The Goodpaster River is an major 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 Middle Tanana dialect of the

Lower Tanana language Lower Tanana (also Tanana and/or Middle Tanana) is an endangered language, endangered language spoken in Interior Alaska in the lower Tanana River villages of Minto, Alaska, Minto and Nenana, Alaska, Nenana. Of about 380 Tanana people in the two ...

is ''Jiiz Cheeg''. Goodpaster River is a stream located just 6.6 miles from Big Delta, in

Southeast Fairbanks Census Area Southeast Fairbanks Census Area is a census area located in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,808, down from 7,029 in 2010. It is part of the unorganized borough and therefore has no borough seat. Its lar ...

. The older glacial record in the Yukon-Tanana upland is found in the Goodpaster River Valley where records of at least three older

glaciations A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...

are found, the oldest estimated to be Late

Tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...

. The structure of the Goodpaster River Bridge consists of six 21-m simple spans.

Naming

The stream was called ''Goodpaster River'' by Lieutenant Allen "in honor of the Goodpaster family of Kentucky." The two stream names were transposed by later map makers. Alternate names for this stream includes ''North Fork Goodpaster River'' and ''Volkmar River''.

Natives

The area of Goodpaster River and

Big Delta Big Delta is a census-designated place (CDP) in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 591 at the 2010 census, down from 749 in 2000. Big Delta is at the confluence of the Delta River and the Tanana River an ...

Delta River The Delta River is an tributary of the Tanana River in the U.S. state of Alaska. Its name in the Ahtna language is ''Saas Na’ ''. Fed by the Tangle Lakes of the Alaska Range, the river flows north to meet the larger river near Big Delta. ...

(incl.

Delta Junction Delta Junction (; ) is a List of cities in Alaska, city in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 918. The city is located a short distance south of the con ...

and Deltana) is homeland of the ''Delta-Goodpaster'' or ''Big Delta-Goodpaster band'' of the Middle Tanana of the

Tanana Athabaskans The Tanana Athabaskans, Tanana Athabascans, or Tanana Athapaskans are an Alaskan Athabaskan people from the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group. They are the original inhabitants of the Tanana River (in Tanana languages , literally 'st ...

. The Goodpaster River to be a natural break in the Tanana Athabaskan language area, separating upriver speakers of the

Tanacross Tanacross (also Transitional Tanana) is an endangered Athabaskan language spoken by fewer than 60 people in eastern Interior Alaska. Overview The word Tanacross (from " Tanana Crossing") has been used to refer both to a village in eastern ...

and

Upper Tanana Upper Tanana (also known as Tabesna, Nabesna or Nee'aanèegn') is an endangered language, endangered Alaskan Athabaskans, Athabaskan language spoken in eastern Interior Alaska, United States, mainly in the villages of Northway, Alaska, Northway ...

languages from the Lower (and Middle) Tanana speakers living farther downriver.Terry L. Haynes and William E. Simeone (2007)
Upper Tanana ethnographic overview and assessment, Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve
Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Subsistence. Technical Paper Number 325.McKennan, Robert A. 1969. Athabascan grouping and social organization in Central Alaska. In ''Contributions to Anthropology: Band Societies''. David Damas, ed. pp 93-114. National Museum of Canada bulletin 228. National Museum of Canada, Ottawa.

Fishing

Catch and release

king salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other vernacular names for the species include king salmon, quinnat salmon, spr ...

fishing only is allowed from the mouth of the river to a marker upstream. The Goodpaster is accessible only by boat; launch points are at the Tanana River near Delta Junction or Clearwater Lake).

Mining

Only a few thousand ounces of gold from placer mines, and a few hundred ounces from lode gold mines were produced from the Goodpaster district before the discovery of Pogo. The district is east of the Fairbanks and south of the Circle district. The

Pogo mine The Pogo mine is a gold mine in the state of Alaska. By 31 December 2017 Pogo had produced 3.6 million ounces of gold at a grade of 13.6 g/t. Annual production for 2020 was 205,878 ounces. At 31 December 2019 the mine had Proven and Probable Res ...

, is located in the Goodpaster River Valley.

References

External links

GOOGLE Maps : Goodpaster River
{{Authority control Alaska Range Rivers of Alaska Rivers of Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska Rivers of Unorganized Borough, Alaska Tanana Athabaskans Tributaries of the Yukon River