Tanana River
![](/Images/godic/202502/15/Braided_Stream_FairbanksTananaRiver0431.jpg")
![](/Images/godic/202502/15/AK_map_Tanana_river.svg0431.png")
![The Trans-Alaska Pipeline crosses beneath several rivers, but has a pipeline bridge where it crosses the Tanana just north of Delta Junction.](/Images/godic/202502/15/Trans-Alaska_Pipeline_over_Tanana_River0431.jpg")
![Tanana River in winter, 10 miles (16 km) west of Fairbanks](/Images/godic/202502/15/West_of_Fairbanks_-_aerial_view_-_P10405870431.jpg")
The Tanana River /ˈtænənɑː/ is a 584-mile (940 km) tributary of the Yukon River in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to linguist and anthropologist William Bright, the name is from the Koyukon (Athabaskan) tene no, tenene, literally "trail river".