Susitna River
Susitna River | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | United States |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• coordinates | 63°26′10″N 147°11′55″W / 63.43611°N 147.19861°W[1] Susitna Glacier on Mount Hayes |
• elevation | 2,500 ft (760 m) |
Mouth | |
• coordinates | 61°16′14″N 150°34′33″W / 61.27056°N 150.57583°W[1] Cook Inlet of Pacific Ocean, at Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m)[1] |
Length | 313 mi (504 km)[2] |
Basin size | 20,000 sq mi (52,000 km2)[2] |
Discharge | |
• average | 51,000 cu ft/s (1,400 m3/s) at mouth[2] |
The Susitna River (
Etymology and history
The Susitna River was named by the
Description
The Susitna River heads at
There are several rivers flowing into the Susitna River including East Fork Susitna River and West Fork Susitna River. The Little Susitna River is a separate river system which flows into the Cook Inlet on the other side of Susitna Flats.
The Susitna along with the Matanuska River, drains the broad Matanuska-Susitna Valley south of the Alaska Range.[5]
It rises in the
It receives the Yentna River from the northwest approximately 5 miles (8 km) north of Susitna. It is navigable to 85 mile (137 km) upstream from its mouth to Talkeetna. Valdez Creek, notable for its 1903 gold mining, is one of the small headwater tributaries of Susitna River.[6]
The Susitna River is one of Southcentral Alaska's premier sport fishing streams, with significant runs of Chinook and Coho salmon, along with resident grayling, burbot, and rainbow trout. Located within a roadless area, access to the river is difficult and is made usually by power boat or by floatplane.
Geology
The Susitna Basin, is located about 50 miles from Anchorage. As of a 2018 USGS assessment, it probably contains technically recoverable oil and gas resources using current technology—in rocks of Tertiary age (about 66 to 2.6 million years old)[7]
Location
Susitna River is on the North side of Cook Inlet 22 miles (35 km) North-East of North Foreland. Mount Susitna, a prominent landmark along the upper part of the inlet, is about 6 miles (10 km) West of the Susitna River at a point 13 miles (21 km) above the mouth.[8]
The channels across the flats at the mouth of Susitna River have depths of 2 feet (610 mm) or less at low water and change during the winter and spring because of ice and freshet action. The channels above the mouth are said to change frequently in the spring and early summer.[8]
Launches navigate Susitna River to Yentna River, about 20 miles (32 km) above Cook Inlet, thence run occasionally up the Yentna River to the forks about 65 miles (105 km) from the Susitna River. The tides are not felt more than 7 miles (11 km) from the inlet, and above this the current is swift. Overhead power cables with a least clearance of 37 feet (11 m) cross the Susitna River about 5 miles (8 km) above its mouth.[8]
Susitna Flats lie between big Susitna River and Little Susitna River and to the East of the latter.[8]
The depths offshore and in the approach to Little Susitna River are subject to drastic and continual change.[8]
Bridges
The
Construction of the bridge took place from October 1920 to February 1921. The span is 503 ft., with a height of 71 ft. in the center; the steel weighs 2,000 tons, and rests on two concrete piers, each 50 ft. high and 70 x 40 ft. in cross-section, and each containing 1,500 cubic yards of concrete. The location was chosen, just downstream of a curve, after observing the pattern of ice jams through the preceding three years.[9]
It is bridged by the George Parks Highway south of Talkeetna. South of that point, there are no other bridges, which contributes to the isolation of southwest Alaska.
Ice
Between approximately October 19 and November 14 the Susitna River ices or freezes over for the winter. [10] Between April 12 and May 10 the ice breaks-up for the summer. [10]
Tributaries
- East Fork Susitna River
- West Fork Susitna River
- Yentna River
- Deshka River
- Talkeetna River
- Chulitna River
- Oshetna River
- Tyone River
- Maclaren River
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Susitna River
- ^ a b c d "Largest Rivers in the United States" (PDF). United States Geological Survey.
"Largest Rivers in the United States". United States Geological Survey. - ^ Kari, James. 2007. Dena'ina Topical Dictionary. Fairbanks: Alaska Native Language Center.
- ^ Dall, 1870, p.12,273
- ^ "15292000 Susitna River at Gold Creek". United States Geological Survey.
- ^ Brooks, Alfred Hulse (1909). Mineral Resources of Alaska: Report on Progress of Investigations in 1908 (Public domain ed.). U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 157–.
- . Retrieved 2023-03-14.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Coast Pilot (R) Volume 9, Chapter 4, Pages: 124,224 - Susitna River nautical chart narrative" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
- ^ "Build new Alaskan bridge in dead of winter". Popular Mechanics. May 1921. p. 741.
- ^ U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2009-01-09.
External links
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- "Cook Inlet - Northern part 1:194,154 nautical chart 16660". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
- "Cook Inlet-Approaches to Anchorage, Alaska; 1:50,000 nautical chart 16665". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
- "Cook Inlet-East Foreland to Anchorage, Alaska; North Foreland 1:100,000 nautical chart 16663". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
- "Matanuska-Susitna, Wasilla & Palmer Area History". Agate Inn. Archived from the original on 2008-02-03.