Hatcher Pass

Hatcher Pass

The Hatcher Pass is a mountain pass with an altitude of 1148 m in the southwest of Talkeetna Mountains in the U.S. state of Alaska. The nearest towns are Palmer 19 km south and 42 km west of Willow. The road over the pass, the Hatcher Pass Road is closed due to weather conditions from September to July.

History

There are no known historic settlements of indigenous people at Hatcher Pass. The Athabascan Tanaina use the western Talkeetna Mountains, however, until the 1930s for hunting. First human activities in the area and also the construction of the road over the pass have their cause in search of gold. Named is the pass to Robert Lee Hatcher, a prospector who had staked the first claim in the Willow Creek Valley in September 1906.

Today, the region around the pass to a recreation area for Anchorage and the Matanuska- Susitna Valley. A few kilometers south of the pass, in the Independence Valley, is the Independence Mine State Historical Park. The Hatcher Pass State Management manages the land, which includes the state park and the Hatcher Pass and surrounds. Shortly before the highest point of the Hatcher Pass Road is the Summit Lake State Recreation Site.

Geography

The southwestern Talkeetna Mountains with the Hatcher Pass were heavily glaciated. Steep-walled cirques, rugged ridges and steep valleys that flow into U-shaped glaciated valleys, characterize the area. Trees only grow in the lowlands. The mountain slopes are covered with bushes, which merges at higher altitudes in tundra.

Mining

The Hatcher Pass is located in the Willow Creek Mining District, where today about 14 tonnes of gold have been mined. The first claims in the region around the pass were registered in 1906. First gold was washed only in rivers, but most profitable was the underground mining, which was operated 1908-1951 and was won by the gold from quartz veins. In the 1980s, a mine was briefly returned to service.