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18-729: The valleys are shaped by three mountain ranges: the Alaska Range , the Talkeetna Mountains and the Chugach Mountains . The Matanuska-Susitna Valley was carved by glaciers leaving thousands of lakes. The Mat-Su rivers and lakes are home to the spawning grounds of chinook , coho , sockeye , pink , and chum salmon. The area is home to 31 state parks and campgrounds. The 23,000-square-mile (60,000 km) Matanuska-Susitna Borough (the Alaskan equivalent of

36-606: A county) governs the Mat-Su Valley. According to the 2020 Census, the borough's population is 107,081, a 21.7% increase since 2010. The City of Wasilla was founded on Dena'ina land when the Alaska Railroad was constructed in 1917. Knik, also on Dena'ina land, was the first boom-town in the valley and predates Wasilla. In 1893 the Alaska Commercial Company was built at Knik, and in 1898 Knik

54-554: Is Kagheltnu Li'a . Kahiltna Glacier is the longest glacier in the Alaska Range at 44 miles (71 km) in length. The glacier has a few notable forks. The Northeast Fork lies just under, and to the south of, the large plateau which houses the 14,000-foot (4,300 m) camp on the standard West Buttress route of Denali. It also provides access to the less popular, but more technical, West Rib and Cassin Ridge routes. The East Fork

72-542: Is rarely visited, but provides access to the west side of the South Buttress of Denali. The mouth of the Southeast Fork is the site of the seasonal airstrip and base camp for Denali at approximately the 7,000 foot elevation. This location is officially just outside the southern boundary of the wilderness portion of Denali National Park and Preserve . However, in actuality, the airstrip is generally located on

90-417: Is the longest glacier of the Alaska Range in the U.S. state of Alaska . It starts on the southwest slope of Denali near Kahiltna Pass (elevation 10,320 ft (3,150 m)). Its main channel runs almost due south between Mount Foraker to the west and Mount Hunter to the east. The name was first reported as "Car-ilt-nu Glacier" by Alaska Range explorer Lt. J.S. Herron in 1902. An alternate name

108-608: The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman newspaper. 61°23′N 150°15′W  /  61.383°N 150.250°W  / 61.383; -150.250 Alaska Range The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 600-mile-long (950 km) mountain range in 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

126-587: The Matanuska Valley Colony . Families were specifically chosen from the states of Minnesota , Wisconsin and Michigan , due to their similarly cold winter climates. The 1939 Slattery Report on Alaskan development identified the region as one of the areas where new settlements would be established through Jewish immigration . This plan was never implemented. The region is also home to the Matanuska-Susitna College and

144-593: 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 a number of large glaciers , including the Cantwell , Castner , Black Rapids, Susitna , Yanert , Muldrow , Eldridge , Ruth , Tokositna , and Kahiltna Glaciers. Four major rivers cross

162-722: 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 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

180-707: 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 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,

198-641: 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 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

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216-405: The boundary or just north of the line, but the park service tends to overlook this fact. It also serves as the base camp for climbers attempting routes on the west or north sides of the formidable Mount Hunter, which rises just south of the Southeast Fork, and on the east or southeast sides of Mount Foraker, which lies just across the main part of the glacier. Many other unnamed forks split off to

234-526: The east from the main stream of the glacier in the region south of Mount Hunter, providing access to a complex of small but steep rock peaks, popular with climbers, known as Little Switzerland . The snout of the glacier lies further to the south, at elevation approximately 1,000 ft (300 m), where the glacier gives rise to the Kahiltna River . This article about a glacier in Alaska

252-630: 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 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

270-644: 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 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. Kahiltna Glacier Kahiltna Glacier

288-837: 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 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

306-550: 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 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

324-583: Was settled by trappers and gold miners. Talkeetna began in the late 1890s, with the construction of a trading station and later the Alaska Railroad. Today, Talkeetna serves as a tourist hotspot, and the starting point for mountaineers who climb Denali. The Mat-Su Valley was explored by Russians in 1818. In 1935, as part of the New Deal 203 families from the Midwest travelled to Alaska and started

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