Matanuska Flood
This post is different. It’s about rivers. I grew up on the Yukon and Innoko rivers. I know about rivers. I get calls almost every week from out of state dreamers hoping to find a property on a river. Where they can fish off their own dock. While that is sometimes possible it is not common. People outside of Alaska have no concept of a glacial stream like the Matanuska River.
Many rivers in Alaska are similar to the Matanuska River. They are both a glacial fed stream and a watershed stream.
Glacial fed streams carry a HUGE amount of silt and continually fill up their own river bed and have to meander to a new one so they often erode the side banks. While watershed streams collect the rain or melting snow in all the uphill areas and concentrate it into the river bed. A large rainfall can cause the river to run high when it also has recently fill up one of the beds.
This video that I originally posted ten years ago, Matanuska River Flood, shows the house that belonged to the well in the market memo video today. Go to the 40 second mark. That house is no longer there. This is why you need to be careful when purchasing property next to a river in Alaska.
Some rivers are fine, and some areas near glacial rivers like the Matanuska River are fine…but you need to do your research. Make sure you understand what you are getting into before you purchase property on a river in Alaska.
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This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by, and to, the subscribers of Alaska Multiple Listing Service, Inc. (AK MLS, Inc.). AK MLS, Inc. does not guarantee nor is it in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by AK MLS, Inc. is for its own use and may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.
