available from our Northern Bestsellers List.
Nahanni - The River Guide by Peter Jowett. This is available from our Northern Bestsellers List.
Dangerous River by R.M. Patterson. This is available from our Northern Bestsellers List.
How to Shit in the Woods by Kathleen Meyer. 10 Speed Press, PO Box 7123, Berkeley, CA 94707.
A Naturalist's Guide to the Arctic by E.C. Pielou. This is available from our Northern Bestsellers List.
After the Ice Age - The Return of Life to Glaciated North America by E.C. Pielou. This is available from our Northern Bestsellers List.

Nahanni River Adventures, Nahanni offers exceptional expeditions by raft and canoe on the great rivers from Alaska to Nunavut including: South Nahanni River, Tatshenshini River, Alsek River, Firth River, Snake River, Wind River, Stikine River, Burnside River, Coppermine River, Horton River, Mountain River, Yukon River, Taku River, Gataga River and Sea Kayaking and whale watching at Point Adolphus, Alaska, over-looking Glacier Bay National Park.

Our expeditions encompass Nahanni National Park (South Nahanni River), Kluane National Park (Alsek River), Ivvavik National Park (Firth River), Glacier Bay National Park (Alsek River), Herschel Island Territorial Park (Firth River).

Nahanni River Adventures operates in Alaska (United States of America), Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and British Columbia (Canada).

Nahanni.com is the online presence of the company, Nahanni River Adventures Ltd.

Nahanni River Adventures works with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society to ensure the environmental integrity of our wild places.

Neil Hartling, founder of Nahanni River Adventures, is also the author of: Nahanni, River of Gold...River of Dreams. Alaska to Nunavut - The Great Rivers. Nahanni River Guide. These books may all be purchased through Nahanni.com.

Common misspellings of the name are Nahani, Nahannie, Nahanie, Nahoni, Nahonni.
Nahanni River Adventures.