Salcha River
title: "Salcha River" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["rivers-of-fairbanks-north-star-borough,-alaska", "rivers-of-alaska", "tributaries-of-the-yukon-river", "tanana-athabaskans"] topic_path: "general/rivers-of-fairbanks-north-star-borough-alaska" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salcha_River" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox river"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Salcha River |
| native_name | taa |
| map_size | 300 |
| pushpin_map | USA Alaska |
| pushpin_map_size | 300 |
| pushpin_map_caption | Location of the mouth of the Salcha River in Alaska |
| subdivision_type1 | Country |
| subdivision_name1 | United States |
| subdivision_type2 | State |
| subdivision_name2 | Alaska |
| subdivision_type4 | Borough |
| subdivision_name4 | Fairbanks North Star |
| length | 125 mi |
| discharge1_location | 2 mi from the mouth |
| discharge1_min | 60 cuft/s |
| discharge1_avg | 1601 cuft/s |
| discharge1_max | 97000 cuft/s |
| source1 | Tanana Hills |
| source1_location | slightly south of Steese National Conservation Area, northeastern Fairbanks North Star Borough |
| source1_coordinates | |
| source1_elevation | 4054 ft |
| mouth | Tanana River |
| mouth_location | 33 mi southeast of Fairbanks |
| mouth_coordinates | |
| mouth_elevation | 640 ft |
| basin_size | 2170 sqmi |
| :: |
| name = Salcha River | native_name =taa | name_other = | name_etymology = | image = | image_caption = | map = | map_size = 300 | map_caption = | pushpin_map = USA Alaska | pushpin_map_size = 300 | pushpin_map_caption= Location of the mouth of the Salcha River in Alaska | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = United States | subdivision_type2 = State | subdivision_name2 = Alaska | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_type4 = Borough | subdivision_name4 = Fairbanks North Star | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 = | length = 125 mi | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location= 2 mi from the mouth | discharge1_min = 60 cuft/s | discharge1_avg = 1601 cuft/s | discharge1_max = 97000 cuft/s | source1 = Tanana Hills | source1_location = slightly south of Steese National Conservation Area, northeastern Fairbanks North Star Borough | source1_coordinates= | source1_elevation = 4054 ft | mouth = Tanana River | mouth_location = 33 mi southeast of Fairbanks | mouth_coordinates = | mouth_elevation = 640 ft | progression = | river_system = | basin_size = 2170 sqmi | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra = The Salcha River (Lower Tanana: Sołchaget) is a 125 mi tributary of the Tanana River in the U.S. state of Alaska. Rising in the eastern part of the Fairbanks North Star Borough east of Fort Wainwright, it flows generally west-southwest to meet the larger river at Aurora Lodge, 33 mi southeast of Fairbanks.
The Salcha drains an area of 2170 mi2, making it the second-largest tributary of the Tanana. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline crosses under the Salcha approximately 12 mi east of the mouth of the river.
Recreation
Accessible by boat or on foot from the Richardson Highway, which crosses the lower river near the mouth, the Salcha River is a popular sports-fishing stream. The main species are king salmon, caught mostly near the mouth, and Arctic grayling, caught mostly further upstream.
Catch and release fishing for Chinook salmon averaging 20 to can be good on this river. Summer-run chum salmon and fall-run coho salmon also frequent the Salcha, as do smaller numbers of northern pike.
The Salcha River State Recreation Site is next to the Salcha River at milepost 323.3 of the Richardson Highway. The Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation manages the 61 acre site, about 40 mi southeast of Fairbanks. Amenities include six campsites, water, toilets, picnic sites, a boat launch, and a public-use cabin. Cross-country skiing and snowmobiling are among the possible winter activities near the site. The park is known to be crowded on holiday weekends.
References
References
- "Water-Data Report 2012: USGS 15484000: Salcha River near Salchaket, AK". United States Geological Survey.
- Derived by entering source coordinates in [[Google Earth]].
- (January 1, 2000). "Salcha River". Geographic Names Information System.
- (2010). "Alaska Atlas & Gazetteer". DeLorme.
- (September 29, 2005). "Navigability of Salcha River in the Tanana River Region". U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
- Limeres, Rene. (2005). "Alaska Fishing: The Ultimate Angler's Guide". Publishers Design Group.
- (2013). "Salcha River State Recreation Site". Alaska Department of Natural Resources.
- [[The Milepost]], 2018 edition, page 446 {{ISBN. 9781892154378
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::