The Chuitna River , sometimes called the Chuit , emerges from a broad expanse of forest and wetlands west of Anchorage and drains into Cook Inlet . The river and its tributaries support all five species of Pacific salmon , Dolly Varden and trout, and the region is home to abundant wildlife, including moose, wolves, and bears. The area attracts sports fishing and hunting enthusiasts, and supports subsistence hunting and fishing activities. River fish stocks enhance Cook Inlet salmon populations.
15-475: The Chuitna's 25-mile (40 km) length courses from its headwaters at the base of the Alaska Range to its mouth at Cook Inlet between the remote Alaska villages of Tyonek and Beluga on the west shore of upper Cook Inlet. The waterway and its tributaries are vital to the subsistence lifestyles of local residents whose villages are not connected to Alaska's road system. Though marked on some maps as "highways,"
30-495: A Delaware Corporation, holds a lease on 20,571 acres (83.2 km) of land within the coal fields. The corporation is pursuing state and federal permits for a massive surface strip mine called the Chuitna Coal Project . If granted those permits, PacRim proposes to excavate as much as 1 billion metric tons of coal from the lease territory over several decades. PacRim officials have said the mine would create 300 to 350 jobs and
45-658: A generally east–west arc with its northernmost part in the center, and from there trending southwest towards the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands , and trending southeast into British Columbia and the Pacific Coast Ranges . The mountains act as a high barrier to the flow of moist air from the Gulf of Alaska northwards, and thus have some of the harshest weather in the world. The heavy snowfall also contributes to
60-750: A number of large glaciers , including the Cantwell , Castner , Black Rapids, Susitna , Yanert , Muldrow , Eldridge , Ruth , Tokositna , and Kahiltna Glaciers. Four major rivers cross the Alaska Range, including the Delta and Nenana Rivers in the center of the range and the Nabesna and Chisana Rivers to the east. The range is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire , and the Denali Fault that runs along its southern edge
75-555: A tax revenue stream to local and state government coffers. Critics say the mine would devastate as much as 30 square miles (78 km) of wildlife habitat and destroy vital tributaries to the Chuitna River, including some 11 miles (18 km) of salmon spawning and rearing sites. Permitting the mine would be unprecedented, marking the first time Alaska had ever permitted mining through an active salmon stream. The sub-bituminous coal would most likely be shipped to Asian markets. Because
90-525: Is responsible for many major earthquakes . Mount Spurr is a stratovolcano located at the northeastern end of the Aleutian Volcanic Arc which has two vents, the summit and nearby Crater Peak. Parts of the Alaska Range are protected within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve , Denali National Park and Preserve , and Lake Clark National Park and Preserve . Several highways cross through
105-680: The Tanana River via Miles Pass. He noted that it would be possible to build a road from Prince William Sound to the Yukon River . Six years later, Frederick Schwatka and Charles W. Hayes crossed the extreme eastern end of the range via the White River and into the Copper River basin through Skolai Pass in what is now called Saint Elias Mountains . In 1898, W. C. Mendenhall and E. F. Glenn traversed Isabel Pass and were within 15-20 miles of
120-671: 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. Denali , the highest mountain in North America , is in the Alaska Range. The range is part of the American Cordillera . The Alaska Range is one of the higher ranges in the world after the Himalayas and the Andes . The range forms
135-649: The "Chigmit Mountains" and the northeastern part the "Beaver Mountains". However, the Chigmit Mountains are now considered part of the Aleutian Range . Starting in the mid 1880s to early 1900s, early non-native explorers traversed various sections of the Alaska Range. The first recorded expedition was in the Eastern Alaska Range led by H. T. Allen in 1885. His team went from Suslota Lake to Tetlin Lake and unto
150-539: The Chuitna River basin. The river cuts through glacial deposits overlain by Tertiary -aged sedimentary rocks . Plateaus between drainages release their water poorly and are prone to extensive bogs and marshes, ponds and lakes, but alluvial corridors along stream courses are free draining. The area through which the Chuitna and its tributaries flow is rich in coal and is known as the Beluga Coal Fields. PacRim Coal LP,
165-603: The Tanana River before turning around. Separately, that same year, Robert Muldrow and George Homans Eldridge crossed Broad Pass then Windy Pass into the Nenana River valley. Eldridge Glacier Eldridge Glacier is a major glacier in Denali National Park and Preserve in the U.S. state of Alaska . The 30-mile (48 km) long glacier originates on the east side of Explorers Peak , flowing northeast to
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#1732848784374180-421: The area coal deposits are the target of coal developers, the non-profit organization American Rivers named the Chuitna one of America's Most Endangered Rivers in 2007 and again in 2015. 61°05′36″N 151°06′31″W / 61.09333°N 151.10861°W / 61.09333; -151.10861 Alaska Range The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 600-mile-long (950 km) mountain range in
195-415: The only roads in the area are primitive structures left behind from past oil and gas exploration and logging activities. The piedmont lowlands are covered in birch, poplar, and spruce forests and muskeg. Toward the northwest, the topography rises to a treeless plateau that extends to the Alaska Range. The local climate varies between maritime and continental, with annual rainfall measuring about 100 cm in
210-633: The passes of the range: the George Parks Highway from Anchorage to Fairbanks via Windy Pass, the Richardson Highway from Valdez to Fairbanks via Isabel Pass , and the Tok Cut-Off from Gulkana Junction to Tok, Alaska via Mentasta Pass . The Alaska Pipeline parallels the Richardson Highway . A part of the Alaska Highway is situated on the northern slopes of the eastern section of
225-529: The range. The name "Alaskan Range" appears to have been first applied to these mountains in 1869 by naturalist W. H. Dall . The name eventually became "Alaska Range" through local use. In 1849 Constantin Grewingk [ de ] applied the name "Tschigmit" to this mountain range. A map made by the United States General Land Office in 1869 calls the southwestern part of the Alaska Range
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