22 ■ SALMON AND TROUT IN ALASKA. 



THE NAHA. 

 CHARACTER OF THE STREAM. 



The Naha River rises in the upper central part of Revillagigedo 

 Island, Southeast Alaska. Its extreme upper part has not been 

 explored, but doubtless possesses no characters of note differing from 

 the usual mountain stream of that region. As a whole the stream 

 is somewhat peculiar in the large number of lakes (four) in its course, 

 but the total surface area of these four lakes is no greater in propor- 

 tion to the volume of the stream than may be found in other instances, 

 for example, the Karta River. The upper two of these lakes are of 

 no great importance to the present salmon run, since a fall of some 

 30 feet, together with a series of broken cascades below the ower one, 

 now prevents the ascent of the salmon. The two lakes are connected 

 by a short reach of the stream which offers no obstruction to the pas- 

 sage of fish between them. The lower one, known as Patching Lake, 

 is weU stocked with cutthroat and DoUy Varden trout, and seems to 

 contain also the dwarf form of the sockeye. In the spring of 1903 

 a plant of sockeye fry was made in the connecting stream, making 

 the original presence of the dwarf form subject to some doubt. 

 Patching Lake is the largest of the four lakes and is probably the 

 deepest. It is between 2 and 3 miles in length and less than one-half 

 mile in width. Depths of 140 feet have been sounded. 



In the lower course of the river, and yet accessible to salmon, are 

 two lakes, Heckman Lake, about H miles in length, and Jordan Lake, 

 of about 1 mile. At the mouth of the stream is a brackish-water 

 lagoon, about 1 mile in length, known as Roosevelt Lagoon. This 

 latter receives the salt water from Naha Bay at ordinary and spring 

 tides. Its surface water shows brackish everywhere except in time 

 of flood waters, and the greater depths are doubtless quite salt. 



The greatest depth in Heckman Lake is about 130 feet, in Jordan 

 Lake somewhat less. The area and shallowness of these lakes, 

 together with their exposed situation, admit of an early acquisition 

 of high surface temperatures. Fortmann Hatchery is located at the 

 head of Heckman Lake adjacent to the most important natural 

 spawning ground of the sockeye. These beds are about 6 miles from 

 tide water, one-half of this distance being occupied by the lagoon 

 and lakes. As originally found they were about 400 yards in length 

 and of perhaps 15 or 20 yards average width, the whole more or less 

 covered with logs and drift. In addition to these, small parts of the 

 section of the river connecting Jordan and Heckman lakes were used; 

 also McCune Creek at the upper end of Heckman Lake, and unim- 

 portant areas of Emma Creek, a small tributary of Jordan Lake. All 

 of these beds are also frequented by the coho and humpback salmon, 

 but the greater number of these two species do not reach Heckman 



