Rivers of the Wrangells

Amy of The World is a Book chose “A River Runs Through It” as this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, so I thought I would showcase the Copper River and its tributaries, rivers running through the Wrangell Mountains. I live deep in the heart of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. I’m surrounded by rivers. I cross 2 rivers just to get home when I reach the end of the McCarthy Road!

Not all of these rivers are called rivers. In Alaska, some rivers are only creeks, and many creeks are big enough that they should be considered rivers. McCarthy Creek is definitely one of these.

McCarthy Creek runs into the Kennicott River, the river that separates McCarthy and Kennicott from the rest of the road system in Alaska.

If you drive the McCarthy Road, one of the rivers you cross is the Gilahina. The Gilahina is a bit unusual for this region because it is not a glacial stream but a clear stream, created by snowmelt instead of glacier melt. It is also one of those rivers that might more accurately be called a creek.

Most rivers in the Wrangells are glacial streams. Glacial streams carry heavy loads of debris and silt that block the flow of the water, constantly changing its course. River beds are very wide to accommodate these changes, creating a pattern called braided streams.

Wonder why so many Alaskan rivers end in na? Na means river in Athabaskan!  All these streams I’ve mentioned flow into the Chitina River.  Chitina means “Copper River” in the language of the Ahtna people, an Athabaskan tribe. The Chitina River is THE major tributary of the Copper River. It carries much more water than the main branch of the river. This is because it drains the southern slope of the Wrangells and the northern slopes of the Chugach Mountains within the park. The northern slopes of the Wrangells, the watershed of the Copper above the confluence, are in the rainshadow and do not receive as much precipitation.

The Chitina joins the Copper River at the town of Chitina. The Copper River is one of the world’s most important wild rivers, running nearly its entire length through a vast wilderness. It’s the tenth-largest river in North America. It carries one of the greatest silt loads of any river in the world.

All that silt has built the Copper River delta at the mouth of the river, the largest contiguous wetland on the entire Pacific Coast. This area is vitally important to birds. It’s an important stop on the Pacific Flyway, one of the continent’s main migration routes. The entire world population of western sandpipers and dunlins stop here on their northern migration. The delta also harbors the world’s largest population of Trumpeter Swans.

The Copper River is also home to the best salmon in the world, Copper River Reds.

The rivers of the Wrangells are all frozen now, but breakup will be here before we know it. Cheers to the mighty Copper River and all its tributaries!