Solomon River 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 ...
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 ...
of
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 ...
, near
Nome
Nome may refer to:
Country subdivision
* Nome (Egypt), an administrative division within ancient Egypt
* Nome (Greece), the administrative division immediately below the ''peripheries of Greece'' (, pl. )
Places United States
* Nome, Alaska
...
.
Geography
It heads close to the
Casadepaga River, from which it is separated by a low divide, and, flowing southward for , empties into Port Safety Lagoon about east of
Nome
Nome may refer to:
Country subdivision
* Nome (Egypt), an administrative division within ancient Egypt
* Nome (Greece), the administrative division immediately below the ''peripheries of Greece'' (, pl. )
Places United States
* Nome, Alaska
...
. The placer mines of the region are accessible from the settlements of
Solomon
Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...
and
Dickson, at the mouth of the river. Dickson is the terminus of the
Council City and Solomon River Railroad. Solomon River discharges into the inlet of Port Safety Lagoon. For above its mouth, Solomon River flows across the coastal plain in a broad trench. Its gradient here probably does not exceed to the mile. Above the coastal plain, the river occupies a comparatively broad valley and the gradient increases to at least to the mile. In the floor of this valley, the river is entrenched, leaving a system of gravel terraces from above the water. Gravel bars from wide, only partially covered at ordinary stages of the water, fill the river bed.
The long wooden bridge, IRR:Nome-Council over Solomon River Bridge, which is owned by the State Highway Agency, crosses the river at Mile Point 41.0.
History
The river was named by Pierce Thomas, who staked Discovery claim in June, 1899. In the same season, the river and its tributaries were prospected, and in 1900 probably $10,000 worth of gold was mined in this district.
The successful operation of a large dredge on Solomon River in 1905 furnished the final proof that dredges were to play an important part in the mining industry of Seward Peninsula; other dredges had been tried with more or less success, but this was the first to be operated in a large way.
[Paige (1907), p. 36]
Tributaries
Its more important tributaries, Shovel Creek, Big Hurrah Creek, East Fork, and Coal Creek, enter at right angles and flow approximately east or west. Nugget Creek, a tributary of Solomon River, contained no trace of either gold or silver. Jerome and Manila creeks are two short western tributaries of Solomon River within a few miles of the coast, heading within the coastal plain. Shovel Creek flows into Solomon River from the west about 4 miles from the coast; mining operations in the Shovel Creek basin were confined to three small tributaries—Mystery, West, and Kasson creeks.
* Nugget Creek
* Jerome Creek
* Manila Creek
*
Shovel Creek
* Mystery Creek
* West Creek
* Kasson Creek
* Big Hurrah Creek
* Little Hurrah Creek
* Coal Creek
* Penny Creek
* Lion Creek
References
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
Rivers of the Seward Peninsula
Rivers of Alaska
Rivers of Nome Census Area, Alaska
Rivers of Unorganized Borough, Alaska