[1] The Noatak River's headwaters are on the north flank of Mount Igikpak in the Schwatka Mountains of the Brooks Range in the Gates of the Arctic National Park.

[1] The Noatak flows generally westward for about 425 miles (684 km) to the Chukchi Sea at Kotzebue Sound.

The village has a 4,000-foot (1,200 m) lighted public gravel airstrip, several small stores, post office, and a school.

[9] The Noatak is fed by a relatively large watershed: as for some other large braided Arctic rivercourses, rare severe rain events can result in temporary rapid inundation, to a depth of several feet, of normally dry river bars.

[10] There are a few small remnant glaciers in the Schwatka Mountains, their contribution to the water budget of the Noatak is negligible.