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Cook Inlet, showing Knik and Turnagain Arms
The Cook Inlet is a large inlet of the Gulf of Alaska in south-central Alaska. It stretches for
approximately 195 miles or 310 kilometers
southwest to northeast, separating the Kenai Peninsula from mainland Alaska. It branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain
Arm at its northern end, on either side of Anchorage.
The inlet was first explored by Europeans in 1778 when James Cook sailed into it while searching for the Northwest Passage. It was named after Cook in 1794 by George Vancouver, who had served under Cook in
1778.
Its watershed covers about 40,000 square miles or 100,000kmē of southern Alaska
east of the Aleutian Range and south of the Alaska Range, receiving the Susitna and Matanuska rivers. The watershed includes the drainage areas of Mount McKinley. Within the watershed there are four active volcanoes and seven national
parks. The inlet provides navigable access to the port of Anchorage at its northern
end, and smaller Seward further south. Approximately 400,000 people
live within the Cook Inlet watershed.
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