Tanana River

Tanana River
Tanana River near Fairbanks, Alaska
Origin	Chisana River in the Wrangell Mountains
Mouth	Yukon River at Tanana
Basin countries	United States
Length	915 km (569 mi)
Avg. discharge	41,400 ft³/s
Basin area	44,000 mi²

The Tanana River (pronounced /ˈtænənɑː/) is a tributary of the Yukon River in the U.S. state of Alaska.

Its headwaters are located at the confluence of the Chisana and Nabesna Rivers just north of Northway in eastern Alaska. It flows in a northwest from near the border with the Yukon Territory, and laterally along the northern slope of the Alaska Range, roughly paralleled by the Alaska Highway. In central Alaska, it emerges into a lowland marsh region known as the Tanana Valley and passes to the south of the city of Fairbanks.

In the marsh regions it is joined by several large tributaries, including the Nenana (near the city of Nenana) and the Kantishna. It empties into the Yukon approximately 70 miles (110 km) downriver from the village of Manley Hot Springs, near the town of Tanana.

The date when the ice breaks on the Tanana River, an event that commemorates both the start of spring in Alaska, as well as transportation in Alaska before paved roads, trains, and planes, is the point of the Nenana Ice Classic, a guessing game held in Nenana. During the history of the Ice Classic, the earliest calendar date the ice broke was April 20 in both 1940 and 1998; the latest date was May 20, 1964. The last prize awarded as of May 6, 2008 was $303,985.00 .

The etymology of the word Tanana is obscure; however, it is clearly of Athabascan origin, sharing the -na suffix meaning 'river'. The Tanana Athabascan name for the river is Tth'itu', literally 'straight water'.

Major tributaries (in descending order of elevation)

• Chisana River
• Nabesna River
• Kalutna River
• Tok River
• Robertson River
• Johnson River
• Little Gerstle River
• Healy River
• Volkmar River
• Gerstle River
• Clearwater Creek
• Goodpaster River
• Delta River
• Delta Creek
• Little Delta River
• Salcha River
• Little Salcha River
• Chena River
  • North Fork
  • South Fork
• Wood River
• Tatlanika River
• Nenana River
  • Teklanika River
  • Seventeen Mile Slough
• Tolovana River
• Kantishna River
• Zitziana River
• Cosna River
• Chitanana River

See also

• List of Alaska rivers

References

• Arthur C. Benke and Colbert E. Cushing (Editors). Rivers of North America. Elsevier Science & Technology Books, 2005. ISBN 9780120882533; pp. 786–789