Ahtna Lake

Lake Atna was a great ice-dammed lake that once occupied much of the Copper River Basin. Glaciers blocked the river’s passage through the mountains, allowing water to spread across the lowlands; as the ice retreated, the lake drained toward the Gulf of Alaska. By the period of the Ahtna people’s settlements along the Copper River, the ancient lake had long disappeared, leaving sediments and traces of old shorelines in the basin. Ahtna oral traditions also tell of a large lake in this country.