The Goldfield news and weekly tribune. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1911-1947, 1915-01-30
Big Thing For Alaska

Secretary of Commerce Redfield made the official an
nouncement Yesterday that a practical navigable channel
from the Boring sea into the mouth of Kuskokwim river
had been discovered by Captain Lukens OF the coast and
geodetic survey. The Kuskokwim river is the second great
est river in Alaska. 1t is nine miles wide at its mouth and
navigable for over 900 miles inland. The great submerged
flats of the delta of this river extend 100 miles out to sea
and it was through this uncharted delta that the surveying
steamer Yukon made the discovery of the channel which
means SO much to the commerce of that section of Alaska.
The Kuskokwim is one of the three great Alaskan riv-
ers emptying into the Bering sea which has been opened to
commerce as a result of the charting operations of the coast
and geodetic survey. The mouth of the Yukon was sur
veyed in 1893 and in a few years that river became one of
the greatest commercial arteries of Alaska. In 1909 and
1910 Nushagak bav was charted and now the Kuskokwim
by far the most dreaded and unknown of these rivers
will no longer be a menace or a mystery to the navigator
who has one of the new charts of its entrance about to be is
sued by the coast and geodetc survey.
The survey of the Boring sea in the vicinity of the
kuskokwim was started in 1911 and continued the follow
ing summer of 1912 and 1913. But it was not until the
past field season that a surveying vessel succeeded III trac-
ing and charting channels through the great area OF the
submerged mud flats which make up the delta of the Kusk-
okwim. In making the survey, Captain Lukens re-
ports he took 1896 %soundings. covering an area of over
100 square miles. This in itself is quite an achievement
when considered in connection with the customary bad
weather in Alaska and the fact that in some instances it was
necessary to locate %soundings by observations on mountain
peaks more than sixty miles distant. The whole working
season was confined to eighty-three days and in July alone
twentynine of these days were lost on account OF the
weather being either bad or not sufficiently clear to see the
distant surveying marks.
When the new coast and geodetic survey chart show
ing the newly discovered channel is issued it will be posi-
bic for steamship companies to send vessels to the kuskok-
win, and initiate the development of the latent mining
fishing and agricultural resources of that region. The
Kuskokwim valley covers many thousands of square miles.
and no one can predict with certainty what this practically
virgin territory will develop when it is thoroughly pros
pected, but it is not unreasonable to suppose that the near
future will see the Kuskokwim river of commercial i'm,
portance comparable with that of the Yukon river.
It has been known for sometime that there were large
areas of mineral lands along the Kuskokwim with promis-
ing prospects of mercury bearing cinnabar, gold-bearing
quartz, placer grounds and coal lands, whose successful de-
velopment only waited a reliable means of transportation
such as is now promised by the newly discovered channel
Among other things given out in his announcement OF
the results of important charting operations in Alaska. Sec
rotary Rcdfield stated that plans are being made in Seattle
for the construction by different companies of two light
draft vessels designed especially to take care of the expect
ed development of the commerce of the kuskokWiM river,
and that still another shipping firm has already announced
sailings to the Kuskokwim at the opening of navigation in
the coming spring.