| Chatanika River | |
|---|---|
 Chatanika River panorama | |
  Location of the mouth of the Chatanika River in Alaska | |
| Native name | Ch'edenano' (Lower Tanana) |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| District | Fairbanks North Star Borough, Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | confluence of McManus and Smith creeks |
| • location | Yukon–Tanana Uplands, Fairbanks North Star Borough |
| • coordinates | 65°17′28″N 146°20′38″W / 65.29111°N 146.34389°W[1] |
| • elevation | 1,569 ft (478 m)[2] |
| Mouth | Tolovana River |
• location | 48 miles (77 km) northwest of Fairbanks, Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area |
• coordinates | 65°04′36″N 149°16′38″W / 65.07667°N 149.27722°W[1] |
• elevation | 302 ft (92 m)[1] |
| Length | 128 mi (206 km)[3] |
The Chatanika River /ˌtʃætəˈniːkə/ (Lower Tanana: Ch'edenano) is a 128-mile (206 km) tributary of the Tolovana River in the U.S. state of Alaska.[3] The Chatanika River is a clear or lightly tannic stained rapid-runoff stream that has its headwaters in the White Mountains and flows westward through valleys between summits and uplands for about four-fifths of its length before it enters Minto Flats.[4] Once in the flats—a marshy area in which multiple streams, rivers, and lakes are located— the Chatanika joins the Tolovana, which flows into the Tanana River and on to the Yukon River.[5] The Chatanika is thus a portion of the Yukon River drainage basin.
During the first portion of the 20th century, the Chatanika was dominated by the gold-mining industry,[4] which used its flow to operate gold dredges. The most visible example of this was the construction of the Davidson Ditch, a dam-and-pipeline system used to divert water to gold-mining operations closer to Fairbanks. The Ditch was abandoned in the 1950s, and during the 1967 Tanana Valley flood, the dam was damaged and became inoperable. In January 2002, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service removed the dam in conjunction with other groups, restoring the Chatanika's original flow.[6] Today, the upper Chatanika is a moderately popular rafting and fishing destination, and vacation cabins have been built at spots along its banks.
Chatanika, Alaska, located near the river, shares its name with the river.
The river contains Arctic grayling, Arctic lamprey, burbot, chum salmon, humpback whitefish, king salmon, least cisco, longnose suckers, northern pike, sheefish, and slimy sculpins.[4]
- ^ a b c "Chatanika River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. March 31, 1981. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
- ^ Derived by entering source coordinates in Google Earth.
- ^ a b Orth, Donald J.; United States Geological Survey (1971) [1967]. Dictionary of Alaska Place Names: Geological Survey Professional Paper 567 (PDF). University of Alaska Fairbanks. p. 201. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013 – via United States Government Printing Office.
- ^ a b c Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Rivers of the Lower Tanana Management Area, "The Chatanika River" Accessed August 7, 2008.
- ^ Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Rivers of the Lower Tanana Management Area, "Minto Flats" Accessed August 7, 2008.
- ^ Florida Museum of Natural History. Fish Passage Restored on Alaska's Chatanika River Archived September 13, 2006, at the Wayback Machine March 28, 2002. Accessed August 7, 2008.