Iditarod

River in western Alaska, USA, rising near the Russian Mountains and flowing in an arc to the Innoko River, which in turn feeds into the Yukon River; length about 240 km/150 mi.

Gold was discovered at the now deserted mining town of Iditarod, on the river, in 1908. The town is on the route of, and gives its name to, the annual 1,868-km/1,160-mi-long Iditarod dog-sled race from Anchorage to Nome, inaugurated in 1973.

Following an old mail route, the race commemorates a 1925 medical mission to Nome during a diphtheria epidemic. Traversing the Alaska Range and running along the Yukon River and Bering Sea coast, it begins in March and attracts some 50 drivers and teams. The winner usually takes 10-11 days to complete the course.