Copper River (Alaska)
| Copper River | |
|---|---|
A fisherman (bottom center) dipnetting for salmon on the Copper River at Chitina in Southcentral Alaska
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| Country | United States of America |
| Basin features | |
| Main source |
Copper Glacier on Mount Wrangell 4,380 ft (1,340 m) 62°10′39″N 143°49′05″W / 62.17750°N 143.81806°W |
| River mouth |
Copper Bay of Pacific Ocean 0 ft (0 m) 60°23′19″N 144°57′39″W / 60.38861°N 144.96083°WCoordinates: 60°23′19″N 144°57′39″W / 60.38861°N 144.96083°W |
| Basin size | 24,000 sq mi (62,000 km2) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Length | 290 mi (470 km) |
| Discharge |
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The Copper River or Ahtna River (/ɑːtˈnə/), Ahtna Athabascan ‘Atna’tuu ([ʔät.näʔ.tu]), "river of the Ahtnas,"Tlingit Eeḵhéeni ([iː.qʰhiː'.nɪ]), "river of copper," 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. 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. The river is the tenth largest in the United States, as ranked by average discharge volume at its mouth.
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. 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. 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' [tʃɛ.diː.näʔ] < tsedi "copper" + na’ "river"). The Copper River is approximately 290 miles (470 km) long. It drops an average of about 12 feet per mile (2.3 m/km), and drains more than 24,000 square miles (62,000 km2)—an area the size of West Virginia. The river runs at an average of 7 miles per hour (11 km/h). 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. There is an extensive area of linear sand dunes up to 250 feet (76 m) in height radiating from the mouth of the Copper River. Both Miles Glacier and Childs Glacier calve directly into the river. The Copper enters the Gulf of Alaska southeast of Cordova where it creates a delta nearly 50 miles (80 km) wide.
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Wikipedia