Mt. Hayes and the eastern Alaska Range mountainsView from Denali State Park
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 Aleutian Islands, and trending southeast into British Columbia and 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 have some of the harshest weather in the world. The heavy snowfall also contributes to a number of large glaciers, including the Cantwell, Castner, Black Rapids, Susitna, Yanert, Muldrow, Eldridge, Ruth, Tokositna, and Kahiltna Glaciers. Four major rivers cross the Alaska Range, including the Delta and Nenana Rivers in the center of the range and the Nabesna and Chisana Rivers to the east.
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 [de] applied the name "Tschigmit" to this mountain range. A map made by the United States General Land Office in 1869 calls the southwestern part of the Alaska Range the "Chigmit Mountains" and the northeastern part the "Beaver Mountains".[5] However, the Chigmit Mountains are now considered part of the Aleutian Range.
Starting in the mid 1880s to early 1900s, early non-native explorers traversed various sections of the Alaska Range. The first recorded expedition was in the Eastern Alaska Range led by H. T. Allen in 1885. His team went from Suslota Lake to Tetlin Lake and unto the Tanana River via Miles Pass.[6][7] Six years later, Frederick Schwatka and Charles W. Hayes crossed the extreme eastern end of the range via the White River and into the Copper River basin through Skolai Pass in what is now called St. Elias Mountains. In 1898, W. C. Mendenhall and E. F. Glenn traversed Isabel Pass and were within 15-20 miles of the Tanana River before turning around.[6] Separately, that same year, Robert Muldrow and George Homans Eldridge crossed Broad Pass into the Nenana River valley.[8]
Documented wilderness traverses of Alaska Rangeedit
The Denali Highway passes through the Alaska Range and offers travelers a close up-look at some of the lower peaks
Mentasta Lake to Kitchatna Mountains (1981): Scott Woolums, George Beilstein, Steve Eck, and Larry Coxen by skis: first traverse. 375 miles (604 km) in 45 days.[9]
Canada to Lake Clark (1996): Roman Dial, Carl Tobin, and Paul Adkins by mountain bike and packraft: first full-length traverse. 775 miles (1,247 km) in 42 days.[10]
Tok to Lake Clark (1996): Kevin Armstrong, Doug Woody, and Jeff Ottmers by snowshoe, foot, and packraft: first foot traverse. 620 miles (1,000 km) in 90 days.[11]
Lake Clark to Mentasta Lake (2016): Gavin McClurg by paraglider and foot: first vol-biv (fly/camp) traverse. 466 miles (750 km) in 37 days.[12]
Cantwell/Yakutat to Unimak Island (2020): Quoc Nguyen and Dan Binde by foot and packraft. 2,500 miles (4,000 km) in 120 days.[13]
^ abSources differ as to the exact delineation of the Alaska Range. The Board on Geographic Names entry is inconsistent; part of it designates Iliamna Lake as the southwestern end, and part of the entry has the range ending at the Telaquana and Neacola Rivers. Other sources identify Lake Clark, in between those two, as the endpoint. This also means that the status of the Neacola Mountains is unclear: it is usually identified as the northernmost subrange of the Aleutian Range, but it could also be considered the southernmost part of the Alaska Range.
^Name history from the Board on Geographic Names entry for the Alaska Range.
^ abFred H. Moffit (1954). Geology of the eastern part of the Alaska Range and adjacent area (PDF) (Report). US Department of the Interior, Geological Survey. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
^Fred H. Moffit (1916). Broad Pass Region, Alaska (PDF) (Report). United States Geological Survey.
^"Ski Traverse of the Whole Alaska Range". American Alpine Journal. 24: 137–138. 1982. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
^"A Wild Ride". National Geographic Magazine. Vol. 191. 1997. pp. 118–131.
^"Alaska Range Traverse". American Alpine Journal. 39: 169–170. 1997. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
^Cross Country Magazine, Vol 171. Pages 52-52. Red Bull Media House Films "Under the Midnight Sun"
^(PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-05-31.
Further readingedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alaska Range.
Churkin, M., Jr., and C. Carter. (1996). Stratigraphy, structure, and graptolites of an Ordovician and Silurian sequence in the Terra Cotta Mountains, Alaska Range, Alaska [U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1555]. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
January 01, 1970
alaska, range, relatively, narrow, mile, long, mountain, range, southcentral, region, state, alaska, from, lake, clark, southwest, white, river, canada, yukon, territory, southeast, denali, highest, mountain, north, america, range, part, american, cordillera, . The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow 600 mile long 950 km mountain range in the southcentral region of the U S state of Alaska from Lake Clark at its southwest end 4 to the White River in Canada s Yukon Territory in the southeast Denali the highest mountain in North America is in the Alaska Range The range is part of the American Cordillera Alaska RangeMount Hunter Mount Huntington and other rugged peaks of the Alaska Range near DenaliHighest pointPeakDenaliElevation20 310 ft 6 190 m 1 2 ListingList of mountain rangesCoordinates63 04 10 N 151 00 27 W 63 0695 N 151 0074 W 63 0695 151 0074 3 GeographyCountryUnited StatesStateAlaskaParent rangeAmerican CordilleraBorders onPacific Coast Ranges The Alaska range is one of the higher ranges in the world after the Himalayas and the Andes Contents 1 Description 2 History 3 Major peaks 4 Subranges from west to east 5 Documented wilderness traverses of Alaska Range 6 See also 7 References 8 Further readingDescription edit nbsp Mt Hayes and the eastern Alaska Range mountains nbsp View from Denali State Park 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 Aleutian Islands and trending southeast into British Columbia and 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 have some of the harshest weather in the world The heavy snowfall also contributes to a number of large glaciers including the Cantwell Castner Black Rapids Susitna Yanert Muldrow Eldridge Ruth Tokositna and Kahiltna Glaciers Four major rivers cross the Alaska Range including the Delta and Nenana Rivers in the center of the range and the Nabesna and Chisana Rivers to the east nbsp Alaska Range Glacier The range is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire and the Denali Fault that runs along its southern edge is responsible for many major earthquakes Mount Spurr is a stratovolcano located at the northeastern end of the Aleutian Volcanic Arc which has two vents the summit and nearby Crater Peak Parts of the Alaska Range are protected within Wrangell St Elias National Park and Preserve Denali National Park and Preserve and Lake Clark National Park and Preserve Several highways cross through the passes of the range the George Parks Highway from Anchorage to Fairbanks via Broad Pass the Richardson Highway from Valdez to Fairbanks via Isabel Pass and the Tok Cut Off from Gulkana Junction to Tok Alaska via Mentasta Pass The Alaska Pipeline parallels the Richardson Highway A part of the Alaska Highway is situated on the northern slopes of the eastern section of the range History editThe 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 de applied the name Tschigmit to this mountain range A map made by the United States General Land Office in 1869 calls the southwestern part of the Alaska Range the Chigmit Mountains and the northeastern part the Beaver Mountains 5 However the Chigmit Mountains are now considered part of the Aleutian Range Starting in the mid 1880s to early 1900s early non native explorers traversed various sections of the Alaska Range The first recorded expedition was in the Eastern Alaska Range led by H T Allen in 1885 His team went from Suslota Lake to Tetlin Lake and unto the Tanana River via Miles Pass 6 7 Six years later Frederick Schwatka and Charles W Hayes crossed the extreme eastern end of the range via the White River and into the Copper River basin through Skolai Pass in what is now called St Elias Mountains In 1898 W C Mendenhall and E F Glenn traversed Isabel Pass and were within 15 20 miles of the Tanana River before turning around 6 Separately that same year Robert Muldrow and George Homans Eldridge crossed Broad Pass into the Nenana River valley 8 Major peaks edit nbsp Alaska Range from Tok Name Elevation ft m Denali 20 310 6 190 Mount Foraker 17 400 5 300 Mount Hunter 14 573 4 442 Mount Hayes 13 832 4 216 Mount Silverthrone 13 218 4 029 Mount Moffit 13 020 3 970 Mount Deborah 12 339 3 761 Mount Huntington 12 240 3 730 Mount Brooks 11 890 3 620 Mount Russell 11 670 3 560Subranges from west to east edit nbsp Alaska Range Mountain Peaks Neacola Mountains 4 Revelation Mountains Teocalli Mountains Kichatna Mountains Central Alaska Range Denali Massif Eastern Alaska Range Hayes Range Delta Mountains Mentasta Mountains Nutzotin MountainsDocumented wilderness traverses of Alaska Range edit nbsp The Denali Highway passes through the Alaska Range and offers travelers a close up look at some of the lower peaks Mentasta Lake to Kitchatna Mountains 1981 Scott Woolums George Beilstein Steve Eck and Larry Coxen by skis first traverse 375 miles 604 km in 45 days 9 Canada to Lake Clark 1996 Roman Dial Carl Tobin and Paul Adkins by mountain bike and packraft first full length traverse 775 miles 1 247 km in 42 days 10 Tok to Lake Clark 1996 Kevin Armstrong Doug Woody and Jeff Ottmers by snowshoe foot and packraft first foot traverse 620 miles 1 000 km in 90 days 11 Lake Clark to Mentasta Lake 2016 Gavin McClurg by paraglider and foot first vol biv fly camp traverse 466 miles 750 km in 37 days 12 Cantwell Yakutat to Unimak Island 2020 Quoc Nguyen and Dan Binde by foot and packraft 2 500 miles 4 000 km in 120 days 13 See also editSummit Lake AlaskaReferences edit nbsp Gulkana Glacier flows from the ice fields of the Alaska Range Newell Mark Horner Blaine September 2 2015 New Elevation for Nation s Highest Peak Press release USGS Retrieved May 24 2023 Topographic map of Denali opentopomap org Retrieved 2023 05 24 Denali Geographic Names Information System United States Geological Survey United States Department of the Interior Retrieved 2023 05 24 a b Sources differ as to the exact delineation of the Alaska Range The Board on Geographic Names entry is inconsistent part of it designates Iliamna Lake as the southwestern end and part of the entry has the range ending at the Telaquana and Neacola Rivers Other sources identify Lake Clark in between those two as the endpoint This also means that the status of the Neacola Mountains is unclear it is usually identified as the northernmost subrange of the Aleutian Range but it could also be considered the southernmost part of the Alaska Range Name history from the Board on Geographic Names entry for the Alaska Range a b Fred H Moffit 1954 Geology of the eastern part of the Alaska Range and adjacent area PDF Report US Department of the Interior Geological Survey Retrieved 17 May 2024 Webb Melody 1993 Yukon The Last Frontier University of Nebraska Press pp 106 109 ISBN 0 7748 0441 6 Fred H Moffit 1916 Broad Pass Region Alaska PDF Report United States Geological Survey Ski Traverse of the Whole Alaska Range American Alpine Journal 24 137 138 1982 Retrieved 2023 05 24 A Wild Ride National Geographic Magazine Vol 191 1997 pp 118 131 Alaska Range Traverse American Alpine Journal 39 169 170 1997 Retrieved 2023 05 24 Cross Country Magazine Vol 171 Pages 52 52 Red Bull Media House Films Under the Midnight Sun Hikers Cover 2 500 Miles to Reach Southernmost Portion on Unimak Island PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2022 05 31 Further reading edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alaska Range Churkin M Jr and C Carter 1996 Stratigraphy structure and graptolites of an Ordovician and Silurian sequence in the Terra Cotta Mountains Alaska Range Alaska U S Geological Survey Professional Paper 1555 Washington D C U S Department of the Interior U S Geological Survey Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alaska Range amp oldid 1224379367, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
