Serpentine River (Alaska)

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Aerial view of the Serpentine River within the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve Serpentine River- Katie Cullen 133 edit resize (15651084754).jpg
Aerial view of the Serpentine River within the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve

Serpentine River is a waterway on the Seward Peninsula in the U.S. state of Alaska. It debouches at Shishmaref Inlet from the southeast. It was explored and named in 1900 by the prospector Charles McLennan. [1]

Waterway Any navigable body of water

A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary between maritime shipping routes and waterways used by inland water craft. Maritime shipping routes cross oceans and seas, and some lakes, where navigability is assumed, and no engineering is required, except to provide the draft for deep-sea shipping to approach seaports (channels), or to provide a short cut across an isthmus; this is the function of ship canals. Dredged channels in the sea are not usually described as waterways. There is an exception to this initial distinction, essentially for legal purposes, see under international waters.

Seward Peninsula peninsula

The Seward Peninsula is a large peninsula on the western coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It projects about 320 kilometers (200 mi) into the Bering Sea between Norton Sound, the Bering Strait, the Chukchi Sea, and Kotzebue Sound, just below the Arctic Circle. The entire peninsula is about 330 kilometers (210 mi) long and 145 km (90 mi)-225 km (140 mi) wide. Like Seward, Alaska, it was named after William H. Seward, the United States Secretary of State who fought for the U.S. purchase of Alaska.

U.S. state constituent political entity sharing sovereignty as the United States of America

In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are currently 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory and shares its sovereignty with the federal government. Due to this shared sovereignty, Americans are citizens both of the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons restricted by certain types of court orders. Four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names.

Contents

Geography

Heading near Midnight Mountain, about 35 miles (56 km) from Shishmaref Inlet, it flows into that inlet by a very sinuous course, from which character it receives its name. The bed rock of the Serpentine River Basin above the coastal gravel belt consists of dark graphitic and feldspathic mica-schists, which form Midnight Mountain, and of crystalline limestones and mica-schists of the Kugruk group. The relations of the dark schists to the limestones were not determined, though they are regarded as belonging to the Kugruk series. In the vicinity of the hot springs these dark schists have been intruded by extensive granite masses, forming a large area of granite. This granite outcrops in needles and pinnacles, produced by weathering along a double set of joints. [2]

Tributaries

The Schlitz and Reindeer creeks flow northwestward into Serpentine River. Bryan Creek rises to the east of Kougarok Mountain and flows northeastward into Serpentine River. Quartz Creek is the name applied to the headwaters of the South Fork of Serpentine River. [3]

History

The river was first explored and named by Charles McLennan, who, with dog team and Eskimo assistants, made a trip into the region from Shishmaref Inlet in May, 1900. McLennan was probably the first European to reach the hot springs on Spring Creek, a tributary of this river. He staked a number of claims along this creek, and prepared a map of the region, a copy of which was received in Washington in March, 1901. In September, 1901, there was a small settlement at the hot springs. Gold was found on a number of the tributaries of the middle fork of this river, and in September 1901, a number of miners were preparing to winter in the neighborhood, the principal settlement being at the hot springs. [2]

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Brooks Mountain is the highest peak in the York Mountains range on the Seward Peninsula in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located in the central part of the Teller Quadrangle, about 25 miles (40 km) east of Cape Prince of Wales. It has an elevation of 2,918 feet (889 m). It has tin ore deposits, and high-grade uranium has also been found in the form of zeunerite.

Ear Mountain mountain in Alaska

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Cape Mountain

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Bluestone River (Alaska) waterway located on the Seward Peninsula in Alaska, U.S.

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Grantley Harbor waterway located at the bay of Port Clarence, Alaska, U.S.

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Nuluk River is a waterway on the Seward Peninsula in the U.S. state of Alaska. It enters the Ikpek Lagoon 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Cape Prince of Wales. It heads in the high mountains made up of the Port Clarence limestone about 35 miles south of the Arctic Ocean. For 15 miles (24 km) from its head, the river occupies a canyon, varying from 100–1,000 feet (30–305 m) in depth, cut in Silurian limestones. Fossils have been reported about the head of the river. Northward along its course, the character of the bed rock changes, and calcareous mica-schists are noted. The Silurian limestones dip toward the schists, and near the contact with them, are very highly folded. The coastal plain gravel extends inland farther along the Nuluk River than it does on the other rivers of this region.

Arctic River is a waterway in the U.S. state of Alaska. Situated on the northwestern portion of Seward Peninsula, it rises south of Ear Mountain. It is about 25 miles (40 km) long, and flows into the west side of Shishmaref Inlet. Southeast of Ear Mountain, the course of this river is in a broad basin containing a number of small lakes. Below this basin, the river has cut a well-defined canyon. Viewed from the surrounding hills, the basin appears to be an old lake bed. A broad, flat divide, which has what appears to be an abandoned river channel across it, separates this basin from the drainage of the Kugruk River of the Arctic region. Many of the tributaries of Arctic River were staked by gold miners.

American River is a waterway in the U.S. state of Alaska. Situated on the northwestern portion of Seward Peninsula, it is the eastern and larger fork of the Agiapuk River. It joins the Agiapuk River in a broad, gravel-filled basin, and for 20 miles (32 km) up, is characterized by a wide flood plain and a meandering course. It receives a number of large tributaries from the east, which also have wide floodplains developed in their lower parts. The important tributaries are Portage Creek, Budd Creek, and Igloo Creek, while smaller tributaries are Burke, Gold Run, Dome, and Camp creeks. All of these tributaries received some attention from gold prospectors. The river is easily navigable for small boats for several miles above the mouth of Portage Creek, and the region can also be reached from Teller. Gold had been discovered in the region in September 1901, and a number of the streams were known to be gold-bearing to some extent.

Mary River is a waterway in the U.S. state of Alaska. Situated on the northwestern portion of Seward Peninsula, it was included in the Agiapuk River mining district.

Imuruk Lake Alaskan lake

Imuruk Lake is the largest body of fresh water in Seward Peninsula in the U.S. state of Alaska. It measures 31 square miles and has a drainage basin of 102 square miles, It lies on top of a lava plateau at an elevation of 960 feet. The drainage basin is relatively flat, as the maximum elevation, it is only about 1,600 feet. A low gap in the divide between the lake and the head of the right fork of Goodhope River rises only a few feet above the lake. The Fairhaven Ditch takes practically all its water from the lake. Serpentine Hot Springs flow to the Serpentine River, 47 miles northwest of Imuruk Lake.

References

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  1. ↑ Baker, Marcus (1906). Geographic dictionary of Alaska (1906 ed.). Government Printing Office. pp. 563–. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  2. 1 2 Collier, Arthur James (1902). A reconnaissance of the northwestern portion of Seward Peninsula, Alaska (Public domain ed.). Government Printing Office. pp. 55–. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  3. ↑ Lee, Willis T. (1908). Water-supply and Irrigation Papers of the United States Geological Survey (Public domain ed.). U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 92–. Retrieved 9 April 2013.

Coordinates: 66°08′54″N165°32′24″W / 66.14833°N 165.54°W / 66.14833; -165.54

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

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