Chitina River
Template:Use American English Template:Infobox river
The Chitina River (Ahtna Athabascan Tsedi Na’ Template:IPA < tsedi "copper" + na’ "river")<ref name=ahtna>Template:Cite book</ref> is a Template:Convert tributary of the Copper River in the U.S. state of Alaska.<ref name="gnis"/> It begins in the Saint Elias Mountains at the base of Chitina Glacier and flows generally northwest through the Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve to meet the smaller river<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> near Chitina.<ref name="DeLorme">Template:Cite book</ref> The watershed was once a major copper mining region.<ref name="Jettmar">Template:Cite book</ref>
Recreation
The Chitina River is suitable for floating in rafts, kayaks, and decked canoes by boaters with sufficient wilderness and whitewater skills.<ref name="Jettmar"/> From a put-in place near Hubert's Landing, slightly downstream of Chitina Glacier, the river is Class II (medium) on the International Scale of River Difficulty all the way to the mouth at Chitina.<ref name="Jettmar"/>
Boaters starting from Hubert's Landing will have to make a difficult Template:Convert portage to reach the main river channel.<ref name="Jettmar"/> It is also possible to put in at Jake's Bar, about halfway between the glacier and the river mouth. The shorter trip requires no portage.<ref name="Jettmar"/>
Hazards include cold silty water, bad weather, and the remote location.<ref name="Jettmar"/> Grizzlies pose a danger to boaters, especially near the mouths of clear tributaries, where the bears tend to congregate.<ref name="Jettmar"/> A variety of salmon, attractive to bears, migrate to and from these tributaries.<ref name="Jettmar"/>
Tributaries
The most important tributaries of the Chitina are from the north and emanate principally from the south slope of the Wrangell Mountains; in order downstream they are Nizina, Lakina, Gilahina, and Kuskulana rivers.<ref name="EllsworthDavenport1915"/> From the south the main affluents are the Tana, Chakina, and Tebay rivers, which rise in the Chugach Mountains.<ref name="EllsworthDavenport1915">Template:Cite book</ref> Kiagna River is also a southern tributary of Chitina River.<ref name="MoffitOverbeck1918">Template:Cite book</ref>
The Tebay River, and an associated set of lakes and smaller streams in the Tebay watershed, offer "the potential for some of the finest wilderness angling experiences to be had in Southcentral Alaska", according to Alaska Fishing.<ref name="Alaska Fishing">Template:Cite book</ref> The main game fish in the Tebay system are rainbow trout, lake trout, and Arctic grayling.<ref name="Alaska Fishing"/>
Gallery
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Map of the Chitina River
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Chitina River from McCarthy Road, east of Chitina, Alaska, USA (28 June 2009)
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