Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve

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IUCN Category II (National Park)

Location Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Yakutat City and Borough, and Southeast Fairbanks Census Area,

Alaska,

United States

Nearest city Anchorage

Coordinates 61Â°0â€²0â€³N 142Â°00â€²0â€³Wï»¿ / ï»¿61, -142

Area 13,175,901 acres (53,321 kmÂ²)

Established December 2, 1980

Visitors 61,085 (in 2007^[1])

Governing body National Park Service

World Heritage Site 1979

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve is a United States National Park in southern Alaska. It was established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. The park area is included in an International Biosphere Reserve and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the largest national park in the United States by area, covering an area of 20,587 miÂ² (53,321 kmÂ²), or over 13 million acres (53,000 kmÂ²). The Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness is the largest designated wilderness in the United States. It includes the second-highest peak in the country, Mount Saint Elias, at 18,008 feet (5,489 m). It borders on Canada's Kluane National Park and Reserve. The vast majority of the park is designated as wilderness.

The park is accessible by highway from Anchorage; two rough gravel roads (the McCarthy Road and the Nabesna Road) wind through the park, making much of the interior accessible for backcountry camping and hiking. Chartered aircraft also fly into the park. Wrangell-St. Elias received 61,085 visitors in 2007 and is quickly gaining popularity through its combination of size, remoteness, and accessibility.

1 World Heritage Site 2 Gallery 3 See also 4 References 5 External links 6 Further reading

[edit] World Heritage Site

The transborder park system Kluane-Wrangell-St. Elias-Glacier Bay-Tatshenshini-Alsek (comprising Kluane, Wrangell-St Elias, Glacier Bay and Tatshenshini-Alsek parks) was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 for the spectacular glacier and icefield landscapes as well as for the importance of grizzly bears, caribou and Dall sheep habitat.

[edit] Gallery

Mount Sanford

Hikers on a pass between Mt. Sanford and Mt. Drum

Mount Sanford

Welcome sign at the entrance to Wrangell-St. Elias visitor center.

[edit] See also

Kennecott, Alaska, a historic mining town found within the park Ferdinand von Wrangel â€” Russian explorer & admiral for whom Mount Wrangell (sic) volcano is named; more accurately transliterated as Vrangel (sic).

Mount Saint Elias â€” How mapmakers may have settled on this proper noun.

[edit] References

^ National Park Service. Park Visitation Report

[edit] External links

Official NPS site World Heritage Site Largest National Park information

[edit] Further reading

Eppinger, R.G., et al. (2000). Environmental geochemical studies of selected mineral deposits in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska [U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1619]. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. Winkler, G.R. (2000). A geologic guide to Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska : a tectonic collage of northbound terranes [U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1616]. Denver: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.

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National parks of the United States