Battles of Cabin Creek

The Salcha River (Lower Tanana: Sołchaget) is a 125-mile (201 km) tributary of the Tanana River in the U.S. state of Alaska.[1] Rising in the eastern part of the Fairbanks North Star Borough east of Fort Wainwright, it flows generally west-southwest to meet the larger river at Aurora Lodge,[4] 33 miles (53 km) southeast of Fairbanks.[1]

The Salcha drains an area of 2,170 square miles (5,620 km2), making it the second-largest tributary of the Tanana.[5] The Trans-Alaska Pipeline crosses under the Salcha approximately 12 miles (19 km) east of the mouth of the river.[4]

Recreation

Accessible by boat or on foot from the Richardson Highway, which crosses the lower river near the mouth, the Salcha River is a popular sports-fishing stream. The main species are king salmon, caught mostly near the mouth, and Arctic grayling, caught mostly further upstream.[6]

Catch and release fishing for Chinook salmon averaging 20 to 25 pounds (9 to 11 kg) can be good on this river. Summer-run chum salmon and fall-run coho salmon also frequent the Salcha, as do smaller numbers of northern pike.[6]

The Salcha River State Recreation Site is next to the Salcha River at milepost 323.3 of the Richardson Highway. The Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation manages the 61-acre (25 ha) site, about 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Fairbanks. Amenities include six campsites, water, toilets, picnic sites, a boat launch, and a public-use cabin. Cross-country skiing and snowmobiling are among the possible winter activities near the site.[7] The park is known to be crowded on holiday weekends.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Salcha River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. January 1, 2000. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  2. ^ Derived by entering source coordinates in Google Earth.
  3. ^ a b c "Water-Data Report 2012: USGS 15484000: Salcha River near Salchaket, AK" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Alaska Atlas & Gazetteer (7th ed.). Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. 2010. pp. 116, 127–28. ISBN 978-0-89933-289-5.
  5. ^ "Navigability of Salcha River in the Tanana River Region" (PDF). U.S. Bureau of Land Management. September 29, 2005. pp. 6–10. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  6. ^ a b Limeres, Rene; Pedersen, Gunnar; et al. (2005). Alaska Fishing: The Ultimate Angler's Guide (3rd ed.). Roseville, California: Publishers Design Group. pp. 277–78. ISBN 1-929170-11-4.
  7. ^ "Salcha River State Recreation Site". Alaska Department of Natural Resources. 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
  8. ^ The Milepost, 2018 edition, page 446 ISBN 9781892154378

External links

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salcha_River