‘Astounding:’ Alaska researchers make alarming discovery in Arctic rivers

‘No place is spared’

According to a September 2025 research paper, an iconic Arctic watershed in Alaska’s Brooks Range has recently turned a dark, murky orange color, alarming scientists throughout California and Alaska. Taylor Rhoades
According to a September 2025 research paper, an iconic Arctic watershed in Alaska’s Brooks Range has recently turned a dark, murky orange color, alarming scientists throughout California and Alaska.
Taylor Rhoades

When John McPhee and his ragtag crew first kayaked into the pristine Alaskan wilderness in 1975, they were awestruck.

The author, who chronicled his reconnaissance trip in the literary classic “Coming into the Country,” was surrounded by an abundance of untouched flora and fauna. Beneath them, Arctic grayling, chum salmon and Dolly Varden swam in “the clearest, purest water” they had ever seen.

LINK: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/pristine-arctic-rivers-orange-scientists-worried-21039210.php