Mentasta Lake, Alaska
Unincorporated
Population: 139
Village Council: 907-291-2319
Mentasta Lake is located 6 miles off the Tok-Slana Cutoff of the Glenn Highway on the west side of Mentasta Pass, 38 miles southwest of Tok Junction. The area is reported to have been the best-known route of Native immigration across the Alaska Range. Early village settlements have been located at various sites around the lake. The families that presently reside in Mentasta Lake come from Nabesna, Suslota, Slana and other villages within the area. The U.S. Army Signal Corps established a telegraph station at Mentasta Pass in 1902. A post office was established at the village in 1947, but was discontinued in 1951. Subsistence hunting, fishing, trapping and gathering make up much of Mentasta Lake's economy.
