Tanana River
Encyclopedia
The Tanana River is a 584 miles (939.9 km) tributary of the Yukon River
in the U.S. state
of Alaska
. According to linguist and anthropologist William Bright
, the name is from the Koyukon
(Athabaskan) tene no, tenene, literally "trail river".
The river's headwaters are located at the confluence of the Chisana and Nabesna rivers just north of Northway
in eastern Alaska. The Tanana flows in a northwest direction from near the border with the Yukon Territory, and laterally along the northern slope of the Alaska Range
, roughly paralleled by the Alaska Highway
. In central Alaska, it emerges into a lowland marsh region known as the Tanana Valley
and passes south of the city of Fairbanks
.
In the marsh regions it is joined by several large tributaries, including the Nenana
(near the city of Nenana
) and the Kantishna
. It empties into the Yukon approximately 70 miles (112.7 km) downriver from the village of Manley Hot Springs
, near the town of Tanana
.
Ice on the river accumulates each winter to an average maximum thickness of 43 inches (109.2 cm) at Nenana. The Nenana Ice Classic, begun in 1917, is an annual guessing game about the date of the ice break-up. In October or November, after the freeze has begun, a tripod is planted in ice in the middle of the river. The tripod is connected to an on-shore clock that stops when the tripod begins to move during the spring thaw. Over the years, the break-up date has varied from April 20 to May 20. Betting on the exact time of the break-up takes the form of a lottery. In 2010, after the ice went out on April 29, three lottery winners split a jackpot of $279,030.
people. Later residents include people of the Tanana tribe, which has had a presence in the region for 1,200 years.
In the summer of 1885, Lieutenant Henry Tureman Allen
of the U.S. Army undertook the first recorded exploration of the Tanana River. In 1883, Lieutenant Frederick Schwatka
and his party had entered the Yukon watershed by way of Canada
and floated to the mouth of the Yukon. Allen's goal was to find an all-Alaska route to the Yukon River. He and his men ascended the Copper River
, crossed into Tanana River drainage, and descended the Tanana to the Yukon and down it to the mouth. During the five-month trip, the Allen party mapped the courses of the Copper, Tanana, and Koyukuk
rivers.
In the early 21st century, the basin is largely wilderness unchanged by human activity. Fairbanks, a metropolitan area with about 80,000 residents in 2005, is a center of placer
gold mining, which has continued in the basin since the mid-19th century. Limited farming also occurs in the valley near Fairbanks.
Yukon River
The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. The source of the river is located in British Columbia, Canada. The next portion lies in, and gives its name to Yukon Territory. The lower half of the river lies in the U.S. state of Alaska. The river is long and empties into...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. According to linguist and anthropologist William Bright
William Bright
William Bright was an American linguist who specialized in Native American and South Asian languages and descriptive linguistics....
, the name is from the Koyukon
Koyukon language
Koyukon is an Athabaskan language spoken along the Koyukuk and middle Yukon River in western interior Alaska. It has about 300 speakers - generally older adults bilingual in English - from an ethnic population of 2,300....
(Athabaskan) tene no, tenene, literally "trail river".
The river's headwaters are located at the confluence of the Chisana and Nabesna rivers just north of Northway
Northway, Alaska
Northway is a census-designated place in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 95 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Northway is located at ....
in eastern Alaska. The Tanana flows in a northwest direction from near the border with the Yukon Territory, and laterally along the northern slope of the Alaska Range
Alaska Range
The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 650-km-long mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest end to the White River in Canada's Yukon Territory in the southeast...
, roughly paralleled by the Alaska Highway
Alaska Highway
The Alaska Highway was constructed during World War II for the purpose of connecting the contiguous U.S. to Alaska through Canada. It begins at the junction with several Canadian highways in Dawson Creek, British Columbia and runs to Delta Junction, Alaska, via Whitehorse, Yukon...
. In central Alaska, it emerges into a lowland marsh region known as the Tanana Valley
Tanana Valley
The Tanana Valley is a lowland region in central Alaska in the United States, on the north side of the Alaska Range where the Tanana River emerges from the mountains.-Climate:...
and passes south of the city of Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
.
In the marsh regions it is joined by several large tributaries, including the Nenana
Nenana River
The Nenana River is a tributary of the Tanana River, approximately 150 mi long, in central Alaska in the United States. It drains an area on the north slope of the Alaska Range on the south edge of the Tanana Valley southwest of Fairbanks....
(near the city of Nenana
Nenana, Alaska
Nenana is a Home Rule City in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area of the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. Nenana lies at the juncture of the Nenana River and the Tanana River. The population was 402 at the 2000 census. "Nenana" means 'a good place to camp between two rivers.'-History...
) and the Kantishna
Kantishna River
The Kantishna River is a river draining the north slope of the Alaska Range with headwaters in the Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. It flows into the Tanana River....
. It empties into the Yukon approximately 70 miles (112.7 km) downriver from the village of Manley Hot Springs
Manley Hot Springs, Alaska
Manley Hot Springs is a census-designated place in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, Manley Hot Springs is a [[census-designated place]] in [[Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska|Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area]], [[Alaska]], Manley Hot Springs Manley Hot Springs (Too Naaleł Denh in Koyukon) is a...
, near the town of Tanana
Tanana, Alaska
Tanana is a city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2000 census the population was 308. It is formerly known as Clachotin...
.
Ice on the river accumulates each winter to an average maximum thickness of 43 inches (109.2 cm) at Nenana. The Nenana Ice Classic, begun in 1917, is an annual guessing game about the date of the ice break-up. In October or November, after the freeze has begun, a tripod is planted in ice in the middle of the river. The tripod is connected to an on-shore clock that stops when the tripod begins to move during the spring thaw. Over the years, the break-up date has varied from April 20 to May 20. Betting on the exact time of the break-up takes the form of a lottery. In 2010, after the ice went out on April 29, three lottery winners split a jackpot of $279,030.
History
Human habitation of the Yukon basin, including the Tanana watershed, began more than 12,000 years ago. Several sites in the watershed have produced evidence of occupation by Paleo-ArcticPaleo-Arctic Tradition
The Paleo-Arctic Tradition is the name given by archaeologists to the cultural tradition of the earliest well-documented human occupants of the North American Arctic, which date from the period 8000–5000 BC...
people. Later residents include people of the Tanana tribe, which has had a presence in the region for 1,200 years.
In the summer of 1885, Lieutenant Henry Tureman Allen
Henry Tureman Allen
Henry Tureman Allen was a United States Army officer known for exploring the Copper River in Alaska in 1885 along with the Tanana and Koyukuk rivers by transversing 1,500 miles of wilderness. His trek was been compared by General Nelson A. Miles to that of Lewis and Clark.Henry was born in...
of the U.S. Army undertook the first recorded exploration of the Tanana River. In 1883, Lieutenant Frederick Schwatka
Frederick Schwatka
Frederick Gustavus Schwatka was a United States Army lieutenant with degrees in medicine and law and a noted explorer of northern Canada and Alaska.-Early life and career:...
and his party had entered the Yukon watershed by way of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and floated to the mouth of the Yukon. Allen's goal was to find an all-Alaska route to the Yukon River. He and his men ascended the Copper River
Copper River (Alaska)
The Copper River or Ahtna River is a 300-mile 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...
, crossed into Tanana River drainage, and descended the Tanana to the Yukon and down it to the mouth. During the five-month trip, the Allen party mapped the courses of the Copper, Tanana, and Koyukuk
Koyukuk River
The Koyukuk River is a principal tributary of the Yukon River, approximately 500 mi long, in northern Alaska in the United States.It drains an area north of the Yukon on the southern side of the Brooks Range...
rivers.
In the early 21st century, the basin is largely wilderness unchanged by human activity. Fairbanks, a metropolitan area with about 80,000 residents in 2005, is a center of placer
Placer mining
Placer mining is the mining of alluvial deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment....
gold mining, which has continued in the basin since the mid-19th century. Limited farming also occurs in the valley near Fairbanks.
Major tributaries (in descending order of elevation)
- Chisana River
- Nabesna River
- Kalutna River
- Tok River
- Robertson RiverRobertson RiverThe Robertson River is a river in Stewart Island/Rakiura, New Zealand. It rises to the east of the Tin Range and flows into the sea east of Port Pegasus.-References:...
- Johnson RiverJohnson River-See also:*List of rivers of Minnesota-References:**USGS Hydrologic Unit Map - State of Minnesota...
- Little Gerstle River
- Healy River
- Volkmar River
- Gerstle River
- Clearwater Creek
- Goodpaster River
- Delta RiverDelta RiverThe Delta River is a tributary of the Tanana River, which in turn is a tributary of the Yukon River in Alaska in the United States....
- Delta Creek
- Little Delta River
- Salcha RiverSalcha RiverThe Salcha River is a river in Alaska in the United States located southeast and east of Fairbanks, in the eastern portion of Fairbanks North Star Borough. It is long and drains an area of some , making it the second largest tributary of the Tanana River, joining it at Aurora Lodge...
- Little Salcha River
- Chena RiverChena RiverThe Chena River is a 100-mile-long river in the Interior region of the U.S. state of Alaska. It flows generally west from the White Mountains to the Tanana River near the city of Fairbanks, which is built on both sides of the river...
- North Fork
- South Fork
- Wood River
- Tatlanika River
- Nenana RiverNenana RiverThe Nenana River is a tributary of the Tanana River, approximately 150 mi long, in central Alaska in the United States. It drains an area on the north slope of the Alaska Range on the south edge of the Tanana Valley southwest of Fairbanks....
- Teklanika RiverTeklanika RiverThe Teklanika River is a feeder stream to the Yukon River drainage and a tributary of the Nenana River in the central interior region of Alaska. Flowing northward from headwaters at the Cantwell Glacier in the Alaska Range and reaching to the Tanana River, it drains an area widely visited by...
- Seventeen Mile Slough
- Teklanika River
- Tolovana River
- Kantishna RiverKantishna RiverThe Kantishna River is a river draining the north slope of the Alaska Range with headwaters in the Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. It flows into the Tanana River....
- Zitziana River
- Cosna RiverCosna RiverThe Coşna River or Bancu River is a tributary of the Dorna River in Romania. The upper reach of the river is also known as Coşniţa River.-References:* Administraţia Naţională Apelor Române - Cadastrul Apelor - Bucureşti...
- Chitanana River
See also
- List of Alaska rivers
- List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem)
Works cited
- Benke, Arthur C., ed., and Cushing, Colbert E., ed. (2005). Rivers of North America. Burlington, Massachusetts: Elsevier Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-088253-1.