GeoData Center Project: Nenana RiverThe Nenana River Region

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WHERE IS THE NENANA RIVER VALLEY?

This is a U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) topographic map of the Nenana River Valley.

What is a topographic map?

A topographic map uses contour lines to portray the shape and elevation of the land. Topographic maps show the three-dimensional ups and downs of the terrain on a two-dimensional surface.

Topographic maps usually portray both natural and manmade features. They show and name works of nature including mountains, valleys, plains, lakes, rivers, and vegetation. They also identify the principal works of man, such as roads, boundaries, transmission lines, and major buildings.

Find out more about USGS topographic maps.

What do maps show? (4 lessons for students)

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GENERAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE NENANA RIVER VALLEY - Physiographic Regions

Geography is the scientific study and description of the earth's surface and its life. It is a description of natural processes on the earth's surface and the location and spatial variation of the physical and human phenomena on Earth. These include landforms, soils, vegetation, climate and animal life as well as people's responses to their physical environment.

Go to the Alaska History and Clutural Studies website for more information on Alaska's geography.

The geography of a region, like Alaska, can be visualized using thematic maps. Thematic maps show information about a special topic or attribute (such as climate, population, etc.) or relationships among a few selected attributes.

The two maps below are depictions of the "bare" surface of Alaska.

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GENERAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE NENANA RIVER VALLEY - Vegatation

A particular aspect of a landscape can be mapped at various levels of detail. The vegetation maps below illustrate this concept.

Learn more about the tundra and the boreal forest.

This map shows the vegetation coverage of the entire state of Alaska. The categories that cover the interior (and the Nenana River valley) are described in full below it.

See the completely annotateda map.

104. INTERIOR FORESTED LOWLANDS AND UPLANDS
This ecoregion represents a patchwork of ecological characteristics. Region-wide unifying features include a lack of Pleistocene glaciation, a continental climate, a mantling of undifferentiated alluvium and slope deposits, a predominance of forests dominated by spruce and hardwood species, and a very high frequency of lightning fires. On this backdrop of characteristics is superimposed a finer grained complex of vegetation communities resulting from the interplay of permafrost, surface water, fire, local elevational relief, and hillslope aspect.

105. INTERIOR HIGHLANDS
This discontinuous ecoregion is composed of rounded, low mountains, often surmounted by rugged peaks. The highlands primarily sustain dwarf scrub vegetation and open spruce stands, though graminoid herbaceous communities occur in poorly drained areas. Mountains in most parts of this region rise to at least 1,200 m, and many rise higher than 1,500 m. Most of the higher peaks were glaciated during the Pleistocene.

106. INTERIOR BOTTOMLANDS
This ecoregion is composed of flat to nearly flat bottomlands along larger rivers of interior Alaska. The bottomlands are dotted with thaw and oxbow lakes. Soils are poorly drained and shallow, often over permafrost. Predominant vegetation communities include forests dominated by spruce and hardwood species, tall scrub thickets, and wetlands.

116. ALASKA RANGE
The mountains of south central Alaska, the Alaska Range, are very high and steep. This ecoregion is covered by rocky slopes, icefields, and glaciers. Much of the area is barren of vegetation. Dwarf scrub communities are common at higher elevations and on windswept sites where vegetation does exist. The Alaska Range has a continental climatic regime, but because of the extreme height of many of the ridges and peaks, annual precipitation at higher elevations is similar to that measured for some ecoregions having maritime climate.

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WINTER AND EARLY SPRING ON THE NENANA RIVER

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SUMMER AND EARLY FALL ON THE NENANA RIVER

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METEOROLOGICAL DATA IN THE INTERIOR OF ALASKA

The climate of the Interior region of Alaska is the most extreme in terms of temperature range. Its continental location, isolated by the Alaska Range to the south and the Brooks Range to the north, allows temperatures in the summer to climb into the 80°F and higher range and winter temperatures dip into the minus-40° F and minus-50°F range, as well as lower. The mountain ranges also limit the amount of precipitation that falls in the Interior by limiting the advection of moisture.
Source: http://climate.gi.alaska.edu/ClimTrends/30year/regions1.html

All location and elevation data: http://geonames.usgs.gov/

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METEOROLOGICAL DATA ALONG THE NENANA RIVER

The graphs below describe the mean annual air temperatures and precipitation at three sites alang the Nenana River Valley.

Are all of these graphs similar? Why or why not?

All location and elevation data: http://geonames.usgs.gov/

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WATER SOURCES OF THE NENANA RIVER

Despite its name, the Nenana River is classified as a stream. It is 140 mile long with its source located at the Nenana Glacier in the Alaska Range (63°29’43”N, 147°48’01”W). Containing many whitewater rapids, it flows north to the shallower, slow-moving Tanana River at Nenana (64°33’53”N, 149°06’18”W). The Nenana River serves as a hub for barge operations, serving communities up and down the Yukon River and connecting waterways for hundreds of miles. The Parks Highway crosses the river several times and runs parallel to it between Cantwell and Nenana. The river forms the eastern boundary of the Denali National Park and Preserve.

The Nenana River was originally named the Cantwell River in 1885 for Lt. John C. Cantwell, of the Revenue-Cutter Service, who explored the Kobuk River region in 1884 and 1885. In 1898, W. J. Peters and A. H. Brooks, USGS, reported that the native name was "Tutlut". In 1898, Lt. J. C. Castner stated that "The largest, of twenty cabins, was opposite the mouth of the Nanana River." The Tanana Indian name was spelled "Nenana" by Lt. Herron which was eventually adopted locally. According to Father Julius Jette, S. J., the name "remains unexplained and seems as much a puzzle to them (the Indians) as it is to me."

Another source of water for the Nenana River is the 31 mile long Yanert Fork. It begins at Yanert Glacier (63°35’37”N, 147°52’29”W) and flows NW to Nenana River (63°40’55”N, 148°46’47”W), 14 miles south east of Healy. The fork was named for Sergeant William Yanert, a member of the USGS1898 expedition under the command of Capt. Edwin F. Glenn.

Text derived from U. S. Board of Geographic Names data.

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THE HYDROLOGY OF THE NENANA RIVER AT HEALY