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Cook
Inletkeeper
About
the Watershed
The Cook Inlet watershed is a spectacular ecosystem
covering 47,000 square miles of Southcentral Alaska. Melting snow and ice from mount
McKinley, the Chugach Mountains and the Aleutian Range drains into rivers such as the
mighty Susitna, Matanuska and Kenai, which feed the productive waters of Cook Inlet.
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click on map to enlarge |
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WOW! the Cook Inlet Watershed
is BIG! |
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- The watershed
stretches 430 miles from its northernmost tip to its southernmost
tip, and 220 miles from its easternmost reaches to its westernmost
reaches.
- Cook Inlet is
192 miles long.
- 8,000 square
miles is saltwater.
- The watershed
drains 39,000 square miles (about the size of the US State of
Virginia).
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WOW! the Cook Inlet Watershed
is Diverse!
The watershed encompasses Alaska's most diverse and unique ecosystems
including the alpine tundra of the Denali wilderness, coastal rainforests of the southern
Kenai Peninsula, and abundant wetlands of the Susitna, Kenai and Matanuska river deltas.
Cook Inlet's marine environment has been noted by scientists as among the most
productive ecosystems in the world. |
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click on map
to enlarge |
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WOW! the Cook Inlet Watershed is Wild!
One of the highest concentrations of public lands in the nation is located
within the watershed, including Denali, Katmai, Kenai Fjords and Lake Clark National
Parks, Chugach National Forest, Kenai and Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuges, four
state parks and sanctuaries, including the world famous McNeil River Bear Sanctuary, and
seven Critical Habitat Areas. These productive habitats support a rich fabric of
life, including brown and black bears, moose, caribou, migratory birds, wolves, humpback,
beluga and killer whales, sea otters, sea lions and all five species of wild pacific
salmon.
36,000 square miles (92%) of the watershed is public land.
7 national parks and wildlife refuges are found within the watershed.
4 state parks including Alaska's only state park wilderness are in the
watershed.
7 state critical habitat areas are in Cook Inlet watershed.
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Approximately 400,000 people, nearly 2/3 of Alaska’s population, live
in the watershed. Cook Inlet communities depend on the watershed’s healthy waters and
habitats for their livelihoods. Alaska Native villages pursue a subsistence lifestyle that
is centuries old, supplying up to 90% of the villagers’ diet. Cook Inlet represents
one of the most productive fisheries in Alaska, in which five species of salmon, herring,
scallops, halibut, and several other species of bottom fish are harvested. And each year,
nearly one million visitors from around the world venture to Cook Inlet to relish its
magnificent beauty. |
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