Matanuska-Susitna Valley (known locally as
the Mat-Su or
The Valley) is an area in Southcentral Alaska south of the
Alaska RangeThe Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 650-km-long mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest end to the White River in Canada's Yukon Territory in the southeast...
about 25 air miles north northeast of
Anchorage, AlaskaAnchorage is a consolidated city-borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. With an estimated 279,243 municipal residents in 2008 , it is Alaska's largest city and constitutes more than 40 percent of the state's total population; only New York has a higher percentage...
known for producing huge vegetables during a 100-day growing season. It includes the valleys of the
MatanuskaThe Matanuska River is a river, approximately 75 miles long, in Southcentral Alaska, United States. It drains a broad valley south of the Alaska Range known as the Matanuska-Susitna Valley....
, the
Knikthumb | right | 300px | Railroad bridge on Knik River, from the [[Glenn Highway]] The Knik River is a 25-mile-long river in the U.S. state of Alaska...
to the southeast, and the
SusitnaThe Susitna River is a long river in the Southcentral Alaska. It is the 15th largest river in the United States of America, ranked by average discharge volume at its mouth. The river stretches from the Susitna Glacier to Cook Inlet.-History:...
river to the west. The Matanuska Valley has become a large-lot suburban bedroom community exporting workers to Anchorage.
Matanuska-Susitna Valley (known locally as
the Mat-Su or
The Valley) is an area in Southcentral Alaska south of the
Alaska RangeThe Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 650-km-long mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest end to the White River in Canada's Yukon Territory in the southeast...
about 25 air miles north northeast of
Anchorage, AlaskaAnchorage is a consolidated city-borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. With an estimated 279,243 municipal residents in 2008 , it is Alaska's largest city and constitutes more than 40 percent of the state's total population; only New York has a higher percentage...
known for producing huge vegetables during a 100-day growing season. It includes the valleys of the
MatanuskaThe Matanuska River is a river, approximately 75 miles long, in Southcentral Alaska, United States. It drains a broad valley south of the Alaska Range known as the Matanuska-Susitna Valley....
, the
Knikthumb | right | 300px | Railroad bridge on Knik River, from the [[Glenn Highway]] The Knik River is a 25-mile-long river in the U.S. state of Alaska...
to the southeast, and the
SusitnaThe Susitna River is a long river in the Southcentral Alaska. It is the 15th largest river in the United States of America, ranked by average discharge volume at its mouth. The river stretches from the Susitna Glacier to Cook Inlet.-History:...
river to the west. The Matanuska Valley has become a large-lot suburban bedroom community exporting workers to Anchorage. It is now one of the most densely settled areas in
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and includes the towns of
PalmerPalmer is a city in and the borough seat of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is part of the Anchorage Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city was 4,533...
,
WasillaWasilla is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States and the fifth-largest city in the state. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the state. The city's population was 5,469 at the 2000 census; the Census...
,
Big LakeBig Lake is a census-designated place in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States. It is part of the Anchorage, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area...
,
HoustonHouston is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States. It is part of the Anchorage, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,202 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Houston is located at ....
,
WillowWillow is a census-designated place in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is part of the Anchorage, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2000 census the population was 1,658.-History:...
and
TalkeetnaTalkeetna is a census-designated place in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States. It is part of the Anchorage, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2000 census the population was 772.-Geography:...
.
The valleys are rimmed by three major mountain ranges: the
Alaska RangeThe Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 650-km-long mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest end to the White River in Canada's Yukon Territory in the southeast...
, the
Talkeetna Mountainsthumb | right | 300px | Talkeetna Mountains, from the [[Parks Highway]] The Talkeetna Mountains are a mountain range in Alaska. The Matanuska and Susitna River valleys, with towns such as Trapper Creek, Talkeetna, Wasilla, Palmer, Sutton, and Chickaloon, roughly bound the Talkeetnas in the...
and the
Chugach MountainsThe Chugach Mountains of southern Alaska are the northernmost of the several mountain ranges that make up the Pacific Coast Ranges of the western edge of North America. The range is about 500 km long, running generally east-west. Its highest point is Mount Marcus Baker, at , but most of its...
. The surrounding mountains include many mountain passes, as well as working and abandoned
goldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. It has been a highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since the beginning of recorded history. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in alluvial deposits. Gold is...
mineMining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually from an ore body, vein or seam. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock salt and potash...
s. Like many parts of
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, the Matanuska-Susitna Valley was carved by
glacierA glacier is a perennial mass of ice which moves over land. A glacier forms in locations where the mass accumulation of snow and ice exceeds ablation over many years...
s which left many small and large lakes. Both the
MatanuskaThe Matanuska River is a river, approximately 75 miles long, in Southcentral Alaska, United States. It drains a broad valley south of the Alaska Range known as the Matanuska-Susitna Valley....
and
Susitna RiverThe Susitna River is a long river in the Southcentral Alaska. It is the 15th largest river in the United States of America, ranked by average discharge volume at its mouth. The river stretches from the Susitna Glacier to Cook Inlet.-History:...
s have major
salmonSalmon is the common name for several species of fish of the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the family are called trout; the difference is often attributed to the migratory life of the salmon as compared to the residential behaviour of trout, a distinction that holds true for the Salmo...
spawningSpawning is the production or depositing of large quantities of eggs in water. The process is done by aquatic animals such as amphibians and fish.- Types of egg-layers :*egg scatterers*nest builders*egg hangers*mouth breeders*egg buriers...
streams.
The
Matanuska-Susitna BoroughMatanuska-Susitna Borough is a borough located in the state of Alaska, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 59,322. The borough seat is Palmer and the largest city in the borough is Wasilla....
(the Alaskan equivalent of a county, encompassing more than 24,000 square miles) governs the Mat-Su region and the sparsely-populated southwest portion of the Copper River Basin northeast of the Chugach and Talkeetna Mountains. Borough officials estimate rapid growth since 2000 drove the population to 80,000 in 2007. A few hundred
Alaska NativesAlaska Natives are the indigenous peoples of Alaska. They include: Inupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Eyak, and a number of Northern Athabaskan cultures.-History:In 1912 the Alaska Native Brotherhood was founded...
were joined by small numbers of "Alaska sourdoughs" between 1900 and 1930 when hundreds of "colonists" relocated by the Federal Government in the early 30's colonized the eastern Matanuska Valley between Wasilla, Palmer, and the Butte. The colonists came as part of the Matanuska Colony "New Deal" agricultural experiment sponsored by the federal government. In the 1970's relatively large numbers of newcomers to Alaska came to Anchorage, then relocated 40 miles up the Glenn Highway to the largely rural Matanuska Valley where a "Alaskan country" lifestyle pervades.
The Susitna, Matanuska, and Knik rivers are all very active glacial streams terminating in the silty
Cook InletCook Inlet 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....
. The rivers convey large amounts of glacial silt that lends itself well to farming. The valley is one of the few areas in
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
which supports
agricultureAgriculture is the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of human civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and...
.
The region is also home to the
Matanuska-Susitna CollegeMatanuska-Susitna College is located in Palmer, Alaska, north of Anchorage. It is part of the University of Alaska Anchorage. The college began classes in 1958 as Palmer Community College. The name was changed in 1963 to correspond to Matanuska-Susitna Borough...
and the
Mat-Su Valley FrontiersmanThe Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman is a newspaper serving the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of Alaska. It is owned by Wick Communications, publishing every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday...
newspaper. The Susitna Valley is also home to the annual Talkeetna Bluegrass Festival,
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
's largest camping-oriented music festival. 2006 marked the 25th anniversary of the Festival.
See also
- Anchorage metropolitan area
The Anchorage Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of the Municipality of Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna Borough in south central Alaska....
Alaska Census data
Matanuska-Susitna Borough website