Valley/Denali/Copper River Basin

May 04, 2009|by GoToAK staff

Valley, Denali and Copper River Areas — Mat-Su Valley
The valleys are rimmed by three major mountain ranges: the Alaska Range, the Talkeetna Mountains and the Chugach Mountains. The surrounding mountains include many mountain passes, as well as working and abandoned gold mines. Like many parts of Alaska, the Matanuska-Susitna Valley was carved by glaciers which left many small and large lakes. Both the Matanuska and Susitna Rivers have major salmon spawning streams.

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough (the Alaskan equivalent of a county, encompassing more than 24,000 square miles) governs the Mat-Su region and the sparsely-populated southwest portion of the Copper River Basin northeast of the Chugach and Talkeetna Mountains. Borough officials estimate rapid growth since 2000 drove the population to 80,000 in 2007. A few hundred Alaska Natives were joined by small numbers of "Alaska sourdoughs" between 1900 and 1930 when hundreds of "colonists" relocated by the Federal Government in the early 30's colonized the eastern Matanuska Valley between Wasilla, Palmer, and the Butte. The colonists came as part of the Matanuska Colony "New Deal" agricultural experiment sponsored by the federal government. In the 1970's relatively large numbers of newcomers to Alaska came to Anchorage, then relocated 40 miles up the Glenn Highway to the largely rural Matanuska Valley where a "Alaskan country" lifestyle pervades.

The Susitna, Matanuska, and Knik rivers are all very active glacial streams terminating in the silty Cook Inlet. The rivers convey large amounts of glacial silt that lends itself well to farming. The valley is one of the few areas in Alaska which supports agriculture.

Denali Park
The word "Denali" means "the great one" in the native Athabaskan language and refers to the mountain itself. The mountain was named after president William McKinley of Ohio in 1897 by local prospector William A. Dickey, although McKinley had no connection with the region.

Charles Sheldon took an interest in the Dall sheep native to the region, and became concerned that human encroachment might threaten the species. After his 1907-1908 visit, he petitioned the people of Alaska and Congress to create a preserve for the sheep. The park was established as Mount McKinley National Park on February 26, 1917. However, only a portion of Mount McKinley (not even including the summit) was within the original park boundary. The park was designated an international biosphere reserve in 1976. A separate Denali National Monument was proclaimed by Jimmy Carter on December 1, 1978.

Denali habitat is a mix of forest at the lowest elevations, including deciduous taiga. The preserve is also home to tundra at middle elevations, and glaciers, rock, and snow at the highest elevations. Today, the park hosts more than 400,000 visitors who enjoy wildlife viewing, mountaineering, and backpacking. Wintertime recreation includes dog-sledding, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling where allowed. The national park is located near Denali State Park.

Copper River Basin
The Copper River Basin is a nearly closed basin, floor elevations around 1500' - 2000', at the junction of the Copper and Chitina Rivers. The basin is bounded by the Talkeetna Mountains on the west, the Alaska Range on the north, the Wrangell-St Elias Range on the east, and the Chugach Range on the south. The Copper River drains to the Pacific through a narrow canyon in the Chugach Range. During glacial times, this canyon was filled with ice and an ice- dammed lake filled the basin. Since then, the rivers have cut into the lake sediments and generally flow below the level of the basin floor.

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