The Kantishna River (
Lower Tanana
Lower Tanana (also Tanana and/or Middle Tanana) is an endangered language spoken in Interior Alaska in the lower Tanana River villages of Minto and Nenana. Of about 380 Tanana people in the two villages, about 30 still speak the language. As of ...
: ''Khenteethno'') is a tributary of the
Tanana River in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
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 ...
.
Formed by the confluence of the
McKinley River
The McKinley River ( taa, Henteel no' Tl'o) is a tributary of the Kantishna River in central Alaska in the United States. It drains an area on the north slope of the Alaska Range on the south edge of the Tanana Valley southwest of Fairbanks. T ...
with
Birch Creek in
Denali National Park and Preserve
Denali National Park and Preserve, formerly known as Mount McKinley National Park, is an American national park and preserve located in Interior Alaska, centered on Denali, the highest mountain in North America. The park and contiguous preserve ...
, it drains part of the north slope of the
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 endSources differ as to the exact delineation of the Alaska Range. ThBo ...
including the Denali massif.
The direction of flow is generally north-northeast.
The
Toklat River
The Toklat River ( taa, Tootl'o Huno) is an tributary of the Kantishna River in central Alaska in the United States It drains an area on the north slope of the Alaska Range on the south edge of the Tanana Valley southwest of Fairbanks. It issue ...
is a major tributary.
Boating
Boaters can float the Kantishna River and some of its tributaries in canoes, folding canoes and kayaks, or inflatable canoes and kayaks. Some trips begin at
Lake Minchumina, run about down the Muddy River to Birch Creek, then downstream to the Birch–McKinley confluence (the source of the Kantishna) and then down the Kantishna to the Tanana. The entire trip is rated Class I (easy) on the
International Scale of River Difficulty. Dangers include the possibility of dangerous winds on Minchumina Lake, as well as overhanging trees, stumps, and logs along the streams.
Another tributary, Moose Creek, can be floated for about beginning at Wonder Lake or
Kantishna and entering the Kantishna River along its middle reaches near Bearpaw. From there to the Tanana, the run is the same as the Lake Minchumina float. The Moose Creek segment includes Class II (medium) rapids.
See also
*
List of rivers of Alaska
This is a List of rivers in Alaska, which are at least fifth-order according to the Strahler method of stream classification, and an incomplete list of otherwise-notable rivers and streams. Alaska has more than 12,000 rivers, and thousands more st ...
References
External links
*
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Rivers of Denali Borough, Alaska
Rivers of Alaska
Rivers of Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska
Denali National Park and Preserve
Tributaries of the Yukon River
Rivers of Unorganized Borough, Alaska