Its mouth is on the Beaufort Sea on the Arctic Ocean near the eastern end of Liverpool Bay at about 70 degrees north latitude.

Closer to the ocean, the river pulls above tree line, and continues through rolling tundra east of Inuvik.

[6][7] Whitewater is most intense in the middle section of the river (around Falcon Canyon and upstream).

However, the Canadian Wildlife Service's 1999 to 2008 Field Project at the Anderson River Delta entitled "Impact of Increased Harvest on the Western Arctic Snow Goose Population" shows a decline in snow geese.

[9][10] There is a larger area, 118,417 ha (292,610 acres; 1,184.17 km2), known as the Anderson River Delta Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[14] Although the Inuvialuktun name of the people is no longer known it is thought that they may have been called the Kuukugmiut, the Kuungmiut, as used by Emmanuel Felix, or Kramalit by Father Émile Petitot.

[15] In 1857, Roderick MacFarlane, known to the Inuit as "Mitchi Paloum",[16] of the Hudson's Bay Company travelled the area looking to establish trade with the Inuit who, due to conflicts with the Gwich'in and the travel required, did not want to visit the post at Fort McPherson.

On this trip he was met by a group of Inuit who proved to be hostile and he returned to Fort Good Hope.