THE SVSHJTXA RIVER, ALASKA 



323 



We had an especially unpleasant experience this spring, spending 

 a cold night in April on those flats, unahle to enter the river or 

 to approacli near tQ tlie mouth, l)ein,u; prevented hy great fields 

 of anchor ice, which extended more than a mile from any camp- 

 ing ])lace on shore. Ahout 15 miles up the river the first land 

 ahove overflow is reached, a tangle of willows and cottonwood 

 giving place to the customary upland growth of the country, 

 which consists of scattered groves of spruce and birch. 



MAP OF THK SfSHITNA KIVKR, ALASKA 



An idea of the volume of water the river carries can be had 

 from its size near the trading station, which is some miles above 

 the influence of tide. Just above the station the river, for the 

 first time hemmed into a single channel, cuts through a rock 

 dyke which crosses its valley diagonally. Here the stream is 

 1,200 yards in width and is very deep and swift, soundings in- 

 dicating a depth of over 100 feet. Immediately above this rock 

 dyke the river forks, and it is impossible to tell from the appear- 

 ance of the two streams which carries the more water, although 



