Mount Susitna
Encyclopedia
Mount Susitna is a 4396 feet (1,339.9 m) mountain
in the U.S. state
of Alaska
. It is located on the west bank of the lower Susitna River
, about 33 miles (53.1 km) northwest of Anchorage, Alaska
. The mountain is a prominent landmark in the Anchorage, Alaska
area and can be seen across the Knik Arm of the Cook Inlet
from most of the city, especially at higher elevations.
for its resemblance to a recumbent woman. The name is sometimes said to derive from a Dena’ina
legend, in which a woman named Susitna
belonging to a race of giant
s vows to sleep until her beloved comes back from battle, but no such legend actually exists. The mountain's Dena'ina
name is Dghelishla, meaning "Little Mountain"; in English
it was simply named for the Susitna River
which means Sandy River. "Dinglishna" in Alaska
, such as in the name of the Dinglishna Hills, Alaska
subdivision of Matanuska-Susitna Valley
is a similar word which means "Little Ridge that Extends". This is pointed out on page 113 of the second edition of
Shem Pete's Alaska 2003.
, a landform created when a glacier flows over a resistant, topographically high, bedrock body, creating a smooth-sided and teardrop shaped feature aligned with the direction of ice flow.
The Anchorage bowl topography has been influenced by 5-7 glaciations. Over several thousand years, thick ice sheets from the Talkeetna, Chugach and Alaska Ranges flowed down Cook Inlet. The five well documented glaciations from oldest to most recent were the Mt Susitna, Caribou Hills, Eklutna, Knik and Naptowne. The earliest glaciation in the Anchorage area is known as the Mount Susitna for the erratics and other glacial features found on the top of Mount Susitna. This is the time period when it obtained its characteristic streamlined shape. It is dated to the late Pliocene to the early Pleistocene (2-6 million years ago).
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. It is located on the west bank of the lower Susitna River
Susitna River
The Susitna River is a long river in the Southcentral Alaska. It is the 15th largest river in the United States of America, ranked by average discharge volume at its mouth. The river stretches from the Susitna Glacier to Cook Inlet....
, about 33 miles (53.1 km) northwest of Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
. The mountain is a prominent landmark in the Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
area and can be seen across the Knik Arm of the Cook Inlet
Cook Inlet
Cook Inlet stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage....
from most of the city, especially at higher elevations.
Etymology
Mount Susitna is often called The Sleeping LadyThe Sleeping Lady
-Mountains:The Sleeping Lady is a nickname for the following mountains:*Western United States :...
for its resemblance to a recumbent woman. The name is sometimes said to derive from a Dena’ina
Dena’ina
The Dena'ina are an Alaska Native people, an extended tribe of American Indian lineage. They are the original inhabitants of the southcentral Alaska region ranging from Seldovia in the south to Chickaloon in the northeast, Talkeetna in the north, Lime Village in the Northwest and Pedro Bay in the...
legend, in which a woman named Susitna
Susitna
Susitna may refer to any of:* Susitna Glacier* The Susitna River in Alaska, USA.* Mount Susitna, a mountain near the Susitna River in Alaska.* The Matanuska-Susitna Valley through which the Susitna River runs....
belonging to a race of giant
Giant (mythology)
The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
s vows to sleep until her beloved comes back from battle, but no such legend actually exists. The mountain's Dena'ina
Dena’ina language
Dena’ina is the Athabaskan language of the region surrounding Cook Inlet. It is geographically unique in Alaska as the only Alaska Athabaskan language to include territory which borders salt water...
name is Dghelishla, meaning "Little Mountain"; in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
it was simply named for the Susitna River
Susitna River
The Susitna River is a long river in the Southcentral Alaska. It is the 15th largest river in the United States of America, ranked by average discharge volume at its mouth. The river stretches from the Susitna Glacier to Cook Inlet....
which means Sandy River. "Dinglishna" in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, such as in the name of the Dinglishna Hills, Alaska
Dinglishna Hills, Alaska
Dinglishna Hills is an unincorporated community in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, USA. An Alaskan Bush community, it was created by State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources through land auctions and subsequent over-the-counter land sales, in between the big Susitna River and Alexander...
subdivision of Matanuska-Susitna Valley
Matanuska-Susitna Valley
Matanuska-Susitna Valley is an area in Southcentral Alaska south of the Alaska Range about 35 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska....
is a similar word which means "Little Ridge that Extends". This is pointed out on page 113 of the second edition of
Shem Pete's Alaska 2003.
Pleistocene
Mt Susitna is a roche moutonnéeRoche moutonnée
In glaciology, a roche moutonnée is a rock formation created by the passing of a glacier. When a glacier erodes down to bedrock, it can form tear-drop shaped hills that taper in the up-ice direction.-Name:...
, a landform created when a glacier flows over a resistant, topographically high, bedrock body, creating a smooth-sided and teardrop shaped feature aligned with the direction of ice flow.
The Anchorage bowl topography has been influenced by 5-7 glaciations. Over several thousand years, thick ice sheets from the Talkeetna, Chugach and Alaska Ranges flowed down Cook Inlet. The five well documented glaciations from oldest to most recent were the Mt Susitna, Caribou Hills, Eklutna, Knik and Naptowne. The earliest glaciation in the Anchorage area is known as the Mount Susitna for the erratics and other glacial features found on the top of Mount Susitna. This is the time period when it obtained its characteristic streamlined shape. It is dated to the late Pliocene to the early Pleistocene (2-6 million years ago).