The river is largely located in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

It flows 46 miles (74 km) west from the Philip Smith Mountains into the Sagavanirktok River.

[2] The river is so named by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) geologists in 1951, "because one of the geologists named Don had a rib injury."

The Iñupiat name "Shukukpaukat" refers to the "high, steep, sharp mountains" that bound it.

This article related to a river in Alaska is a stub.