Nuchalawoya is the Athabascan Indian term for the "wedding of the rivers." The marriage of the clear waters of the Chena River and the silt laden Tanana River creates this unique demarcation line. At the confluence of these mighty rivers, the boiling current of the Tanana creates clouds of silt that rise and fall as they meet the clear Chena waters. 

The spring-fed Chena River runs right through downtown Fairbanks. The Tanana River, the world's greatest glacial river, carries tons of glacial silt past this point daily enroute to its rendezvous with the mighty Yukon River.