The Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge is located in

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.S., ...

, south of

Wasilla Wasilla ( Dena'ina: ''Benteh'') is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, United States and the fourth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the st ...

and north of

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 Ma ...

. It is composed of of coastal marshy areas adjacent to Knik Arm that support populations of moose, muskrat, foxes, coyotes, eagles, and migratory waterfowl. In springtime, tens of thousands of migratory geese, swans, shoebirds, and ducks rest and refuel. Many of these stay in the summer. The

Knik River The Knik River ( Dena'ina: ''Skitnu''; Ahtna: ''Scitna’'') is a 25-mile-long (40 km) river in the U.S. state of Alaska. Its source is at Knik Glacier, from which it flows northwest and west and empties into the head of Cook Inlet's Kn ...

, the

Matanuska River The Matanuska River ( Dena'ina: ''Ch'atanhtnu''; Ahtna: ''Ts'itonhna’'') is a 75-mile (121 km) long river in Southcentral Alaska, United States. The river drains a broad valley south of the Alaska Range eponymously known as the Matanusk ...

, Rabbit Slough, Wasilla Creek, Cottonwood Creek, and Spring Creek flow through it. It is a popular location for hunting, skiing, iceskating, and hiking, and other uses. It is bisected by the

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 tota ...

. It can be accessed at Rabbit Slough, from the Glenn Highway, Nelson Road, Scout Ridge and other locations.

History

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

called the Knikatnu first settled the land that would become the Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge before Alaskan annexation into the United States. The indigenous people left behind a trail that would become the Iditarod Trail. Prior to the

1964 Alaska earthquake The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, occurred at 5:36 PM AKST on Good Friday, March 27.

, the land was dry grassland. The name of the refuge stems from the hay farming that went on before the earthquake.

References

External links

U.S. Geological Survey Map
at the U.S. Geological Survey Map Website. Retrieved January 15, 2023. Protected areas of Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska {{MatanuskaSusitnaAK-geo-stub