Drift river
| Drift river | ||
 Oil storage on the Drift River, late March 2009 |
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| Data | ||
| Water code | US : 1412936 | |
| location | Alaska (USA) | |
| River system | Drift river | |
| origin | Mountain lake in the Chigmit Mountains 60 ° 34 ′ 45 ″ N , 152 ° 9 ′ 58 ″ W |
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| Source height | approx. 2600 m | |
| muzzle |
Cook Inlet ( Pacific Ocean ) Coordinates: 60 ° 35 ′ 3 " N , 152 ° 7 ′ 14" W 60 ° 35 ′ 3 " N , 152 ° 7 ′ 14" W |
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| Mouth height | 0 m | |
| Height difference | approx. 2600 m | |
| Bottom slope | approx. 43 ‰ | |
| length | 61 km | |
The Drift River is a 61 km long tributary of the Cook Inlet in southwest Alaska .
The Drift River has its origin in a small glacier-fed mountain lake in the Chigmit Mountains at an altitude of approximately 2600 m . It flows mainly in an east-northeast direction through the mountains. The Mount Redoubt volcano rises in the south, and the glaciated mountain range of the Double Glacier in the north . The drift river glacier tongue of the Double glacier feeds the river about 20 km above the mouth. The Drift River reaches the coastal plain and finally flows into Redoubt Bay in the west of Cook Inlet . Kalgin Island is 14 km from the mouth .
The river was named by the US Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC & GS) in 1912 .
Oil terminal and airfield
The Drift River oil storage facility ( ⊙ ) with seven large oil tanks is located on the coastal plain between today's two estuary arms . These are used for temporary storage. There is an oil terminal ( Drift River Oil Terminal ) ( ⊙ ) three kilometers from the coast , where oil tankers are loaded with crude oil. The Drift River ( ⊙ ) airport ( IATA code DRF) with a hangar is located near the oil storage facility.
Lahar event in 2009
During the eruption of the Redoubt volcano on March 22nd and 23rd, 2009, the glacier melted on the northern flank of the mountain, so that a lahar , a stream of rubble and mud, poured down the Drift River. The protective dams of the oil depot prevented it from being flooded and possibly destroyed. The Drift River originally only flowed east of the oil store. Due to the flood event, the Lahar poured over the coastal plain west of the oil storage facility, a new estuary of the Drift River formed west of the oil storage facility.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Drift River in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
- ↑ Photo: Drift River Oil Terminal, April 4, 2009 . NASA Earth Observatory. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
- ^ Lahars near the Drift River Oil Terminal . NASA - Visible Earth. Retrieved January 11, 2018.