The Eagle River is a stream, long, in
Anchorage
Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring ...
,
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...
.
Heading at Eagle
Glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...
in
Chugach State Park
Chugach State Park covers 495,204 acres (2,004 square kilometers) immediately east of the Anchorage Bowl in south-central Alaska. Though primarily in the Municipality of Anchorage, a small portion of the park north of the Eklutna Lake area in t ...
, it flows northwest into Eagle Bay on the
Knik Arm
Knik Arm ( Dena'ina: ''Nuti'') is a waterway into the northwestern part of the Gulf of Alaska. It is one of two narrow branches of Cook Inlet, the other being Turnagain Arm. Knik Glacier empties into the Knik Arm. The Port of Anchorage is l ...
of
Cook Inlet
Cook Inlet ( tfn, Tikahtnu; Sugpiaq: ''Cungaaciq'') stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage. On its so ...
, northeast of downtown Anchorage.
Course
Beginning at Eagle Glacier in
Chugach State Park
Chugach State Park covers 495,204 acres (2,004 square kilometers) immediately east of the Anchorage Bowl in south-central Alaska. Though primarily in the Municipality of Anchorage, a small portion of the park north of the Eklutna Lake area in t ...
, the river soon intersects the
Iditarod National Historic Trail, which follows the Eagle River Valley from near Crow Pass in
Chugach National Forest
The Chugach National Forest is a United States National Forest in south central Alaska. Covering portions of Prince William Sound, the Kenai Peninsula and the Copper River Delta, it was formed in 1907 from part of a larger forest reserve. The C ...
to the community of
Eagle River.
Downstream of the trail crossing, the river flows by, but at considerable distance from, the
Eagle River Nature Center, the visitor center for the park.
The nature center lies along the North Fork Eagle River, which runs roughly parallel to the
main stem
In hydrology, a mainstem (or trunk) is "the primary downstream segment of a river, as contrasted to its tributaries". Water enters the mainstem from the river's drainage basin, the land area through which the mainstem and its tributaries flow. ...
for several miles.
Eagle River Road, like the North Fork, lies to the
right
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical ...
of the main stem, facing downstream.
Eagle River Road links the visitor center to the Eagle River community away.
After receiving the North Fork from the right, the Eagle River receives the South Fork Eagle River from the
left
Left may refer to:
Music
* ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006
* ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016
* "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album '' Curb'', 1996
Direction
* Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right
* ...
before passing under Eagle River Loop Road.
On its lower reaches, the river flows by the Eagle River community, which is on the right, and Eagle River Campground, on the left, before leaving the state park. It then passes under
Glenn Highway
The Glenn Highway (part of Alaska Route 1) is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska, extending from Anchorage near Merrill Field to Glennallen on the Richardson Highway. The Tok Cut-Off is often considered part of the Glenn Highway, for a ...
and flows through
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson
A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...
, a military reservation, to Eagle Bay on Cook Inlet.
Boating
Parts of the Eagle River are floatable in a variety of watercraft. These sections are rated from Class I (easy) to Class III (difficult) on the
International Scale of River Difficulty. Reaching a put-in place on the main stem west of the visitor center involves an arduous
portage
Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...
. A more accessible put-in place lies along the North Fork and Eagle River Road not far above the confluence with the main stem. Dangers include Class II (medium) and Class III rapids near Eagle River Campground, overhanging or submerged vegetation, and logjams.
Eagle River Nature Center
The Eagle River Nature Center, which sits at an entrance to
Chugach State Park
Chugach State Park covers 495,204 acres (2,004 square kilometers) immediately east of the Anchorage Bowl in south-central Alaska. Though primarily in the Municipality of Anchorage, a small portion of the park north of the Eklutna Lake area in t ...
, is up Eagle River Road. The center (in conjunction with "friends of") run numerous educational programs aimed at bringing people closer to nature through education and outdoor excursions.
[http://www.ernc.org Eagle River Nature Center]
The historic Crow Pass Trail, which runs from the Eagle River Nature Center and ends near the town of
Girdwood, remains a favorite backpacking trip.
See also
*
List of rivers of Alaska
This is a List of rivers in Alaska, which are at least fifth-order according to the Strahler method of stream classification, and an incomplete list of otherwise-notable rivers and streams. Alaska has more than 12,000 rivers, and thousands more st ...
References
{{authority control
Anchorage metropolitan area
Rivers of Anchorage, Alaska
Rivers of Alaska