What does the word Iditarod mean?
Iditarod is believed to come from an Athabaskan Indian word pronounced “Hi-dit-a-rod.” There are many translations for this word, but the most widely accepted meaning is “a distant or far off place.” The Iditarod River was the site of one of the last major gold strikes in Alaska in the early 20th century. The town of Iditarod was built on the banks of this river, and the trails leading to Iditarod from Seward (on the south central coast) and Nome (on the west coast) were collectively known as the Iditarod Trail.
