Wrangell-St. Elias

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve protects 5,366,117 hectares in southeastern Alaska, making it the largest national park in the United States—larger than Switzerland. Established in 1980, the park encompasses four major mountain ranges including nine of the sixteen highest peaks in the United States, the continent's largest concentration of glaciers, vast wilderness, and important cultural resources. The landscape features extreme vertical relief from coastal areas to Mount St. Elias at 5,489 meters, massive ice fields, wild rivers, and diverse ecosystems. The park protects extraordinary wilderness where geological forces actively shape the land through volcanism, earthquakes, and glaciation. Visitors experience Alaska's supreme wilderness in a landscape of overwhelming scale where nature operates on a continental magnitude.

Wrangell-St. Elias hosts diverse wildlife adapted to its extreme environments. Large mammals include Dall sheep, mountain goats, caribou, moose, brown and black bears, and wolves. The park's rivers support all five species of Pacific salmon, while its skies are home to numerous bird species, including golden eagles and trumpeter swans. Mountain valleys provide crucial habitat for smaller mammals like wolverines, lynx, and Arctic ground squirrels. Marine mammals such as sea lions and harbor seals can be observed along the park's coastal areas.

The park's vegetation varies dramatically with elevation and climate zones, creating distinct ecological communities. Lower elevations feature boreal forests dominated by white and black spruce, while coastal areas support lush temperate rainforests. Alpine tundra thrives above the treeline, displaying colorful wildflowers during brief summer blooms. The park's plant life has adapted to extreme conditions, with species like dwarf birch and various lichens surviving in harsh alpine environments. Unique microhabitats created by glacial valleys and thermal areas support specialized plant communities.

The park showcases an extraordinary convergence of mountain ranges, including the Wrangell, Saint Elias, and Chugach ranges, featuring 9 of the 16 highest peaks in the United States. Formed by ongoing tectonic activity, these mountains continue to rise as the Pacific Plate collides with the North American Plate. The park contains numerous glaciers, including the Malaspina Glacier, which alone covers over 850 square miles. Volcanic activity has shaped much of the landscape, with Mount Wrangell remaining an active volcano among several dormant ones within the park.

Wrangell-St. Elias experiences dramatic seasonal variations typical of Alaska's interior. Summers are relatively mild with temperatures ranging from 50-80°F (10-27°C), while winters are harsh with temperatures often dropping below -40°F (-40°C). The park receives moderate precipitation, with coastal areas seeing more rainfall than interior regions. Weather conditions can change rapidly due to the park's vast size and elevation changes, making it essential for visitors to be prepared for sudden shifts in temperature and precipitation regardless of season.

The park region has been home to Native Alaskan peoples, including the Ahtna and Tlingit, for thousands of years. Russian explorers arrived in the late 1700s, followed by American prospectors during the gold rush era of the late 1800s. The area's mining history is preserved in the historic Kennecott Mines, which operated from 1911 to 1938, producing some of the world's purest copper. Wrangell-St. Elias was designated as a National Park and Preserve in 1980 under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, becoming the largest national park in the United States.

The Wrangell-St. Elias region has been home to Ahtna Athabascan and coastal Tlingit peoples for thousands of years, with traditional territories spanning from interior to coast. Russian exploration in the 18th century was followed by American acquisition. Copper mining boomed in the early 20th century, with the Kennecott mines becoming legendary for their rich ore bodies and remote location. The decline of mining left ghost towns including Kennecott, now a fascinating historical site within the park. Recognition of the area's exceptional wilderness values culminated in park establishment through the 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. The park-preserve designation allows subsistence and sport hunting in preserve areas. The park was designated a World Heritage Site in 1979 (along with adjacent Canadian parks), recognizing the international significance of this vast protected ecosystem. Management balances wilderness preservation with continuation of subsistence uses, mining claims, and very limited road access to maintain wild character while allowing appropriate uses.

The park's most remarkable features include the historic Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark, a remarkably preserved copper mining complex. Mount St. Elias, rising 18,008 feet, stands as the second-highest peak in both the United States and Canada. The Nabesna Glacier, one of the longest valley glaciers in North America, and the massive Malaspina Glacier system showcase the park's impressive ice fields. The McCarthy Road and Root Glacier offer unique opportunities for visitors to experience the park's rugged wilderness and geological wonders firsthand.

The park offers visitor centers in Copper Center and Kennecott providing orientation for this vast wilderness. Two rough roads provide limited vehicle access: the McCarthy Road (97 kilometers of gravel) leads to the Kennecott area, while the Nabesna Road penetrates the park's northern section. Most of the park is roadless wilderness accessible only by aircraft or foot. Kennecott offers historic tours of the abandoned copper mining town. Limited developed trails exist; most travel is cross-country requiring wilderness skills and often flight access. Several private lodges operate under permits. Backcountry camping requires no permits but demands complete self-sufficiency. Mountaineering attracts climbers to challenging peaks. The park's immense size means wilderness experiences of exceptional remoteness. Access from Anchorage is approximately 320 kilometers to park entrances. Weather can be extreme; preparation is critical. The park operates year-round though access is severely limited in winter. Most visits occur June-September when weather is most favorable and roads are passable.

Wrangell-St. Elias protects ecosystems on a continental scale, encompassing complete watersheds from glacial sources to the sea. The park contains North America's largest collection of glaciers exceeding 100 kilometers in length, with some surging glaciers exhibiting dramatic advance-retreat cycles. Climate change monitoring documents glacial retreat and ecosystem shifts. The park supports healthy populations of grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, caribou, Dall sheep, and mountain goats in intact predator-prey systems. Bison were reintroduced in recent decades. The Copper River supports significant salmon runs connecting marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Volcanic monitoring tracks activity in the Wrangell Mountains, including active Mount Wrangell. The park's size enables large-scale ecological processes increasingly rare elsewhere. Subsistence use by local communities continues traditional practices. Mining claims from before park establishment remain valid, requiring management of potential conflicts. Invasive species threats remain minimal due to remoteness. Research programs study glacier dynamics, volcanic processes, and wildlife ecology. Wrangell-St. Elias exemplifies landscape-scale conservation at its grandest, protecting entire ecosystems with minimal human modification across a vast, wild landscape where geological and ecological processes continue largely unaffected by human activity, representing wilderness conservation at its most ambitious scale.