Alaska Range

 

S central Alaska, rising to the highest mountain in North America, Mt. McKinley (20,320 ft/6,194 m). The range divides S central Alaska from the great plateau of the interior. Mt. Spurr, an 11,070-ft-high (3,376-m) volcano 80 mi (129 km) W of Anchorage erupted several times in 1992 after a dormancy of 39 years.

Alaska Range
Denali, on a rare clear day
Country	United States
State	Alaska
Borders on	Pacific Coast Ranges
Highest point	Denali
- coordinates	63°04′10″N 151°00′26″W / 63.06944, -151.00722
- elevation	ft ( m)

The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 650-km-long (400 mi) mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest end^[1] to White River in Canada in the southeast. The highest mountain in North America, Denali, is in the Alaska Range.

The range forms a generally east-west arc with its northernmost part in the center, and from there trending southwest towards the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutians, and trending southeast into the Pacific Coast Ranges. The mountains act as a high barrier to the flow of moist air from the Gulf of Alaska northwards, and thus has some of the harshest weather in the world. The heavy snowfall also contributes to a number of large glaciers, including the Canwell, Castner, Black Rapids, Susitna, Yanert, Muldrow, Eldridge, Ruth, Tokositna, and Kahiltna Glaciers. Four major rivers cross the Range, including the Delta River, and Nenana River in the center of the range and the Nabesna and Chisana Rivers to the east.

The range is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, and the Denali fault that runs along the southern edge of the range is responsible for a number of earthquakes. However, there are no volcanoes in the range but several large granite plutons.

Parts of the range are protected within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Denali National Park and Preserve, and Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. The George Parks Highway from Anchorage to Fairbanks, the Richardson Highway from Valdez to Fairbanks, and the Tok Cut-Off from Gulkana Junction to Tok, Alaska pass through low parts of the range. The Alaska Pipeline parallels the Richardson Highway.

The name "Alaskan Range" appears to have been first applied to these mountains in 1869 by naturalist W. H. Dall. The name eventually became "Alaska Range" through local use. In 1849 Constantin Grewingk applied the name "T schigmit" to this mountain range. A map made by the General Land Office in 1869 calls the southwestern part of the Alaska Range the "Chigmit Mountains" and the northeastern part the "Beaver Mountains".^[2] However the Chigmit Mountains are now considered part of the Aleutian Range.

Major peaks

• Denali (6,194 m/20,320 ft)
• Mount Foraker (5,304 m/17,400 ft)
• Mount Hunter (4,442 m/14,573 ft)
• Mount Hayes (4,216 m/13,832 ft)
• Mount Silverthrone (4,029 m/13,218 ft)
• Mount Deborah (3,761 m/12,339 ft)
• Mount Huntington (3,730 m/12,240 ft)
• Mount Russell (3,557 m/11,670 ft)

Subranges (from west to east)

• Neacola Mountains^[1]
• Revelation Mountains
• Teocalli Mountains
• Kichatna Mountains
• Central Alaska Range/Denali Massif
• Eastern Alaska Range/Hayes Range
• Delta Mountains
• Mentasta Mountains
• Nutzotin Mountains

Documented wilderness traverses of Alaska Range

• Mentasta Lake to Kitchatna Mountains (1981): Scott Woolums, George Beilstein, Steve Eck, and Larry Coxen by skis: first traverse. 375 miles in 45 days.^[3]
• Canada to Lake Clark (1996): Roman Dial, Carl Tobin, and Paul Adkins by mountain bike and packraft: first full length traverse. 775 miles in 42 days.^[4]
• Tok to Lake Clark (1996): Kevin Armstrong, Doug Woody, and Jeff Ottmers by snowshoe, foot, and packraft: first foot traverse. 620 miles in 90 days.^[5]

References

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