Alaska's Rivers Trivia Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. While gambling is not allowed in most cases in Alaska (gaming for charitable organizations and Native corporations being the principle exceptions), there is one gaming event that attracts special attention. Every winter since the early 1900s, people have been invited to take part in the Nenana Ice Classic, in which one may buy a ticket to guess the date and time on which a buoy will move a specified distance downstream on an interior Alaska river during the ice's breakup. Which river is this?

Answer: Tanana River

The Nenana Ice Classic is called such because it is run out of the town of Nenana. The actual river it takes place on is the Tanana River. Many place names in Interior Alaska contain the characteristic "nana" as they are derived from the Athabascan language.

The buoy goes out in late April or early May when the river melts and the ice breaks up, with the vast majority of winning dates having been between April 30 - May 8th. Between 1:00 - 1:59 PM is historically the most likely time for the buoy to move the specified distance.*

In 2005 the jackpot was $285,000*. While not quite as well known an event as the Iditarod, this event does attract a fair bit of attention within the state. People have in the past attempted to give a helpful 'nudge' to the buoy around the time they have picked, such as when a fighter pilot from Eielson Airforce Base repeatedly generated sonic booms over the river to try and break up the ice.

For more on the Nenana Ice Classic, see
http://www.nenanaakiceclassic.com/
(*data taken from this source)

2. This is the longest river in Alaska.

Answer: Yukon River

By far the longest river in the state at approximately 1,875 miles, the Yukon River actually orginates in Canada, with its headwaters near the end of the Chilcoot Trail in the Lake Lindeman/Bennet Lake system. It flows through the heart of Alaska and eventually empties into the south side of Norton Sound.

Chinook (King) salmon travel as far up the river as Fairbanks, many hundreds of miles from the sea in one of the longest migrations among anadromous fish worldwide. (Anadromous fish hatch in fresh water, migrate to saltwater for the majority of their lives, then return to fresh water to spawn. In the case of salmon, they always return to the same stream they hatched in.)

3. This river, found in southcentral Alaska, is one of the state's best known as a result of its world class salmon fishing. In fact, the world's largest sport caught Chinook (King) salmon was landed in this river.

Answer: Kenai River

The Kenai River is easily the most intensively sport fished river in the state. If you come to Alaska to go king salmon fishing, chances are you will go to the Kenai River. Fishing is superb both from the bank and from a boat. People are even known to float the entire length of the river in a float tube from which they fish.

It is also a gorgeous river, its water a rich blue-green, which can be viewed from a number of trails in the wilderness along the river, especially those composing the Ressurection Trail System stretching from Hope to Seward.

King salmon are not the only fish found here, with superb angling for all five species of Pacific salmon, rainbow/steelhead trout, and arctic char/dolly varden as well.

4. North of Anchorage is a region known as the Mat-Su Valley. When the state was settled during the Great Depression (primarily with people from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas), this is where they primarily came. The towns of Wasilla, Palmer, Sutton, and Talkeetna are found in this region. From which two rivers does this region derive its name? (Mat-Su is *not* the official name, it is however the most commonly used name and a shortened version of the official name. The official name is actually the full name of the two rivers and would make the question somewhat trivial!)

Answer: the Matanuska and Susitna Rivers

Though not the only significant rivers in the valley (the region is also commonly known as just 'the valley,' particularly by people residing in Anchorage), the Matanuska and Susitna Rivers are the largest. The Matanuska River originates from the Matanuska Glacier while the Susitna River finds its headwaters in the Lake Louise/Lake Tyone system further north.

Other significant rivers in the Mat-Su Valley are the Knik River (pronounced "Kuh-nick") and the Little Susitna River.

To the best of my knowledge, the 'Matana' 'Susko' and 'Matalata' Rivers do not actually exist.

5. One of the major drainages flowing into Prince William Sound, this river includes tributaries such as the Tonsina River, itself a large river. Home to large runs of all species of Pacific salmon, this river is known in the state for the subsistence fishing (by dipnet) which is allowed in it every summer. If you were to stand atop Mount St. Elias (an impressive feat), you could look down on this river.

Answer: Copper River

The Copper River is best known in the state for both the subsistence fishing allowed there and the commercial fishing which takes place off its mouth. In fact "Copper River reds" (sockeye salmon caught in Prince William Sound off the Copper River delta) are among the most valuable fish in the state because they are the first red salmon to be caught in the season. While other fisheries, such as Bristol Bay, yield more fish, the market is fuller by that time so the price per pound decreases.

This drainage is also popular with river rafters, and several outfits run groups down the river all summer. As it has a nice mix of relatively calm stretches and rapids, it provides for pleasant rafting. While exciting, its rapids are also not so severe as to keep relative novices away, adding to its popularity.

6. There are two principle sources for rivers in the state: glaciers and run-off. While many rivers contain water from both sources (in fact there is no such thing as a "pure" glacial river, all rivers have at least some runoff), they tend to be different enough to be clearly distinguishable. Which of the following rivers is NOT a glacial river?

Answer: Susitna River

While many rivers in southcentral Alaska (where the Susitna River is found) originate from glaciers, the Susitna River is not one of them, drawing its source instead from Lakes Louise and Tyone.

The Matanuska, Eagle, and Tonsina Rivers all originate from glaciers which share their names. While the Tonsina Glacier is relatively difficult to get to, both Eagle and Matanuska Glaciers are very accessible. The state park service has set up an access road that allows people to walk right up to (and on) the Matanuska Glacier, and Eagle Glacier is only about a five to six mile hike out of Girdwood. Matanuska Glacier is exceptional for the relative safety with which it can be walked on.

7. The Klondike Gold Rush had its golden Centennial in the 1998-1999 period, attracting a lot of attention to southeast Alaska (the panhandle). The gold rushers made landfall on their way to the Klondike fields in the towns of Skagway (now a tiny town of less than 1,000 and popular cruise ship stop in the summers) and Dyea (now a ghost town.) Both of these towns, which had a combined population of over 100,000 people at the turn of the century, lie along the Lynn Canal. What is the main river that drains into Lynn Canal?

Answer: Taiya River

Though not a large river, the Taiya should be memorable to any hikers starting out on the Chilcoot Trail, which follows the route the prospectors took into the Klondike. It flows down out of the mountains around Chilcoot Pass and the entire American half of the Chilcoot trail runs along it.

It should also be noted that the Lynn Canal is not actually a canal, as it is natural and not man-made. It would more accurately be referred to as a fjord.

8. One of the state's largest rivers, this one comes within 50 miles of Alaska's largest river at one point. Together with the state's largest river, this river creates a massive river delta region in southwest Alaska. 650 miles long, it eventually flows into Goodnews Bay.

Answer: Kuskokwim River

The Kuskokwim and Yukon Rivers both empty into waters of the Bering Sea in southwest Alaska. Both drainages are home to large salmon populations, and they give rise to one of the largest salmon fisheries in the world. The region containing both rivers' deltas is hundreds of miles off the state's limited road system, so the area can only be accessed by boat or plane (or dogsled in the winter, though this is no longer is a principle means of transportation in the state.)

9. This is the largest river north of the Brooks Range (a region known as the 'North Slope' and the locus of most of the state's oil production.)

Answer: Colville River

Running through the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska (NPR-A), the Colville River has long been a focal point of Alaskan Natives on the North Slope. Long the site of fish camps among Eskimos (both Yupik and Inupiaq)*, the river is home to large runs of chum salmon, among other species. The Brooks Range is not nearly as high or young as other ranges in the state, and as such the Colville River is a relatively calm river.

Perhaps the most well known wildlife in the area are the vast herds of caribou which have received recent national attention as the issue of oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) has been in the news.

The river is also one of the prime locations in the state where dinosaur fossils are found.*

More information on the Colville River:
http://louisdl.louislibraries.org/CRD/Pages/home.html
http://www.northern.org/artman/publish/colville.shtml
(*data taken from this source)

10. Which of these rivers is NOT crossed on the Iditraod Trail Sleddog Race?

Answer: Colville River

1,149 miles long, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race is world famous as an epic endurance test in the wilderness. The race itself finds its origins in the the legendary serum run of 1925. With a diphtheria epidemic in Nome, and the nearest available serum in Anchorage, the only way to get it to Nome was via sled dog.*

However, the actual trail was in use for thousands of years prior to that as a winter trade route among Alaskan Natives and later miners and fur traders. While the airplane rendered dog sleds largely obsolete in the early 20th century, they were once far and away the principle means of transportation in winter Alaska. Frozen rivers were like wilderness highways and naturally figured largely on such routes. Jack London's famous story "To Build a Fire" takes place on such a river.

For more on the Iditarod Trail Sleddog Race, see www.iditarod.com
(*Data taken from this source)

Source: Author Lonagan

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor LilahDeDah before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Alaska is a vast land, comprised of several distinct regions and diverse geology. However, one thing common to all regions of the state is water. As water tends to run to the sea, Alaska possesses many rivers.

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