The suburban citizen., 1901-12-07
THE COOK INLET REGION.
Its Natural History Treated in n Recent
BuIletin.


Bulletin.
The Natural History Of the Cook
Inlet Region" Alaska, forms the sub
iect of one Of the most recent bulletins
Of the Department of Agriculture
Among other things it is stated that
the region about Cook Inlet was at
the beginning Of the field season of
1900 the only general district of conse-
quence on the Pacific coast of Alaska
that had not been recently visited by
naturallsts.
Cook Inlet, It is stated, Is the first
important indentation of the Alaskan
coast east Of the Alaskan peninsula.
1t is a long narrow inlet bifurCated at
its upper end into two large arms
Knik arm and Turnagain arm. The
first of these, Knik arm, is about
fifteen miles long and at its upper end
receives the waters of a large stream,
the Matanuska. The other, Turnagain
arm, is thirty miles or more in length,
and extends inland until within about
five miles of the waters of Prince
William Sound West of Knik arm is
the delta of the Sushitna River, the
largest stream emptying into the inlet.
South Of Turnagain arm, and con-
nected with the mainland only by the
five miles Of glacier between the head
of the arm and Prince William Sound,
IS the Kenai peninsula. Numerous rel
atively small streams enter both sides
of Turnagain arm and both sides of
the main inlet as well, so that in ad-
dtion to the great volume received
from the Sushitna there is a large sec
ondary supply of fresh water Except
in Turnagain arm, the country border
ing Cook Inlet is low and compara-
lively level, though high mountains
from ten to sixty miles inland can be
seen on all sides. The small trading
station and native village of Tyonek
is situated on a low sandpit on a plain
about twenty miles west of the mouth
of the Sushitna. Hope City is situated
at TIE mouth Of Resurrection Creek,
on each side of which rugged mount
aims rise to an altitude of 5000 feet or
more
Moose, bear and mountain sheep are
the principal big game, and although
they have already been hunted to a
considerable extent, it is probable that
they are more abundant than in any
equally accessible place in North
America. Fur-bearing animals are
well represented. but, as elsewhere in
the north, have been much reduced in
numbers. The smaller, less conspicu-
Gus mammals are such as are gener-
ally found throughout Northern
Alaska.
Birds are not found in great num-
bers. Land birds, with the exception
of grouse, which are fairly common,
are not numerous in species or indivld-
uals. Water birds, particularly littoral
o. semi-pelagic forms, are nOticeably
uncommon, probably on account Of the
brackish water of the inlet and the
comparative absence Of marine inver-
tebrates. Ducks and geese, however,
and birds which feed in fresh water
are locally quite abundant.
Spruce and hemlock timber ceases
between 1000 and 5000 feet elevation,
and the higher slopes are clothed only
with matted masses Of low shrubs or
wide expanses Of tall grass. In the
gulches thickets of alders hold control
and a few stunted individuals often
straggle well up toward the snow line.
The characteristic mammals on the
mountains are the Dali mountain
sheep (Ovis dallD, the hoary marmot
(Arctomys caligatus), and the Alaska
mountain vole (MicrOtus miurus).