Knik Arm ( Dena'ina: ''Nuti'') is a

waterway A waterway is any Navigability, navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other ways. A first distinction is ...

into the northwestern part of the

Gulf of Alaska The Gulf of Alaska ( Tlingit: ''Yéil T'ooch’'') is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the ...

. It is one of two narrow branches of

Cook Inlet Cook Inlet (; Sugpiaq language, Sugpiaq: ''Cungaaciq'') stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding ...

, the other being

Turnagain Arm Turnagain Arm (Denaʼina language, Dena'ina: ''Tutl'uh'') is a waterway into the northwestern part of the Gulf of Alaska. It is one of two narrow branches at the north end of Cook Inlet, the other being Knik Arm. Turnagain is subject to climate e ...

. Knik Glacier empties into the Knik Arm. The Port of Anchorage is located on the arm.

Etymology

The Dena'ina name for Knik Arm is ''Nuti'', meaning "salt water". The name "Knik" comes from ''igniq'', the Iñupiaq word for "fire". It has been written Kinik, Kneep, Kneik, Kook, Knuyk, and Kweek.

Geography

Knik Arm begins at the Inlet's northern edge, near

Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...

, before heading north and east. It is about long, and at its upper end, receives the waters of the Matanuska River. West of Knik Arm is the delta of the Susitna River, the largest stream emptying into the inlet. At the head of Knik Arm, at the mouth of Knik River, was the village (ghost town) of Knik. Knik Arm's other major tributaries are Ship Creek, Eagle River, Peter's Creek, Eklutna River and Fish Creek. The greater part of the plain, lying between the Knik Arm and the Susitna River, is drained by the Little Susitna. The upper part of Knik Arm merges into the delta of the Knik and Matanuska rivers, which unite just above tide limits.

History

Knakatnuk and Nitak (or Nitakh) were historic native villages on the arm's shore. The

1964 Alaska earthquake The 1964 Alaska earthquake, also known as the Great Alaska earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, occurred at 5:36 PM Alaska Standard Time, AKST on Good Friday, March 27, 1964.

destroyed or significantly damaged most of the Anchorage neighborhoods adjacent to the Arm, including the downtown area. The proposed Knik Arm Bridge would measure approximately from Point MacKenzie on the west in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough to Anchorage on the east. The Knik Arm ferry was a proposed year-round passenger and auto

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

across the arm which was to use the M/V ''Susitna'' SWATH / barge convertible expedition craft.

References

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External links

* {{Coord, 61.2000, -150.2167, display=title Estuaries of Alaska Bodies of water of Anchorage, Alaska Bodies of water of Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska Bodies of water of Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska Denaʼina