Cook Inlet

Cook Inlet stretches 180 miles (290 km) from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage. On its south end merges with Shelikof Strait, Stevenson Entrance, Kennedy Entrance and Chugach Passage.

The watershed covers about 100,000 km² of southern Alaska, east of the Aleutian Range, south and east of the Alaska Range, receiving water from its tributaries the Knik River, the Little Susitna River, and the Susitna and Matanuska rivers. The watershed includes the drainage areas of Denali (formerly named Mount McKinley). Within the watershed there are several national parks and the active volcano Mount Redoubt, along with three other historically active volcanoes. Cook Inlet provides navigable access to the port of Anchorage at the northern end, and to the smaller Homer port further south. Before the growth of Anchorage, Knik was the destination for most marine traffic in upper Cook Inlet. Approximately 400,000 people live within the Cook Inlet watershed.

The Cook Inlet region contains active volcanoes, including Augustine Volcano and Mount Redoubt. Volcanic eruptions in the region have been associated with earthquakes and tsunamis, and debris avalanches have resulted in tsunamis also. There was an earthquake of the magnitude of 7.1 on December 31, 1901 generated by an eruption that caused several tsunamis. In 2009 a lahar from Mt. Redoubt threatened the Drift River oil terminal.

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