Wrangell - St. Elias National Park Service National Park and National Preserve U.S. Department of the Interior Wrangell-St. Elias Alaska
The wildness of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve is uncompromising, its geography awe-inspiring. Mount Wrangell, namesake of one of the park's four mountain ranges, is an active volcano. Hundreds of glaciers and ice fields form in the high peaks, then melt into rivers and streams that drain to the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea. Ice is a bridge that connects the park's geographically isolated areas.
The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) of 1980 allows the subsistence harvest of wildlife within the park, and preserve and sport hunting only in the preserve. Hunters find Dall's sheep, the park's most numerous large mammal, on mountain slopes where they browse sedges, grasses, and forbs. Sockeye, Chinook, and Coho salmon spawn in area lakes and streams and are caught in the Copper River with fish wheels, dip nets, and rod and reel. In the park's southeastern corner, Tlingit people har-
vest harbor seals, which feed on fish and marine invertebrates. These species and many more are key foods in the subsistence diet of the Ahtna and Upper Tanana Athabaskans, Eyak, and Tlingit peoples. Local, non-Native people also share in the bounty.
Long, dark winters and brief, lush summers lend intensity to life here. The sounds of migrant birds, including trumpeter swans, thrushes, and warblers, enliven long summer days.
In late summer, black and brown bears, drawn by ripening soapberries, frequent the forests and gravel bars. Human history here is ancient and relatively sparse, and has left a light imprint on the immense landscape. Even where people continue to hunt, fish, and trap, most animal, fish, and plant populations are healthy and selfregulati ng. For the species who call WrangellSt. Elias home, the park's size and remoteness ensure a naturally functioning ecosystem.
SHARING EARTH'S BOUNTY PROSPECTING FOR WEALTH
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The living cultures of south central Alaska During winter the Upper Ahtna people lift the fish from the w ater. In summer, include the Upper Ahtna, or 'Headwaters traditionally hunted Dall's sheep, caribou, you'll see many of these wheels along People' (Tatl'ahwt'aenn). Their identity is and moose, and trapped small mammals the river edges. embedded in the earth, water, and ice of in the uplands. In summer they moved to the upper Copper River region, where fish camps. They built fish traps in slow As newcomers began to arrive in the late they draw upon traditional ecological moving, flat-bottomed creeks. 1800s, new economic opportunities knowledge to hunt, gather, trap, and emerged. Some Ahtna people began to fish. Their knowledge, born of discipline In the Copper River's fast-moving waters, work for money, but they also continued and wisdom passed down through gen people used dip nets to harvest salmon to harvest natural resources to provide erations, contributes to an economy before they adopted fish wheels in the for their families. Although some Alaska based on sharing natural resources. This early 1900s. The fish wheel's arms are Natives now live in cities, they also condiffers from the market economy that like spokes on a wheel. As the current tinue to participate in the traditional prevails elsewhere in the United States. propels the paddles, revolving baskets sharing economy.
ENTER ANOTHER WORLD Glaciers, icefields, rivers, and mountains Float the Copper River from Chitina to offer challenges and incomparable re the Gulf of Alaska. near Cordova, to see wards to the adventurous. some of the park's most rugged terra in.
Sea kayakers may opt to paddle in In spring, climbers attempt Mounts Icy Bay and Yakutat areas. Crosscountry Drum, Sanford, Blackburn. and St. Elias. skis offer yet another w ay to explore in Hikers usually begin from points along winter and spring. Campers find August the Nabesna or McCarthy roads- t he and Sept ember cool, wit h fewer mosquionly two roads into the pa rk. Others tos. For bird's ey e view s, you may fly or strike out across Root Glacier (right), charter a plane. whose sheer breadth and dist ant views of Mount Blackburn and the Stairway lcefall are otherworldly.
Before you head into the backcountry, get familiar with techniques for safely PHOTOS, LEFT TO RIGHT:
ICE CLI M BER, ROOT GLAcrossing glaciers, rivers, and streams. CIER- N PS / JACOB W.
Many rivers are impassable, and some FRANK; CA M PI NG AT A IRcan quickly become raging torrents. STRIP- NPS / NEAL HER
BERT; SA FE HIKING W ITH CRAMPONS ON ROOT GLAC IER- BE TSY BRADBURY
After the Klondike gold strike in 1896, thousands of prospectors poured into Alaska. Many headed to Chisana and Nabesna, but found only small amounts of gold. The discovery of copper deposits in the Chitina River valley drew investors who formed a syndicate to develop a mine. To transport the ore they built a railroad, completed in 1911. It linked Kennecott mine to Cordova and from there to profitable markets.
At its peak of operation the company employed 600 people, many of them immigrants who worked seven days a w eek
while living in crowded, rough bunkhouses. By 1938, when the mine closed, workers had extracted ore with a market value of about $200 million at that time.
Although Kennecott mine and mill closed, the community continues to thrive. Restoration crews bring life to relics of a time of industrial growth, expanded markets, global migration, and innovation. At Kennecott you can walk in the footsteps of mill workers and their families, and contemplate what made t his rugged place home.
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7731ft 2356m I
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Mount Drum (Hwdaandi K'elt'aeni) 1201 0ft \ 36.61m
3318ft 1011m
0 Chisana Braye Lakes (?
ub/ic lands. r;1:ea:;,:::~e:rth
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'\. ~ l Wiki Peak,
I 7655ft \ I
2333m ChisamJ
Pass J '~ / Ptarmigan Laki (K' atbah Miinn')
~ o/o MoJntain 5875ft ~ 1791m N T A ~ Rock Lake Solo Lake
• • Sk::'..olai Pass Mount Sulzer \ \ 10926ft Chitistone
Pass• .3330m ~ u Chit istone '::. Mount Natazhat ) Falls-f..
13435ft r 4095m. r f "'
Chitina
ilthf.!}f.JI 581ft Mount Churchill 177m 1S638ft
\ Mount Bona •4766m ... c:: 16421ft z 5005m =l
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Mount Ill Bear -i
TONSINAGL~ )> 14831ft 4520m. -i
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/ • Hanagita Peak I
8504ft 2592m
\ , ffjgK, Mountain
2204m
Cordova Peak 7730ft • 2356m
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Juniper Island 4434ft • 1351m
B AG LE Y I C E
V,4 L L E y
Visit the Park Start with the free park newspaper for curre nt information on hiking, camping, a nd services. Download it from the park website, www.nps. gov/wrst, or ask at visitor cente rs or ranger stations (a ll are open seasonally; ca ll for hours of operation).
G U L F 0 F A LA S KA
Begin your visit at the Headquarters and Wrangell-St. Elias Visitor Center. It offe rs views
c=J Wrangel l-St. Elias Unpaved road Approximately 750,000 of the 13+ mil lion National Park ~ wit hin park acres of land within the boundaries of
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
c=J Wrangel l-St . Elias Other unpaved are non-federal lands belonging to Alaska Nat ional Preserve ~ road
c=J Native Corporations, other private owners,
Nat ive Corporat ion E=l Trai l and the State of Alaska. Significant amounts Lands of these non-federal lands are located along
the McCarthy and Nabesna Roads and along the east bank of the Copper River. Please do
North not trespass. If you have questions, ask at
<D visitor centers or ranger stations.
0 10 20 30 Ki lo met ers
0 10 20 30 Miles
Alaska Native Place Names
English place name Native place name Language Meaning Boyden Hills Natsiidi Chox Ahtna Big Lowland One Chisana River Ttheetsaan' Ni ign Upper Tanana Rock River Chitina River Tsedi Na' Ahtna Copper River Grand Wash Tsaa H~eni Tlingit Seal Creek Hubbard Glacier 5ft' Tie in Tl ingit Big Glacier
Malaspina Glacier Sit' Tlein Tl ingit Big Glacier Mount A llen Ch 'ahk an' Choh Upper Tanana Big Burn
Mount Blackburn K'a'si Tl'aadi Ahtna The One at Cold Headwaters Mount Drum Hwdaand i K'ett'aeni Ahtna Downriver K'elt'aeni
Mount St. Elias Was'eitushaa Tl ingit Mountain Inland of Was'ei Mount Sanford Hw ni indi K'ett'aen i Mount Wrangell K'elt'aeni Mount W rangell Uk'eledi (when smoking) Nabesna River Naabiah Ni ign Ptarmigan Lake K' atbah Mann'
Preserving Wilderness
n )> z )> C )>
Siana
Nonwilderness
Glennallen 0
Copper Center
Chisana 0
8. Kennecott !i:! McCarthy C 2
d'aldez .,, J> 0 J>
o Cordova
G UL F OF A LASKA Y.akutat O
Congress protected 9.6 mil lion acres of Wrangel l-St. El ias National Park and Preserve as Wilderness under t he 1964 Wild erness Act . For informat ion about the National Wilderness Preservation System, visit www.wilderness.net.
Ahtna Upr iver K'elt'aeni Ahtna The One that Controls Weather Ahtna The One with Smoke on It
Upper Tanana Along t he Muddy River Upper Tanana Ptarmigan Lake
World Heritage Site f'\ 250 Km J> ;; 250 Mi
0 Fairbanks ~
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D<lwson City 0 Wrangell-St. Elias
National Park and Preserve World Heritage Site
Glllcier Bay Nllt io nll l Pllrk and Preserve
GULF OF ALA SKA Sit ka o
Wrange ll-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Glacier Bay National Park a nd Preserve, Canada's Kluane Nat iona l Park and Reserve, a nd Tatshensh in i-Alsek Provincial Park are a ll pa rt of a 24-million-acre World Heritage Site-one of Ea rth's largest int ernationally protected ecosystems .
KLUANE NATIONAL PARK
AND RESERVE
M cArthur Peak 14400ft
. 4389m King Peak,
16971ft Mount• ~ 5173m Logan
19551ft 5959m 0
SEWARD M ount A l verstone G l A CI
14565ft Mount Ken n e dy E l? 4439m 13093ft
M ount Augusta 399 1m 14070ft 4289m
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NATIONA L 1, ..::,~ PARK ;::
M ount Cook 1,,,, ., ~ Q • Poin t Glorious 13760ft "'It~ ct 5000ft 4194m ~{.-<--I '"•m "'
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MAL A SPI N A
GLAC I E R
( 5 ft' Tl ei n )
of the Wrange ll Mountains, exhibits, a film, bookstore, picn ic she lter, short hiking tra ils, \ park information, a nd seasonal ra nger talks Safety Opportunities for rescue a nd evacua co untry ca mping. We strongly suggest that Accessibility We strive to make our faci lities, a nd walks . tion in the backcountry are slim; response time yo u carry bear spray. • Do not a pproach moose, services, and programs accessible to a ll. For
YAKUTAT can be slow. Adequate preparation, expe ri which injure more people than bears. • Explo information go to a visitor ce nter, ask a ranger,
POINT MANBY BAY Kennecott Visitor Center, housed in the historic ence, and knowledge of extreme wilde rness sives, t oxic chemica ls, and residu e may be pres ca ll, or check o ur website. Blackburn School, is your information hub for trave l and surviva l skills are esse ntia l. Always e nt in mining areas. • For f irearms reg ulations Kennecott Mines National Historic La ndmark. carry extra rations and gear fo r emergencies or check t he park website. Wra ngell-St. Elias Nationa l Park and Preserve It offers mountain and g lacier views, exh ibits, weather-re lated delays. • Before you head into is one of ove r 400 parks in the National Park a f ilm, seasonal ranger t a lks and wa lks, and t he backcountry, fill out a backcountry itinerary Eme rgencies call 24-hour NPS Dispatch System. To learn more, visit www.nps.gov. information on historic structures and hiking at a visitor ce nte r o r ranger station . Te ll a 907-683-9555 or 911 trails. Siana and Chitina Ranger Stations a re friend or fa mily membe r about your route a nd More Information gateways to t he two park roads. They provide expected ret urn date and time. • This is bea r Private Land Private property a nd Native Cor Wrange ll-St. Elias National Park and Prese rve backcount ry trip planning, road updates, and country! Get a bea r safet y brochure at a visitor poration Lands li e w ithin the park and preserve PO Box 439 a National
Park Foundation. a rea informat ion. Yakutat Ranger Station is cente r or range r station. Make no ise. Stay with boundaries. Do not trespass . Respect a ll land Mile 106.8 Richa rdson Hwy. Join t he park co m munity.
an access point for Mount St. Elias, Hubbard a group. Bear-resistant food containe rs, avai l owners' rights. Coppe r Center, AK 99573 www.nationalparks.org Glacier, and over o ne hundred miles of remote able at visitor ce nters, are required fo r a ll back- 907-822-5234
'UGP0:20XX- XXX-XXXIXXX)()( New In 20XX Pr inted on rec11tled paper. coastline . www.nps.gov/wrst
/ To Tok Getting Around the Wrangell Mountains M ouN
I 2 miles one TA Iii s -- ~wayJ 80Yden Hil t.
Siana~~---=---~ Road (unpaved - 4mr~_!11!'1!!11! !II! •~d]"il:i!'l"!llf!.tiil!ll, 1!1 LIU ~ • ~ ,,,,e( - _ •tl•J:l&G rm Co per Kendesnii---~ ~ ~!!:!!_Cho:; r,.1abesna p.,
/ To Delta and Fairbanks 2154ft mr.1nn '1-' .. l Lafe OD~ OD ---"' 3100ft N ur z o r
1011m •I 4949m Euchre Mtn Mt Gordon . o Chisana 6862ft. 9040ft Mount Drum 1 Private property 2092m 2755m (Hwdaandi K'elt'aeni) in terspersed wrth 12010ft Mount Wrangell public lands.
. 3661m (K'elt'aeni) Mt Zanetti. 14163ft
13009ft • 4317m 3965m
Glennallen CHESHNINA ~411111
. m,,oott ll&lll 335m
Donoho Pk \ 6696ft 2D41m. "'
Iron Mtn . Kots,'r,q 6653ft \ 2028m
-1> / Kennecott Visitor Center (summer only)
4
• Sourdough Pk 6201ft 1890m
Nizina
Campground Picnic area m Telephone
Parking North
Scale varies on t his map. Foreground areas a ppear larger than comparable (!) areas in the background.
