46 FORTYMILE, BIRCH CREEK, AND FAIRBANKS PLACERS, [bull. 251. 
Chicken Greek. — As one climbs the ridge south of Franklin a view 
is obtained far to the south with the peak of Fairplay in the back- 
ground and the Kechumstuk Hills oft' to the west. (See map, PI. 
VII.) In the foreground is the open valley of Chicken Creek, 
limited on the north by a rugged mass 3,400 feet in height, which occu- 
pies the right angle where South Fork bends to the west, and on the 
west by a broad flat spur between Chicken Creek and Mosquito Fork, 
which rises gradually to a level of about 2,000 feet, forming a striking 
feature in the landscape. In the middle distance Mosquito Fork 
crosses the region in an easterly direction and Denison Fork is seen 
coming in from the south. The valleys of all three streams are 
benched. The drainage area of Chicken Creek includes about 20 
square miles of a fan-shaped area, which is only about 5 miles in 
length in a north-and-south direction. The tributaries converge from 
their sources in the divide between it and Franklin, thus giving an 
amphitheatral form to the upper valley. BeloAv the last tributary the 
creek has a length of only about \\ miles. It is a small one, flows in a 
southerly direction, and in the lower portion of its course has a fall of 
less than 80 feet to the mile. Of the tributaries, which flow in narrow 
valleys, the Stonehouse and Myers Fork are the most important. The 
valley of the main stream has a flat on the west which rises gradually 
until, at a distance of several hundred feet from the stream, it meets 
the foot of the broad, low spur west of Chicken Creek. This flat, as 
seen from the ridge between Chicken and Franklin creeks in July, 
1900, was flecked with tents and cabins and presented an appearance 
of much activity. Toward the south it merges into the broad, grass- 
covered meadows of Mosquito Fork, where moose are said to have been 
abundant in the early days. The ridge to the east of the Chicken 
shows a rather well-defined benching in the vicinity of Mosquito Fork. 
About a mile east of the Chicken and 275 feet above it there heads a 
small stream known as the Lost Chicken, which flows southeasterly to 
Mosquito Fork. 
The distance from Franklin to Chicken Creek is about 5 miles. 
There is a trail which ascends the divide from a point on South Fork 
just below the mouth of Franklin Creek, and another by way of 
Franklin and Tin Kettle creeks. 
Supplies are brought by freight boats up Fortymile Creek, South 
Fork, and Mosquito Fork to the mouth of Chicken Creek. There is, 
however, but little freighting done in summer. 
There is an interesting variety of rocks in the valley of Chicken 
Creek. The igneous rocks may be roughly divided into members of 
the granite-diorite families, dark hornblende rocks (partly of tuffa- 
ceous origin, cut by dikes of the former group), and fresh olivine- 
basalt. The other rocks include dark shales, much jointed and broken 
