The Talkeetna Mountains (''Dghelaay tahwt’aene'' in Ahtna) () are a mountain range in

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. ...

. The Matanuska and Susitna River valleys, with towns such as Trapper Creek,

Talkeetna Talkeetna ( Dena'ina: ''K'dalkitnu'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 1,055, up from 876 in 2010. Geography Talkeetna is located at the confluence o ...

Wasilla Wasilla ( Dena'ina: ''Benteh'') is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, United States and the fourth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the ...

Palmer Palmer may refer to: People and fictional characters * Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land * Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Palmer (surname), including a list of people and ...

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a location * Sutton-in-the-Isle, Ely, Cambridgeshire * ...

, and Chickaloon, roughly bound the Talkeetnas in the westerly parts of the range. Sovereign Mountain rises to in the remote and heavily glaciated central part of the range. The east side of the range fronts a broad, about wide, lake-studded lowland of forests and swamps, across which rises the gigantic

Mount Wrangell Mount Wrangell, in Ahtna K’ełt’aeni or K’ełedi when erupting, is a massive shield volcano located in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in southeastern Alaska, United States. The shield rises over above the Copper River to it ...

() volcanic edifice. Alaska Highway 4 runs northward through this lowland. Hundreds of miles to the west Alaska Highway 3 runs along the western side of the Talkeetna range, with the Alaska Range directly west. Alaska Highway 1, running along the southern front of the Talkeetna Mountains, lies mainly in a valley marking a tectonic divide between the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

and

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

rocks of the

accretionary wedge An accretionary wedge or accretionary prism forms from sediments accreted onto the non- subducting tectonic plate at a convergent plate boundary. Most of the material in the accretionary wedge consists of marine sediments scraped off from the d ...

, island-arc, and basement rocks in the Peninsular terrane (and other terranes forming the Talkeetna Mountains), and the

Chugach Mountains The Chugach Mountains of southern Alaska are the northernmost of the several mountain ranges that make up the Pacific Coast Ranges of the western edge of North America. The range is about long and wide, and extends from the Knik and Turnagai ...

in the Chugach terrane to the south. The range stretches as much as a hundred miles north to south. Alaska Highway 8, seasonal and unpaved, passes over highlands rising to above , north of the Talkeetnas.

Hatcher Pass Hatcher Pass (3,886 ft or 1,148 m) is a mountain pass through the southwest part of the Talkeetna Mountains, Alaska. It is named after Robert Hatcher, a prospector and miner. The nearest cities are Palmer, Alaska, Palmer and Wasilla, Ala ...

, a seasonal highway pass across the southwestern corner of the range, provides views into the

glaciated A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

interior of the range, and is the location of Independence Mine State Historical Park. The majority of the land is state-owned, and it is home to many large mammals including grizzly/brown bears, black bears, moose, caribou, wolves, wolverines, and Dall sheep."Talkeetna Mountains Subregion"
Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Mining, Land and Water. Retrieved 26 December 2009.

Notable Peaks

Troublemint and Doublemint Peaks in the Talkeetna Range of Alaska

* Sovereign Mountain (8849 ft.)Peakbagger.com: Talkeetna Range
Retrieved 8 December 2012. * White Knight Peak (8450 ft.) * Tyrant's Tor (8150 ft.) * Mount Apollo (7950 ft.) * Mount Monarch (7108 ft.) * Granite Peak (6729 ft.) * Lava Mountain (6620 ft.) * Gunsight Mountain (6441 ft.) * Mount Watana (6255 ft.) * Sheep Mountain (6223 ft.)

Notable Glaciers

* Chickaloon Glacier * Talkeetna Glacier * Mint Glacier * Snowbird Glacier * Bomber Glacier * Penny Royal Glacier

Gallery

File:Snowbird Glacier Hut.jpg, The Snowbird Glacier Hut File:Upper Reed Lake time lapse.ogv, Upper Reed Lake time lapse video File:Lower Reed Lake.jpg, Lower Reed Lake, on the popular Reed Lakes trail File:Mint Glacier Hut.JPG, The Mint Glacier Hut

References

{{Coord, 62, 2, N, 147, 54, W, type:mountain, display=title Articles containing video clips Mountain ranges of Alaska Mountains of Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska

Notable Peaks

Notable Glaciers

Gallery

See also

References