Susitna River - Description

Description

The Susitna River heads at Susitna Glacier, in Alaska Range, flows southwest to Cook Inlet, 24 miles (39 km) west of Anchorage, Alaska Cook Inlet Low.

There are several rivers flowing into the Susitna River including East Fork Susitna River and West Fork Susitna River. The Little Susitna River is a separate river system which flows into the Cook Inlet on the other side of Susitna Flats.

The Susitna along with the Matanuska River, drains the broad Matanuska-Susitna Valley south of the Alaska Range.

It rises in the Susitna Glacier on Mount Hayes in the Alaska Range near 63°30′N 147°15′W / 63.5°N 147.25°W / 63.5; -147.25. It flows in winding course generally southwest to Curry, then south, along the west side of the Talkeetna Mountains, past Talkeetna, Chulitna River, and Susitna, and drains into Cook Inlet approximately 25 miles (40 km) west of Anchorage.

It receives the Yentna River from the northwest approximately 5 miles (8 km) north of Susitna. It is navigable to 85 mile (137 km) upstream from its mouth to Talkeetna.

The Susitna River is one of Southcentral Alaska's premier sport fishing streams, with significant runs of Chinook and Coho salmon, along with resident grayling, burbot, and rainbow trout. Located within a roadless area, access to the river is difficult and is made usually by power boat or by floatplane.

Matanuska-Susitna Borough owns much of the land along the Susitna and Deshka Rivers. The impacts of summer recreational use and tourists have caused loss of riparian vegetation and bank erosion along the Deshka River's lower reaches, which has been partially remedied through a restoration project in the summer of 2002. However, the borough currently lacks either regulations to prevent further damage or the means to enforce such regulations.

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