29:
256:
227:
201:
113:
382:
133:. The road is unpaved and minimally maintained for about 20 miles (32 km) over the pass. This central portion of the road is usually closed by snow from late September to July. Although closed to car traffic, this section of road is heavily traveled in winter and spring by snowmachines and skiers.
393:
Activities that can be enjoyed in the
Hatcher Pass area include Nordic skiing, downhill skiing, mountain climbing, white water kayaking, rock climbing, mountain biking, paragliding, berry picking, gold mining, hiking, kite-flying, snowboarding, wildlife viewing and back country camping. Hatcher Pass
246:
The
Fishhook Road rises to 3,886 feet (1,184 m) to cross Hatcher Pass at the head of Fishhook and Willow Creeks in the southwestern corner of the Talkeetna Mountains. The area has been heavily glaciated. Steep-walled cirques, jagged aretes, and hanging valleys above U-shaped valleys characterize
166:
The area has a rich skiing heritage. Historic photos show miners recreating on skis. In the 1930s, Anchorage skiers were bused to the
Fishhook Inn to use the rope tow there. That was only one of several small rope-tow ski lifts that have operated near the pass over the years up to the 1960s, although
402:
The Gold Mint Trail provides miles of technical, rocky, gently-climbing mountain bike riding alongside the Little
Susitna River. The "16-mile trail" is a steep downhill, 2-mile long (3 km) bike trail with 1,000 vertical feet (300 m) of drop that was built in 2013, in between switchbacks of
303:
sedimentary rocks, of Late
Cretaceous to Paleocene age. The schist may represent subducted Valdez Group that was exhumed in the forearc region from beneath the Peninsular terrane. Both deformed and undeformed small felsic dikes occur in the schist. Several bodies of serpentinite are contained within
150:
Almost all the land around the pass is public; there are numerous widely distributed small private land holdings, mainly mineral estates. The area is popular for daytrip recreation; sledding, skiing, snowmobiling, hiking, camping, hunting, white-water kayaking, berry-picking, climbing, recreational
319:
On
Government Peak a 90 mya rock unit variously mapped as gneiss, or as intricately intermixed amphibolite and quartz diorite, or as a migmatite, and most recently as a mafic unit of gabbro and pyroxenite with local foliation and mylonitic textures structurally underlies the Arkose Ridge Formation
217:
in 1906. Hardrock gold mining began a few years later from high-grade vein lode deposits. Placer mining for gold has continued sporadically to this day. Underground mining continued at a variety of locations around the pass until 1951. In the 1980s, one of the area's hard-rock mines was briefly
320:
and outcrops in between the
Hatcher Pass schist and the arkose; south-dipping low angle detachment faults separate the units. East of Government Peak and the Little Susitna River the mafic rock unit is in contact with the Arkose Ridge Formation to the south and the felsic plutons to the north.
155:, a few miles east of the pass, consists of 271 acres (1.10 km), with well-preserved mine buildings, and a mining museum which offers underground mine tours. A large tract of land organized as the Hatcher Pass State Management area includes and surrounds the State Park and the pass.
316:, shale, sandstone, and conglomerate rocks that are clearly derived from the schists and intrusive rocks to the north. Locally, quartz diorite or gneiss bodies occur on the arkose-schist contact west of Government Peak. Minor basalt flows occur within the Arkose Ridge Formation.
187:
The first 10 kilometers of a Nordic ski area in the forests and glades at
Government Peak Recreation Area the base of Government Peak were opened in December 2012 and a chalet was built in 2013. Additional trails and trail lighting are scheduled to be installed in 2016.
345:
feature. It strikes ENE and passes a few miles south of
Hatcher Pass. It can be clearly seen crossing the Hatcher Pass road where concrete barriers and fencing protect the road from rockfall of the "incompetent" rocks on the fault trace. Studies show that magnitude 7
247:
the terrain. Trees grow only in the lowest valley bottoms. Brush, often dense, grows on lower mountain slopes, yielding to open tundra as elevation increase. Glaciers occupy the headwaters of major drainages. Some nearby peaks are over 6,000 feet (1,800 m) tall.
334:, and in only one instance in the Tertiary sediments. The gold occurrences in the schist, mafic unit, and sediments have much higher silver contents than the deposits in the quartz diorite. Most of the mineral deposits are close to the quartz diorite-schist contact.
124:
by a road winding approximately 40 miles (64 km) up the valley of Willow Creek. The pass divides the alpine headwaters of Willow Creek on the west from
Fishhook Creek and the Independence Bowl on the east side. To the east the road drops into and follows the
191:
Snowmachines are prohibited within large areas of the Hatcher Pass State Management Area that are frequented by skiers. There are several backcountry huts in the area; a wilderness loop can be traveled over the mountain passes and glaciers linking these huts.
403:
the Hatcher Pass road, starting at mile 16 of the Hatcher Pass Road. At Government Peak Recreational Area, a few miles (several km) south of Hatcher Pass, there are 5.5 miles (8.9 km) in three loops of singletrack, bermed, flow-style bike trails.
167:
only traces of them can be found now. Many proposals to build a modern alpine ski area have been advanced over the years. In 2005 the Mat-Su Borough extended the electric grid and built a short access road to the proposed site of a base lodge.
140:, sky-trams, and other extensive early-1900s mine workings throughout the area of the pass record the activity that brought the road in. Now only a handful of people live and work in Independence Bowl, and none in the surrounding valleys.
307:
West of Government Peak, the Arkose Ridge Formation lies to the south of the schist, the contact is a low-angle detachment fault. The Arkose Ridge Formation is unmetamorphosed but tilted and slightly folded, and consists of
722:
Public-data File 83-9 RECONNAISSANCE GEOLOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF THE WILLOW CREEK-HATCHER PASS AREA, ALASKA M. Albanese, J.T. Kline, T.K. Bundtzen, and K. Kline Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys May
183:
Groomed skate and diagonal skiing trails winding amongst historical mining facilities in the high alpine area near the Hatcher Pass Lodge and the museum have a season that typically extends from October to April.
294:
A high angle east-west fault passing through Hatcher Pass separates the plutonic rocks on the north side of the fault from the Hatcher Pass schist south of the fault. The Hatcher Pass schist consists mainly of
323:
Gold-bearing (+/- Ag, W, Sb, As, Cu, Mo, Pb, Te, Zn, Hg) veins and shear zones occur in the 74 Ma (million years old) quartz diorite, in small amounts in the schist and in the mafic unit, but not in the
212:
The Willow Creek mining district at Hatcher Pass is historically the third-largest lode-gold producing district in Alaska, having produced 624,000 oz of gold. Mining of placer gold deposits began in the
147:
Indians hunted for caribou, sheep, and moose in the western Talkeetna Mountains until the 1930s. Human development in the area, including the road over the pass, is almost entirely due to gold mining.
1127:
170:
The pass is one of the most popular road-accessible backcountry skiing areas in the state. Usually it is the first urban-accessible area of Alaska to get skiable snow in the fall.
1049:
174:
962:
1009:
642:
713:
Madden et al., Ages and Geologic relationships in the Willow Creek gold mining district, southwestern Talkeetna Mts., southern Alaska, USGS Open File 87-143, 1987
1112:
1029:
993:
338:
897:
427:
1059:
1054:
1039:
967:
1034:
888:
231:
1024:
1019:
1014:
537:
597:
538:"Age and Cooling History of Gold Deposits and Host Rocks in the Willow Creek Mining District, Talkeetna Mountains, South-Central Alaska"
509:
673:
628:
267:
lies at the southwestern edge of a great mass of granitic intrusions that form much of the Talkeetna Mountains. The area is within the
100:
approximately 26 mi (42 km) to the west. The communities are at an elevation of approximately 250 ft (76 m) in the
523:
1122:
764:
704:
Bleick, et.al., Early Tertiary Exhumation of the Flank of a Forearc Basin, Southwest Talkeetna Mountains, Alaska,USGS OF2012-1232
807:
792:
881:
205:
152:
819:
281:
pluton underlies the headwaters of Willow Creek and Fishhook Creek; most of the gold deposits occur in these rocks. A 67
649:
1117:
1073:
49:
874:
422:
291:
pluton lies west and north of the older quartz diorite, a Cretaceous (?) quartz diorite pluton lies to the east.
264:
214:
911:
977:
469:
300:
129:
canyon downstream, and south, some dozen miles to the abrupt mountain front at the edge of the broad
752:
541:
444:
587:
Ray, Geology and Ore Deposits of the Willow Creek Mining District, Alaska, USGS Bulletin 1004, 1954
561:
Ray, 1954, USGS Bulletin 1004, Geology and Ore Deposits of the Willow Creek Mining District, Alaska
130:
101:
936:
788:
386:
604:
494:
741:
126:
180:
The backcountry alpine skiing season generally extends from late September to late April.
8:
921:
351:
81:
65:
36:
768:
268:
218:
re-opened. At least one mining company is actively exploring for gold in the area now.
1044:
667:
622:
455:
931:
570:
394:
Road is a good paved biking trail until Mile 17, where the road changes to gravel.
235:
88:. It is named after Robert Hatcher, a prospector and miner. The nearest cities are
431:
93:
823:
510:"Ski dreams come true: Government Peak Recreation Area at Hatcher Pass now open"
158:
Food and lodging is available at The Hatcher Pass Lodge in Independence Valley.
916:
803:
423:
http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/planning/mgtplans/hatcher/pdf/Ch2_Recreation.pdf
97:
89:
60:
732:
Ray, Geology and Ore Deposits of the Willow Creek District, USGS Bulletin 1004
1106:
1088:
1075:
296:
239:
121:
77:
53:
972:
375:
371:
347:
144:
941:
143:
There are no known historical native settlements in the area, although
866:
350:
can be expected to occur on this fault with approximately a 700-year
331:
288:
28:
255:
342:
309:
278:
226:
200:
946:
366:, which encompasses 75,000 acres (30,000 ha) of wilderness.
325:
282:
274:
524:"New recreation area gives Valley skiers their own destination"
328:
313:
285:
112:
85:
753:
adn.com | mat-su : Quake isn't matter of if, but of when
445:
adn.com | mat-su : Gold, history draw curious into mine
374:
and excellent views. The park is a favorite launch site for
173:
843:
Frommer's Alaska 2009, Wiley Publishing, INC, 2009. p. 277.
137:
495:
http://www.hatcherpass.com/Content/HatcherPass/history.cfm
381:
1128:
Tourist attractions in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska
742:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1043/pdf/of07-1043_508.pdf
354:. The last big earthquake was probably 650 years ago.
96:
approximately 12 miles (19 km) to the south, and
498:
Mat-Su Borough, Alaska, Hatcher Pass Project website
480:
456:http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/parks/units/indmine.htm
583:
581:
259:Historical marker developed by Alaska State Parks
1104:
574:Alaska Resource Data File, USGS Open File 98-599
418:
416:
571:http://ardf.wr.usgs.gov/ardf_data/Anchorage.pdf
273:At Hatcher Pass a pervasively altered zoned 74
1113:Landforms of Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska
578:
312:(Late Paleocene to middle Eocene) sedimentary
882:
413:
120:From the west, the pass is reached from the
889:
875:
357:
364:Hatcher Pass East Special Management Area
855:. DK Publishing, INC, 2006, 2008. p. 87.
380:
254:
225:
199:
172:
111:
896:
1105:
808:Alaska Department of Natural Resources
793:Alaska Department of Natural Resources
672:: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
627:: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
434:Pass Management Plan, Chapter VI, p.54
370:is a small alpine park with a shallow
277:(million years old) quartz diorite to
16:Mountain pass in Alaska, United States
870:
206:Independence Mine State Historic Park
153:Independence Mine State Historic Park
76:(3,886 ft or 1,148 m) is a
151:gold-mining, mountain biking, etc.
13:
397:
80:through the southwest part of the
14:
1139:
862:
368:Summit Lake State Recreation Site
208:offers tours in the summer months
50:Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska
27:
1123:Ski areas and resorts in Alaska
846:
837:
812:
797:
782:
757:
746:
735:
726:
716:
707:
698:
689:
680:
635:
590:
564:
555:
362:Most of the pass is inside the
530:
516:
502:
488:
474:
463:
449:
438:
116:Gold Cord Lake in Hatcher Pass
1:
406:
1050:Independence Mine Ski Resort
484:Alaska Lost Ski Area Project
470:Hatcher Pass Management Plan
269:Wrangellia composite terrane
265:Willow Creek mining district
221:
215:Willow Creek mining district
7:
107:
10:
1144:
963:Birch Hill Recreation Area
459:Alaska State Parks website
250:
1118:Mountain passes of Alaska
1002:
986:
978:Russian Jack Springs Park
955:
904:
765:"News Article Anch.Daily"
242:, from near Hatcher Pass.
195:
161:
59:
45:
35:
26:
21:
853:Eyewitness Travel ALASKA
131:Matanuska-Susitna Valley
820:"Independence Mine SHP"
358:Recreational Activities
1089:61.76972°N 149.30889°W
390:
387:Arctic ground squirrel
260:
243:
209:
177:
117:
994:Chugach Powder Guides
384:
339:Castle Mountain Fault
258:
229:
203:
176:
115:
1094:61.76972; -149.30889
127:Little Susitna River
1085: /
956:Cross country areas
922:Eaglecrest Ski Area
898:Ski areas in Alaska
352:recurrence interval
82:Talkeetna Mountains
66:Talkeetna Mountains
430:2008-09-10 at the
391:
261:
244:
210:
178:
118:
41:3,886 ft (1,184 m)
1068:
1067:
1060:Manitoba Ski Area
1055:Kahwahee Ski Area
1003:Defunct ski areas
686:USGS Bulletin 607
481:http://alsap.org/
230:Looking down the
71:
70:
1135:
1100:
1099:
1097:
1096:
1095:
1090:
1086:
1083:
1082:
1081:
1078:
1040:Douglas Ski Bowl
968:Crevasse Moraine
932:Hilltop Ski Area
891:
884:
877:
868:
867:
856:
850:
844:
841:
835:
834:
832:
831:
822:. Archived from
816:
810:
801:
795:
786:
780:
779:
777:
776:
767:. Archived from
761:
755:
750:
744:
739:
733:
730:
724:
720:
714:
711:
705:
702:
696:
693:
687:
684:
678:
677:
671:
663:
661:
660:
654:
648:. Archived from
647:
639:
633:
632:
626:
618:
616:
615:
609:
603:. Archived from
602:
594:
588:
585:
576:
568:
562:
559:
553:
552:
550:
549:
540:. Archived from
534:
528:
527:
520:
514:
513:
506:
500:
492:
486:
478:
472:
467:
461:
453:
447:
442:
436:
420:
236:Matanuska Valley
31:
19:
18:
1143:
1142:
1138:
1137:
1136:
1134:
1133:
1132:
1103:
1102:
1093:
1091:
1087:
1084:
1079:
1076:
1074:
1072:
1071:
1069:
1064:
1035:Divide Ski Area
1010:Centennial Park
998:
982:
951:
900:
895:
865:
860:
859:
851:
847:
842:
838:
829:
827:
818:
817:
813:
804:Summit Lake SRS
802:
798:
789:Hatcher Pass MA
787:
783:
774:
772:
763:
762:
758:
751:
747:
740:
736:
731:
727:
721:
717:
712:
708:
703:
699:
694:
690:
685:
681:
665:
664:
658:
656:
652:
645:
643:"Archived copy"
641:
640:
636:
620:
619:
613:
611:
607:
600:
598:"Archived copy"
596:
595:
591:
586:
579:
569:
565:
560:
556:
547:
545:
536:
535:
531:
522:
521:
517:
508:
507:
503:
493:
489:
479:
475:
468:
464:
454:
450:
443:
439:
432:Wayback Machine
421:
414:
409:
400:
398:Mountain Biking
389:at Hatcher Pass
360:
253:
234:and across the
232:Little Su River
224:
198:
164:
110:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1141:
1131:
1130:
1125:
1120:
1115:
1066:
1065:
1063:
1062:
1057:
1052:
1047:
1042:
1037:
1032:
1027:
1025:Curry Ski Hill
1022:
1017:
1012:
1006:
1004:
1000:
999:
997:
996:
990:
988:
984:
983:
981:
980:
975:
970:
965:
959:
957:
953:
952:
950:
949:
944:
939:
934:
929:
924:
919:
917:Alyeska Resort
914:
908:
906:
902:
901:
894:
893:
886:
879:
871:
864:
863:External links
861:
858:
857:
845:
836:
811:
796:
781:
756:
745:
734:
725:
715:
706:
697:
688:
679:
634:
589:
577:
563:
554:
529:
515:
501:
487:
473:
462:
448:
437:
411:
410:
408:
405:
399:
396:
359:
356:
252:
249:
223:
220:
197:
194:
163:
160:
109:
106:
69:
68:
63:
57:
56:
47:
43:
42:
39:
33:
32:
24:
23:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1140:
1129:
1126:
1124:
1121:
1119:
1116:
1114:
1111:
1110:
1108:
1101:
1098:
1061:
1058:
1056:
1053:
1051:
1048:
1046:
1043:
1041:
1038:
1036:
1033:
1031:
1028:
1026:
1023:
1021:
1020:Cleary Summit
1018:
1016:
1015:City Ski Bowl
1013:
1011:
1008:
1007:
1005:
1001:
995:
992:
991:
989:
985:
979:
976:
974:
971:
969:
966:
964:
961:
960:
958:
954:
948:
945:
943:
940:
938:
935:
933:
930:
928:
925:
923:
920:
918:
915:
913:
910:
909:
907:
903:
899:
892:
887:
885:
880:
878:
873:
872:
869:
854:
849:
840:
826:on 2022-05-22
825:
821:
815:
809:
805:
800:
794:
790:
785:
771:on 2011-07-16
770:
766:
760:
754:
749:
743:
738:
729:
719:
710:
701:
695:USGS OF 90-83
692:
683:
675:
669:
655:on 2016-12-24
651:
644:
638:
630:
624:
610:on 2016-03-04
606:
599:
593:
584:
582:
575:
572:
567:
558:
544:on 2016-03-04
543:
539:
533:
525:
519:
511:
505:
499:
496:
491:
485:
482:
477:
471:
466:
460:
457:
452:
446:
441:
435:
433:
429:
424:
419:
417:
412:
404:
395:
388:
383:
379:
377:
373:
369:
365:
355:
353:
349:
344:
340:
335:
333:
330:
327:
321:
317:
315:
311:
305:
302:
298:
297:metamorphosed
292:
290:
287:
284:
280:
276:
271:
270:
266:
257:
248:
241:
240:Chugach Range
237:
233:
228:
219:
216:
207:
202:
193:
189:
185:
181:
175:
171:
168:
159:
156:
154:
148:
146:
141:
139:
134:
132:
128:
123:
122:Parks Highway
114:
105:
103:
102:Mat-Su valley
99:
95:
91:
87:
83:
79:
78:mountain pass
75:
67:
64:
62:
58:
55:
54:United States
51:
48:
44:
40:
38:
34:
30:
25:
20:
1070:
973:Kincaid Park
927:Hatcher Pass
926:
905:Alpine areas
852:
848:
839:
828:. Retrieved
824:the original
814:
799:
784:
773:. Retrieved
769:the original
759:
748:
737:
728:
718:
709:
700:
691:
682:
657:. Retrieved
650:the original
637:
612:. Retrieved
605:the original
592:
573:
566:
557:
546:. Retrieved
542:the original
532:
518:
504:
497:
490:
483:
476:
465:
458:
451:
440:
425:
401:
392:
367:
363:
361:
336:
322:
318:
306:
304:the schist.
293:
272:
262:
245:
211:
190:
186:
182:
179:
169:
165:
157:
149:
142:
135:
119:
74:Hatcher Pass
73:
72:
22:Hatcher Pass
1092: /
1080:149°18′32″W
987:Heli skiing
376:paragliders
372:cirque lake
348:earthquakes
341:is a major
1107:Categories
1077:61°46′11″N
942:Mount Eyak
937:Moose Mtn.
830:2009-07-09
775:2007-12-13
659:2017-08-29
614:2015-09-08
548:2015-09-01
407:References
1045:Dry Creek
1030:Deer Mtn.
912:Alpenglow
332:monzonite
289:monzonite
222:Geography
37:Elevation
668:cite web
623:cite web
428:Archived
426:Hatcher
343:tectonic
310:Tertiary
301:deformed
279:tonalite
145:Dena'ina
108:Overview
46:Location
947:Skiland
251:Geology
238:at the
136:Mills,
94:Wasilla
329:quartz
314:arkose
286:quartz
196:Mining
162:Skiing
98:Willow
90:Palmer
86:Alaska
653:(PDF)
646:(PDF)
608:(PDF)
601:(PDF)
138:adits
61:Range
723:1983
674:link
629:link
337:The
299:and
263:The
204:The
92:and
385:An
1109::
806:,
791:,
670:}}
666:{{
625:}}
621:{{
580:^
415:^
378:.
326:Ma
324:67
283:Ma
275:Ma
104:.
84:,
52:,
890:e
883:t
876:v
833:.
778:.
676:)
662:.
631:)
617:.
551:.
526:.
512:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
