The average flow is 6400-7000 m3/s. The total drainage area is 854,700 km2, of which 323,800 km2 lies in Canada. The total area is more than 25% larger than Texas or Alberta.

The longest river in Alaska and Yukon, it was one of the principal means of transportation during the 1896-1903 Klondike Gold Rush. A portion of the river in Yukon--"The Thirty Mile" section, from Lake Laberge to the Teslin River--is