Copper River (Alaska)
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The Copper River or Ahtna River (Template:IPAc-en; Template:Langx Template:IPA, "river of the Ahtnas";<ref name=ahtna1>Template:Cite book</ref> Template:Langx Template:IPA), "river of copper",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="place">Template:Cite book</ref> is a 290-mile (470 km) river in south-central Alaska in the United States. It drains a large region of the Wrangell Mountains and Chugach Mountains into the Gulf of Alaska.<ref name=usgs>Template:Cite web</ref> It is known for its extensive delta ecosystem, as well as for its prolific runs of wild salmon, which are among the most highly prized stocks in the world.<ref name=nwf>Template:Cite book</ref> The river is the tenth largest in the United States, as ranked by average discharge volume at its mouth.<ref name = "USGS-LR" >Template:Cite web</ref>
Description
The Copper River rises out of the Copper Glacier, which lies on the northeast side of Mount Wrangell, in the Wrangell Mountains, within Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park.<ref name=faq>Template:Cite web</ref> It begins by flowing almost due north in a valley that lies on the east side of Mount Sanford, and then turns west, forming the northwest edge of the Wrangell Mountains and separating them from the Mentasta Mountains to the northeast.<ref name=journal>Template:Cite journal</ref> It continues to turn southeast, through a wide marshy plain to Chitina, where it is joined from the southeast by the Chitina River (Ahtna Athabascan Tsedi Na' Template:IPA < tsedi "copper" + na’ "river").<ref name=journal/><ref name=ahtna>Template:Cite book</ref>
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The Copper River is approximately Template:Convert long.<ref name=geomorph>Template:Cite book</ref> It drops an average of about Template:Convert, and drains more than Template:Convert—an area the size of West Virginia.<ref name=geomorph/><ref name=gpo>Template:Cite book</ref> The river runs at an average of Template:Convert.<ref name=gpo/>
Downstream from its confluence with the Chitina it flows southwest, passing through a narrow glacier-lined gap in the Chugach Mountains within the Chugach National Forest east of Cordova Peak.<ref name=float>Template:Cite web</ref> There is an extensive area of linear sand dunes up to Template:Convert in height radiating from the mouth of the Copper River.<ref name=thisland>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Both Miles Glacier and Childs Glacier calve directly into the river.<ref name=chugach>Template:Cite web</ref> The Copper enters the Gulf of Alaska southeast of Cordova where it creates a delta nearly Template:Convert wide.<ref name=thisland/>
History
The name of the river comes from the abundant copper deposits along the upper river that were used by Alaska Native population and then later by settlers from the Russian Empire and the United States.<ref name=npshistory/> Extraction of the copper resources was problematic due to navigation difficulties at the river's mouth.<ref name=journal/><ref name=npshistory>Template:Cite web</ref> The construction of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway from Cordova through the upper river valley from 1908 to 1911 allowed widespread extraction of the mineral resources, in particular from the Kennecott Mine, discovered in 1898.<ref name=npshistory/><ref name=r2>Template:Cite web</ref> The mine was abandoned in 1938 and is now a ghost town tourist attraction and historic district maintained by the National Park Service.<ref name=npshistory/><ref name=r2/>
Copper River Highway (Alaska Route 10) runs from Cordova to the lower Copper River near Childs Glacier, following the old railroad route and ending at the reconstructed Million Dollar Bridge across the river.<ref name="Milepost">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Googlemaps">Template:Google Maps</ref> The Tok Cut-Off (Alaska Route 1) follows the Copper River Valley on the north side of the Chugach Mountains.<ref name=tok>Template:Cite web</ref>
Fisheries
The river's famous salmon runs arise from the use of the river watershed by over 2 million salmon each year for spawning.<ref name=chugach/> The extensive runs result in many unique varieties, prized for their fat content.<ref name=recipe>Template:Cite web</ref> The river's commercial salmon season is very brief, beginning in May for chinook salmon, and sockeye salmon for periods lasting mere hours or several days at a time.<ref name=opening>Template:Cite web</ref> Sport fishing by contrast is open all year-long,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but peak season on the Copper River lasts from August to September, when the coho salmon runs.<ref name=season>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref name=silver>Template:Cite book</ref> The fisheries are co-managed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) and the Department of the Interior Federal Subsistence Board.<ref name=season/><ref name=subsistence>Template:Cite web</ref> Management data is obtained primarily by ADF&G at the Miles Lake sonar station and via the native village of Eyak at the Baird Canyon and Canyon Creek research stations.<ref name=eyak>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=sonar>Template:Cite web</ref>
Birding
The Copper River Delta, which extends for 700,000 acres (2,800 km2), is the largest contiguous wetlands along the Pacific coast of North America.<ref name=thisland/><ref name=chugach/> It is used annually by 16 million shorebirds, including the world's entire population of western sandpipers and the pacific flyway population of dunlins.<ref name=bird>Template:Cite web</ref> It is also home to the world's largest population of nesting trumpeter swans and is the only known nesting site for the dusky Canada goose subspecies (Branta canadensis occidentalis).<ref name=USFS>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=dusky>Template:Cite web</ref>
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Miles Glacier Bridge, showing earthquake damage and temporary repair, 1984
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Rafters and Child's Glacier on the lower Copper River
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Fishwheels on the Copper River
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Sand dunes on the Copper River
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Copper River near Chitina, looking south from the bridge
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Black spruce taiga along the Copper River
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Wind picks up fine sediment from the riverbank and carries it over the ocean.
See also
References
Further reading
- Brabets, Timothy P. (1997). Geomorphology of the Lower Copper River, Alaska [U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1581]. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
External links
- Ecotrust Copper River Program
- Copper River salmon habitat management study Prepared for Ecotrust by Marie E. Lowe of the Institute of Social and Economic Research, hosted by Alaska State Publications Program
- Alaska Department of Fish and Game: Copper River Salmon
- Eyak Preservation Council
- Nature Conservancy: Copper River Delta
- The Copper River Watershed Project
- NVE Fisheries Research and Seasonal Employment on the Copper River
- Cordova District Fishermen United
- Template:Usurped
- Copper River | Chitina Dipnet Fishery Escapement Charts