Matanuska River
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The Matanuska River is a river, approximately 75 miles (120 km) long, in Southcentral Alaska, United States. It drains a broad valley south of the Alaska Range known as the Matanuska-Susitna Valley.
Its headwaters are at Matanuska Glacier in the northern Chugach Mountains, approximately 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Anchorage. It flows generally west-southwest through the Mat-Su Valley, between the Chugach range to the south and the Talkeetna Mountains to the north. It flows past Palmer and enters the Knik Arm of Cook Inlet from the northeast approximately 25 mi (40 km) northeast of Anchorage.
The Mat-Su Valley is one of the most settled regions of Alaska and one of the few areas in the state to support agriculture. The river is a popular destination for whitewater rafting.
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[edit] Etymology
The indigenous Dena'ina Athabascan name for the rive river is Ch'atanhtnu, based on the root -tanh 'trail extends out', meaning literally 'trail comes out river'.[1] The English place name Matanuska derives from the Dena'ina 'Ch'atanhtnu Li'a', referring to the Matanuska Glacier.[2] Li'a is the Dena'ina word for 'glacier' or 'ice'.
[edit] Further reading
- Curran, J.H., and McTeague, M.L., 2011, Geomorphology and bank erosion of the Matanuska River, southcentral Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2011–5214, 52 p.
[edit] References
- ^ Kari, James. 2007. Dena'ina Topical Dictionary. Fairbanks: Alaska Native Language Center
- ^ Orth, Donald. 1967. Dictionary of Alaska Place Names. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.
[edit] See also
Media related to Matanuska River at Wikimedia Commons- List of Alaska rivers
- Matanuska Formation
Media related to Coordinates: 61°29′49″N 149°16′11″W / 61.49694°N 149.26972°W
