After more than 25 years living in Alaska, I truly believe that this state is "God's Country" and the Matanuska-Susitna Valley offers one of its most beautiful areas to live and play. Take a look at the information I've gathered to familiarize you with our wonderful towns. Located approximately 45 miles north of Anchorage.

Living In The Matanuska-Susitna Valley

"The Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Mat-Su for short, is a great place to raise a family, get an education and operate a business. With all this growth you can imagine there are just a few things to do and see here in the borough. With everything from golf to mountain climbing the Matanuska-Susitna Borough is a haven for the outdoors person or anyone for that matter.

The Borough includes mountain ranges and valleys; glaciers, rivers, and lakes; wetlands, tundra, and boreal forest; farms, towns, suburban homes, and isolated cabins; and vast stretches of pristine wilderness."

* Information Source: Matanuska-Susitna Bureau Official website.

"The Matanuska-Susitna Valley (locally known as the Mat-Su Valley) is an area in south central Alaska south of the Alaska Range and northeast of Anchorage. It is over 23,000 square miles in size, comprising of the valleys of the Matanuska and Susitna rivers. It is one of the most settled areas in Alaska and includes the towns of Wasilla, Palmer, Houston, Big Lake, Sutton, Willow and Talkeetna.

The valley is rimmed by 3 major mountain ranges: the Alaska Range, the Talkeetna Mountains and the Chugach Mountains. The surrounding mountains include many mountain passes, as well as working and extinct gold mines. Like many parts of Alaska, the Matanuska-Susitna Valley was carved by glaciers which left many small and large lakes. Both the Matanuska and Susitna rivers are major salmon spawning streams.

The valley was settled by many homesteaders as part of an experiment in the 1930s. The current population includes a diverse group of people both Native Alaskans and "sourdoughs"."

Information Source: Wikipedia. Text made available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

PALMER
"The City of Palmer is located between the Chagach and Talkeetna mountain ranges. Palmer has evolved from a rural, to a bedroom community, to its own increasingly self-sufficient, commercial and employment center. The population growth in Palmer and the surrounding areas has been significant. The City`s population has increased on the average 3.3% since 2,000, with 5,343 residents currently residing here."

* Information quoted from the City of Palmer website.

City of Palmer Website	2005 Draft City Comprehesive Plan	Planning & Zoning Commission
Alaska State Fair	Frontiersman Newspaper	Palmer Chamber of Commerce
Enstar Natural Gas	Matanuska Electric Association	Matanuska Telephone Association
GCI - Long Distance Phone, Internet, Cable TV	Mat-Su Convention and Visitors Bureau	UAA - Matanuska-Susitna College
Local Palmer Weather	Matanuska-Susitna Burough	Anchorage Daily News
Palmer Schools	Palmer Business Directory	Valley Hospital

WASILLA
Wasilla is a small city in South Central Alaska. It is the largest city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city was 5,469. The 2004 census gives the city a population of 7,738.

City of Wasilla Website	Wasilla News and Events	Wasilla Planning Commission
Multi-Use Sports Complex	City Documents and Forms	Wasilla City Jobs
Transportation Industry Museum of Alaska in Wasilla	Mat-Su School District	Mat-Su Convention and Visitors Bureau
Enstar Natural Gas	Matanuska Electric Association	Matanuska Telephone Association
Local Wasilla Weather	Wasilla Business Directory	Anchorage Daily News

Approximately 30 percent of the Wasilla workforce commutes to Anchorage, Alaska. The local economy is diverse, and residents are employed in a variety of city, borough, state, federal, retail and professional service positions. Tourism, agriculture, wood products, steel and concrete products are part of the economy. One hundred twenty area residents hold commercial fishing permits. Wasilla is home to the Iditarod Trail Committee.

* Taken from Wikipedia. Text made available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

BIG LAKE
Located approximately 60 road miles or 15 minutes by plane north of Anchorage, Big Lake is far enough away from the Big City to offer the peace and quiet of country life, yet close enough to provide all the necessary and desired amenities. The community covers nearly 138 square miles at the west end of the Matanuska-Susitna Valley and has grown from a single homestead in the early part of the century into a bustling community of about 2000 full-time residents, including three-time Iditarod champion Martin Buser and his family. As a tremendously popular tourist and recreational area, 58% of the areas total housing are recreational units, resulting in large weekend and seasonal population increases as the area teems with people who have come to enjoy the many recreational opportunities. Big Lake is known as Alaska's Year-Round Playground.

Big Lake Chamber of Commerce	Big Lake Business Directory	Worship in Big Lake
Mat-Su School District	Mat-Su Convention and Visitors Bureau	Anchorage Daily News
Enstar Natural Gas	Matanuska Electric Association	Matanuska Telephone Association

* Quoted from the Big Lake Chamber of Commerce website.

HOUSTON

Mat-Su School District	Mat-Su Convention and Visitors Bureau	Anchorage Daily News
Enstar Natural Gas	Matanuska Electric Association	Matanuska Telephone Association

SUTTON

Mat-Su School District	Mat-Su Convention and Visitors Bureau	Anchorage Daily News
Enstar Natural Gas	Matanuska Electric Association	Matanuska Telephone Association

WILLOW

Mat-Su School District	Mat-Su Convention and Visitors Bureau	Anchorage Daily News
Enstar Natural Gas	Matanuska Electric Association	Matanuska Telephone Association