Salcha River
| Salcha River | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Sołchaget (Lower Tanana) |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| Borough | Fairbanks North Star |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Tanana Hills |
| • location | slightly south of Steese National Conservation Area, northeastern Fairbanks North Star Borough |
| • coordinates | 65°04′23″N 143°54′58″W / 65.07306°N 143.91611°W |
| • elevation | 4,054 ft (1,236 m) |
| Mouth | Tanana River |
• location | 33 miles (53 km) southeast of Fairbanks |
• coordinates | 64°28′00″N 146°58′44″W / 64.46667°N 146.97889°W |
• elevation | 640 ft (200 m) |
| Length | 125 mi (201 km) |
| Basin size | 2,170 sq mi (5,600 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | 2 miles (3.2 km) from the mouth |
| • average | 1,601 cu ft/s (45.3 m3/s) |
| • minimum | 60 cu ft/s (1.7 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 97,000 cu ft/s (2,700 m3/s) |
The Salcha River (Lower Tanana: Sołchaget) is a 125-mile (201 km) 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 miles (53 km) southeast of Fairbanks.
The Salcha drains an area of 2,170 square miles (5,620 km2), making it the second-largest tributary of the Tanana. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline crosses under the Salcha approximately 12 miles (19 km) east of the mouth of the river.