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4.1.17.wavThe Chilkoot Trail into the Yukon went through Canada, so there was a call for a year-round route to the Yukon River that did not cross foreign territory. The Copper River valley seemed as if it might be such a corridor. In 1885, the Army sent Lt. Henry T. Allen to ascend the river. He chose not to travel with horses and to carry little food. He and his men might have starved if an Ahtna chief, Nicolai, had not shared his people's meager food with the explorers. Nicolai also showed Allen copper nuggets. The rich copper deposits in the region would lead to the creation of the massive Kennecott mine 20 years later.
After leaving Nicolai's territory, the Allen party continued north. The party reached the Tanana River Valley and followed the river to where it joined the Yukon. Allen and one of his men traveled overland to the headwaters of the Koyukuk River and descended it. Five months after the expedition began, it reached the mouth of the Yukon, having explored 1,500 miles of wilderness and charted the courses of the Copper, Tanana, and Koyukuk rivers. This expedition made significant contributions to the understanding of Alaska's geography.
Lt. Allen in center, with two other members of 1885 expedition, at the mouth of the Yukon
In 1884, the Navy and the Revenue Marine Service explored Northwest Alaska along the Kobuk River. The expeditions sought information on resources, including jade deposits, and tried to find a river flowing north to the Arctic Ocean. They found the Colville River. The expeditions collected information on natural history and made maps.
By 1900, the important mountain ranges of Alaska had been outlined, and the major rivers had been traced. That year, the U.S. Geological Survey took over from the Army as the principal government agency in charge of scientific exploration of Alaska. Each year, teams of geologists worked around the territory. They made maps, took photographs, kept field notes, and wrote reports. These became invaluable sources of information as Alaska's population and economy expanded.
Drawing of Mt. Wrangell and Copper River by Lt. Allen
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