The Hoodoo River's watershed covers 128 km2 (49 sq mi),[6] and its mean annual discharge is an estimated 8.82 m3/s (311 cu ft/s).[6] The river's watershed's land cover is classified as 49.4% snow/glacier, 22.7% barren, 10.6% conifer forest, 9.8% shrubland, and small amounts of other cover.[6]
The Hoodoo River originates from the meltwaters of Hoodoo Glacier, a valley glacier that flows from the Andrei Icefield which dominates the mountains north of the Hoodoo River and from which numerous glaciers extend in all directions. This large glacial field is named after the son of Olav Mokievsky-Zubok, a glaciologist who carried out significant glaciological work in the Coast Mountains from the 1960s to the 1970s.[13]
From Hoodoo Glacier the Hoodoo River flows south along the west side of Hoodoo Mountain and through glacial meltwater lakes, then through a coastal western hemlock forest. About 3 km (1.9 mi) north of the Iskut River the Hoodoo River is joined by its main tributary, an unnamed stream flowing southeast from the glaciers of Surprise Mountain.[14] From this confluence of the two forks, the Hoodoo River continues south through an increasingly braided channel before emptying into the Iskut River.[9][2][15]
^ abLength measured using BCGNIS coordinates, topographic maps, and Toporama
^ abcde"Northwest Water Tool". BC Water Tool. GeoBC, Integrated Land Management Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Government of British Columbia. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
^Kargel, Jeffery S.; Leonard, Gregory J.; Wheate, Roger D.; Edwards, Benjamin (2014). "ASTER and DEM Change Assessment of Glaciers Near Hoodoo Mountain, British Columbia, Canada". Global Land Ice Measurements from Space. Springer Science+Business Media. pp. 353, 354, 355, 364, 365, 367, 371. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-79818-7_15. ISBN3-662-50130-9.