The Copper River Valley
First Order Stations

Gulkana Airport
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Station histories
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The Copper River Basin is a nearly closed basin, floor elevations around 1500' - 2000', at the junction of the Copper and Chitina Rivers. The basin is bounded by the Talkeetna Mountains on the west, the Alaska Range on the north, the Wrangell-St Elias Range on the east, and the Chugach Range on the south. The Copper River drains to the Pacific through a narrow canyon in the Chugach Range. During glacial times, this canyon was filled with ice and an ice- dammed lake filled the basin. Since then, the rivers have cut into the lake sediments and generally flow below the level of the basin floor.
Need data for any of these stations? Contact the center by email or phone, or go to the Alaska Climate Data page.
OBSERVING STATIONS - Period of record given in parenthesis, which denotes start and end year of operation. Data may not be complete throughout the period, however, and may include significant data gaps. Boldface type indicates stations currently operating.
CHISANA (1966 - 72) PAXSON RIVER (1968 - 79)
CHISTOCHINA 4 NNE (2002) KENNY LAKE 7 SE (2000 - present) SHEEP MOUNTAIN (1943 - 66)
CHITINA (1917 - 71) LAKE SUSITNA (1990 - present) SILVER LAKE (1993 - present)
COPPER CENTER (1902 - 82) MANKOMEN LAKE (1965 - present) SLANA (1982 - present)
COPPER VLY SCHL (1962 - 71) MAY CREEK (1963 - 66) SLANA AIRPORT (1974 - 77)
ERNESTINE (1965 - 77) MC CARTHY 1 NE (1917 - 1983) SLIDE MOUNTAIN (1969 - 76)
EUREKA LODGE (1953 - 68) MCCARTHY 3 SW (1984 - present) SNOWSHOE LAKE (1963 - present)
GAKONA 1 N (1971 - 89) MEIER (1950 - 56) SOURDOUGH 1 N (1971 - 96)
GLENNALLEN (1965 - present) MILE 47 CAMP (1959 - 64) SPARREVOHN (1953 - 85)
GUNSIGHT (1966 - 74) NABESNA (1966 - present) SUMMIT LAKE (1967 - 98)
KEISTERS STORE (1969 - 71) NELCHINA HWY CAMP (1978 - 83) TONSINA (1907 - present)
KENNEY LAKE (1961 - 69) OLD EDGERTON (1970 - 96) TSAINA LODGE (1971 - 74)
KENNEY LAKE SCHL (1970) PAXSON (1914 - present) WILLOW LAKE (1970 - 78)