The Delta River is an tributary of the

Tanana River The Tanana River (Lower Tanana language, Lower Tanana: Tth'eetoo', Upper Tanana language, Upper Tanana: ''Tth’iitu’ Niign'') is a tributary of the Yukon River in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to linguist and anthropologist William Brig ...

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 so ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. Its name in the

Ahtna language Ahtna or Ahtena (, from'' ''" Copper River") is the Na-Dené language of the Ahtna ethnic group of the Copper River area of Alaska. The language is also known as Copper River or Mednovskiy. The Ahtna language consists of four different diale ...

is ''Saas Na’ ''. Fed by the

Tangle Lakes The Tangle Lakes (Long Tangle Lake, Lower Tangle Lake, Round Tangle Lake, and Upper Tangle Lake) are a long chain of lakes connected by streams in interior Alaska. They form the headwaters for the Delta River. Access and use The main publi ...

of the

Alaska Range The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, mountain range in the Southcentral Alaska, 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. ThBoard on G ...

, the river flows north to meet the larger river near Big Delta. It is older than the

, being formed before their uplift 30 million years ago. In 1980, of waterways in the Delta River basin, including all of the Tangle Lakes and the

main stem In hydrology, a main stem or mainstem (also known as a trunk) is "the primary downstream segment of a river, as contrasted to its tributaries". The mainstem extends all the way from one specific headwater to the outlet of the river, although t ...

to within of Black Rapids became part of the

National Wild and Scenic Rivers System The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free- ...

. Of this, are designated "wild", "scenic", and "recreational".

Boating

Easily accessible from the boat launch at the Tangle Lakes campground near the

Denali Highway Denali Highway (Alaska Route 8) is a lightly traveled, mostly gravel highway in the U.S. state of Alaska. It leads from Paxson on the Richardson Highway to Cantwell on the Parks Highway. Opened in 1957, it was the first road access to Denali ...

and at many points downstream along the

Richardson Highway The Richardson Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska, running 368 miles (562 km) and connecting Valdez to Fairbanks. It is marked as Alaska Route 4 from Valdez to Delta Junction and as Alaska Route 2 from there to Fairbank ...

, the river can be floated in sections that vary in difficulty from Class I (easy) to Class V (extremely difficult) on the International Scale of River Difficulty and may require

portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...

s. The upstream stretches include four lakes and their Class II (medium) connecting channels. About downstream of the last lake, the river enters a canyon and flows over unrunnable waterfalls. A portage leads to a stretch of Class III (difficult) rapids. Below the Class III rapids, the river continues through of Class I and II water before entering a stretch between Ann Creek and One Mile Creek known as ''Black Rapids''. Here the difficulty is Class III rising to Class IV (very difficult) or V, followed by of Class III and then of Class I. Author Karen Jettmar warns of dangers including "sweepers, canoe fragments wrapped around rocks, bears, cold and wet weather, and high winds". She says that "only experts should attempt to run Black Rapids (Class IV–V) below Mile 229 on Richardson Highway."

Fishing

The Tangle Lakes complex, long, that feeds the Delta River has "some of the best road-accessible grayling fishing in Interior Alaska". In the deeper lakes of the system,

lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater Salvelinus, char living mainly in lakes in Northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, laker, and grey trout. In Lake Sup ...

are fairly abundant. Lakes and streams that are away from the highway and accessible only by canoe or trail are the least heavily fished.

Arctic grayling The Arctic grayling (''Thymallus arcticus'') is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family Salmonidae. ''T. arcticus'' is widespread throughout the Arctic and Pacific drainages in Canada, Alaska, and Siberia, as well as the upper Missou ...

fishing is also considered excellent on the upper river down to its confluence with Eureka Creek.

References

External links

The Delta National Wild and Scenic River
– Bureau of Land Management {{Authority control Alaska Range Rivers of Alaska Rivers of Copper River Census Area, Alaska Rivers of Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska Rivers of Unorganized Borough, Alaska Tributaries of the Yukon River Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States Tanana Athabaskans

Boating

Fishing

See also

References

External links