The Chena River (; Tanana Athabascan: Ch'eno' "river of something (game)") is a tributary of the Tanana River in the

Interior Interior may refer to: Arts and media * ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas * ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck * ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See * Interior de ...

region of the U.S. state of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

. It flows generally west from the White Mountains to the Tanana River near the city of

Fairbanks Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the ...

, which is built on both sides of the river. The Tanana empties into the long Yukon River. Named tributaries of the Chena River include the North Fork, South Fork, West Fork, Middle (East) Fork and the Little Chena River. The

Chena River State Recreation Area Chena River State Recreation Area is a state park in the U.S. state of Alaska, located east of Fairbanks. The recreation area is centered on the Chena River. Facilities include campgrounds, hiking, ATV, snowmachine Snow machine may refer to: ...

surrounds much of the upper half of the main stem. The Chena River is used for recreational fishing and boating. During the winter months, it is also traveled by snowmachines and mushers (sled dogs). The

Chena River Lakes Flood Control Project Chena may refer to: * Chena (root), an Indian food * Chena, Alaska * Chena Hot Springs, Alaska * Chena River, Alaska * Chena, Ethiopia, a woreda or administrative government unit * Huaca de Chena, sacred Inca place near Santiago de Chile * Tropica ...

dam is about up the Chena River from

. The dam was built in response to the 1967 Fairbanks flood, which inundated much of the city. When closed, the dam impounds water and, when the inflow is high enough, diverts it about to the Tanana River near

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

, upstream of Fairbanks and the natural

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on t ...

of the Chena.

Fish

The Chena River supports populations of many fish species, including Arctic grayling,

burbot The burbot (''Lota lota'') is the only gadiformes, gadiform (cod-like) freshwater fish. It is also known as bubbot, mariah, loche, cusk, freshwater cod, freshwater ling, freshwater cusk, the lawyer, coney-fish, lingcod, and eelpout. The species ...

, chum salmon, humpback whitefish, king salmon, least cisco, longnose suckers,

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish water, brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are kno ...

, round whitefish, and sheefish. Easily accessible from Fairbanks, the Chena is the most popular sport-fishing river in interior Alaska. Overfishing for grayling reduced their number in the Chena to "dangerous levels" by the mid-1980s. In the 21st century, sport fishing for grayling, which grow in length to in the upper river, is limited to

catch and release Catch and release is a practice within recreational fishing where after capture, often a fast measurement and weighing of the fish is performed, followed by posed photography as proof of the catch, and then the fish are unhooked and returne ...

Boating

Easy access to the river from Chena Hot Springs Road, the Chena River Recreation Area, four bridges, and elsewhere make a wide variety of float trips possible. Most of the river is rated Class I (easy) on the International Scale of River Difficulty; however, the upper reaches along the North Fork near Chena Hot Springs are "extremely swift" with few safe eddies and are rated Class II (medium). High water increases these difficulty ratings. Dangers on the North Fork include a much narrower channel than that of the main stem, possible logjams, overhanging vegetation, and shallows, any of which may require a portage. Dangers below that include possible overhangs, logjams, and channel braiding. In the early season (June), boaters may encounter ice jams anywhere along the river.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska Rivers of Alaska Tributaries of the Yukon River Tanana Athabaskans

Fish

Boating

See also

References