Twenty three communities dot the 26,500 square miles of the Copper River watershed. Town populations range from 2,500 people in Cordova, located West of the Copper River delta, to 35 people in McCarthy, a village in the upper basin of the watershed.
Facts about the watershed:
- 26,500 square miles, with headwaters draining from Copper Glacier in the Wrangell Mountains
- Encompasses Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the largest National Park and Preserve in the U.S.
- Includes the Copper, Gulkana, Klutina, Chitina, Tazlina, Gakona and Tonsina Rivers along with hundreds of tributaries, lakes and smaller rivers
- Diverse wildlife habitat for bears, caribou, moose, mountain goats, sheep, wolves, waterfowl and many other species
- One of the last intact watersheds in North America
- Critical spawning habitat for three species of wild salmon that are the foundation of our ecosystem, culture and economy.
