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Denali National Park and Preserve - Alaska

52 images Created 4 Sep 2010

Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska is one of the premiere parks in the National Parks system. The heart of the six million acre park is Mt. McKinley, the highest mountain in North America at 20,320 feet. The massive mountain towers above the taiga and tundra, having the greatest vertical relief of all the mountains in the world. Mt. McKinley is also known as Denali, an Athabaskan name meaning "The High One". Glaciers descend from Mt. McKinley and other mountains in the Alaska Range. Among the largest are the Muldrow, Ruth and Kahiltna Glaciers.

Denali National Park is known for its diversity of wildlife. Grizzly bear, gray wolf, moose, Dall sheep, caribou, lynx, golden eagle, and beaver are among the popular wildlife viewing for visitors who travel by shuttle bus along the park's only road.

In addition to wildlife viewing, other popular activities for the more that 400,000 visitors who visit the park include camping, day hiking, backpacking, photography, mountaineering, dog-sledding, cross country skiing and snowmobiling (where allowed).

Those hoping for the jaw-dropping view of Mt. McKinley from Wonder Lake, Eielson Visitor Center or Stony Dome should know that it is elusive. The mountain is so tall it creates its own weather and is shrouded in clouds much of the time.

Wonder Lake is probably the most popular area for photographers, but equally good areas for photography include Horseshoe Lake, Savage River Trail, Primrose Ridge, the upper Teklanika River valley, Sable Pass (from the road only - a closed critical wildlife area), Polychrome Pass, the Toklat River bars, the Stony Dome area, the area around Eielson Visitor Center, Mt. Galen, Thorofare River bar, and McKinley River Bar Trail.

Backpacking requires permits for backcountry zones. Campgrounds in the park include Riley Creek, Savage River, Sanctuary River, Teklanika, Igloo Creek, and Wonder Lake. Up-scale lodging is available in the former Kantishna mining district of the park.
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  • Denali (Athabaskan for "The High One") basks in morning light at sunrise in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. The snow and glacier covered mountain, part of the Alaska Range soars to a height of 20,310 feet. Denali is the tallest mountain on the North American continent. Although Mt. Everest is higher, the vertical rise of Denali is greater. This view is a small detail from the north slopes of the mountain seen from Wonder Lake.
    Denali detail.jpg
  • Water from the Polychrome Glacier flows into the area known as the Plains of Murie in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. The view is from the former Polychrome Rest Stop on the park road at the Polychrome Pass and is looking toward the Alaska Range. The plains are named after Adolpf Murie who was a wildlife biologist who did research in the park on wolves and bears. Murie was instrumental in preserving the biological integrity of Denali National Park.
    Plains of Murie from Polychrome Pass.jpg
  • A beaver eats aquatic vegetation near the beaver dams at Horseshoe Lake in Denali National Park in Alaska. The beaver was seen near the Horseshoe Lake Trail.
    Beaver eats aquatic vegetation.jpg
  • Beavers at Horseshoe Lake at Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska have built several layers of dams on the lake. The dams can be seen at the end of the Horseshoe Lake Trail.
    Beaver dams.jpg
  • Evidence of beavers having cut down a tree at Horseshoe Lake at Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. The photo was taken along the Horseshoe Lake Trail.
    beaver tree cut.jpg
  • This beaver lodge, located near the Thorofare ranger cabin (upper right) in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska, is built in a pond that was created by a beaver dam. A beaver lodge (home) is made from cut branches and mud and has underwater entrances making it hard for predators to enter.
    Beaver lodge.jpg
  • Alaska cotton grass grows along the banks of a kettle pond near Wonder Lake in Denali National Park and Preserve.
    Alaska cotton grass-2.jpg
  • Alaska cotton grass grows along the banks of a kettle pond near Wonder Lake in Denali National Park and Preserve.
    Alaska cotton grass.jpg
  • A late evening rainbow appears before a completely cloud shrouded Mt. McKinley in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. The view is from the Wonder Lake campground. The visible mountains are the foothills of the Alaska Range.
    Wonder Lake rainbow-2.jpg
  • The last remnants of a late evening rainbow appears before a completely cloud shrouded Mt. McKinley in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. The view is from the Wonder Lake campground. The visible mountains are the foothills of the Alaska Range.
    Wonder Lake rainbow.jpg
  • A caribou is silhouetted on a ridge in the Sable Pass area of Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. The caribou pictured is collared for research.
    Caribou.jpg
  • Grizzly bear and gray wolf tracks are captured in the mud of the Thorofare River near the Thorofare ranger cabin and the terminus of the Muldrow Glacier in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.
    Grizzly bear and wolf tracks.jpg
  • An adult member of the Grant Creek wolf pack looks at other adult members of the pack as the pack was traveling near Stony Creek in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.<br />
<br />
The Grant Creek wolf pack of Denali National Park and Preserve has been described as one of the most visible and photographed group of wolves in the world as the pack’s home range includes the park road that bisects much of the vast six million acre park.<br />
<br />
In May of 2012, The Los Angeles Times wrote about the deaths of the two primary breeding females of the pack. The death of one of these females was the result of being snared by a trapper just outside the park boundary. According to the story a trapper shot an aging horse near its death and used it as bait to lure and fatally snare the female radio-collared wolf and a male wolf. It is unknown if the male wolf was part of the Grant Creek wolf pack. The wolf kills were within a former no-wolf-killing zone that had been established by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game because the zone was surrounded on three sides by park land. In 2010, the regulation expired and the board of the department declined to retain the special area designation.<br />
<br />
What makes the loss of this female troubling to advocates of the no-wolf-kill zone is that the female wolf was believed to be the only remaining primary breeding female wolf in the Grant Creek pack. Earlier this spring, the only other primary breeding female of the pack was found dead of natural causes within park boundaries. In November of 2012 the Fairbanks News-Miner reported that researchers found that the Grant Creek Pack didn't produce pups in 2012, their den abandoned and the pack split up.<br />
<br />
For the entire park, the number of wolves counted was the lowest in 25 years, down from 143 in 2007 to 57 this year.
    Grant Creek wolf pack wolf 1.jpg
  • An adult member of the Grant Creek wolf pack looks at other adult members of the pack as the pack was traveling near Stony Creek in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.<br />
<br />
The Grant Creek wolf pack of Denali National Park and Preserve has been described as one of the most visible and photographed group of wolves in the world as the pack’s home range includes the park road that bisects much of the vast six million acre park.<br />
<br />
In May of 2012, The Los Angeles Times wrote about the deaths of the two primary breeding females of the pack. The death of one of these females was the result of being snared by a trapper just outside the park boundary. According to the story a trapper shot an aging horse near its death and used it as bait to lure and fatally snare the female radio-collared wolf and a male wolf. It is unknown if the male wolf was part of the Grant Creek wolf pack. The wolf kills were within a former no-wolf-killing zone that had been established by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game because the zone was surrounded on three sides by park land. In 2010, the regulation expired and the board of the department declined to retain the special area designation.<br />
<br />
What makes the loss of this female troubling to advocates of the no-wolf-kill zone is that the female wolf was believed to be the only remaining primary breeding female wolf in the Grant Creek pack. Earlier this spring, the only other primary breeding female of the pack was found dead of natural causes within park boundaries. In November of 2012 the Fairbanks News-Miner reported that researchers found that the Grant Creek Pack didn't produce pups in 2012, their den abandoned and the pack split up.<br />
<br />
For the entire park, the number of wolves counted was the lowest in 25 years, down from 143 in 2007 to 57 this year.
    Grant Creek wolf pack wolf 2.jpg
  • Remains of an animal skull near Wonder Lake in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Very little remains of dead animals. The body and bones of the carcass will provide food and other nutrients for other wildlife.
    Wonder Lake skull.jpg
  • A smaller mountain (lower right) in the foothills of the Alaska Range is dwarfed by 11,940 foot Mt. Brooks at sunrise as seen from Wonder Lake in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.
    Mt. Brooks.jpg
  • A female willow ptarmigan ruffles its feathers along the Savage River near the Savage Canyon Trail in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Ptarmigan have feather covered feet to help protect from frozen ground. Its plumage is seasonal. During the winter their feathers turn to white to help camouflage the bird against predators.
    Ptarmigan.jpg
  • Moose are frequently seen in the taiga forest between the park headquarters and the Savage River. The moose is the largest member of the deer family. Wolves are the primary predators of moose.
    Moose.jpg
  • A grizzly bear scratches itself against a small spruce tree as seen from the park road in the Sable Pass area of Denali National Park in Alaska.
    Scratching grizzly bear-2.jpg
  • A grizzly bear scratches itself against a small spruce tree as seen from the park road in the Sable Pass area of Denali National Park in Alaska.
    Scratching grizzly bear-3.jpg
  • A grizzly bear scratches itself against a small spruce tree as seen from the park road in the Sable Pass area of Denali National Park in Alaska.
    Scratching grizzly bear.jpg
  • A grizzly bear scratches itself against a small spruce tree as seen from the park road in the Sable Pass area of Denali National Park in Alaska.
    Scratching grizzly bear-4.jpg
  • An evening rainbow basks upon an unnamed mountain of the Alaska Range located in the upper Teklanika River valley in Denali National Park and Preserve. The view is from the Igloo Creek Campground.
    Teklanika rainbow.jpg
  • Glaciers have carved through the colorful volcanic rocks in the Polychrome area of Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. The rocks include andesite, basalt, and rhyolite. The view is from the former Polychrome Rest Stop on the park road at the Polychrome Pass and is looking toward the Alaska Range.
    Polychrome.jpg
  • Caribou antler with Mt. Eielson and the Thorofare River with Mt. Eielson in the background. The antlers, along with the grass are on the roof of the renovated Eielson Visitor Center in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.
    Caribou antler.jpg
  • Hedgehog mushrooms found along the Horseshoe Lake Trail in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.
    Hedgehog mushrooms.jpg
  • Flowing water of the Savage River is blurred through the use of a slow shutter speed in this photo taken along the Savage Canyon Trail in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. The Savage Canyon Trail is a two-mile loop along the river. Be prepared for wind.
    Savage River.jpg
  • Part of a group of approximately 80 caribou traveling near Polychrome Pass in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Unlike other caribou herds in Alaska, the Denali is considered non-migratory. The herd does however still move within various types of areas of the park based on the season in the year. Unlike the giant herds seen elsewhere in Alaska, the Denali herd consists of approximately 2,000 caribou. Caribou and reindeer are the same species with reindeer being a European subspecies.
    Caribou herd.jpg
  • A pair of grizzly bear cubs play while their mother eats berries on the river bar of the East Fork River in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.
    Grizzly bear cubs playing.jpg
  • A hiker gazes on the the McKinley River at the end of the McKinley Bar Trail in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. The trail which begins near Wonder Lake is used by climbers to cross the McKinley River when climbing Mt. McKinley from the north side of the mountain.
    Hiker on McKinley River.jpg
  • A hiker walks on a boardwalk protecting a marshy area on the McKinley Bar Trail in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. The trail which begins near Wonder Lake and ends at the McKinley River is used by climbers to cross the McKinley River when climbing Mt. McKinley from the north side of the mountain.
    McKinley Bar Trail hiker.jpg
  • A hiker hikes next to the Thorofare River as it travels past the terminus of the 34-mile Muldrow Glacier near the Thorofare ranger cabin in Denali National Park in Alaska. The glacier has accumulated rocks and dirt in its journey down from the mountains. This moraine material, along with vegetation growing on top, hides the ice under the surface.
    Muldrow glacier and Thorofare River-...jpg
  • The Thorofare River travels past the terminus of the 34-mile Muldrow Glacier near the Thorofare ranger cabin in Denali National Park in Alaska. The glacier has accumulated rocks and dirt in its journey down from the mountains. This moraine material, along with vegetation growing on top, hides the ice under the surface.
    Muldrow glacier.jpg
  • Clouds above a ridge near the Wonder Lake campground reflect the colors of the setting sun.
    Wonder Lake sunset.jpg
  • Solar panels are just one of the many sustainable features incorporated into the re-modeling of the Eielson Visitor Center in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. The new low-profile building blends into the landscape.
    Eielson Visitor Center solar panels.jpg
  • Clouds swirl around the sides of Gravel Mountain as seen from the Eielson Visitor Center in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.
    Gravel Mountain.jpg
  • MULTIPLE IMAGE COMPOSITED PANORAMA - View from the slope of Igloo Mountain near the Igloo Creek campground looks out upon the Teklanika River valley and Double Mountain.
    Igloo Mountain panorama.jpg
  • Mew gull chicks await feeding from an adult mew gull on river bar of the Savage River in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. The gulls were seen from the Savage Canyon Trail. Mew gulls spend their summer breeding in Alaska, often nesting on the gravel bar of the Savage River. They then winter on the Pacific coasts of Washington, Oregon and California.
    Mew gulls.jpg
  • The Thorofare River travels past the terminus of the 34-mile Muldrow Glacier near the Thorofare ranger cabin in Denali National Park in Alaska. The glacier has accumulated rocks and dirt in its journey down from the mountains. This moraine material, along with vegetation growing on top, hides the ice under the surface.
    Muldrow glacier and Thorofare River.jpg
  • Hikers hike on the Savage Canyon Trail along the Savage River in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. The Savage Canyon Trail is a two-mile loop along the river. Be prepared for wind.
    Savage Canyon Trail.jpg
  • Backpackers get off the park camper bus at the Toklat River rest stop to begin backpacking in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.
    Toklat Rest Stop backpackers.jpg
  • Whitish gentian found along the Savage River Trail in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.
    Whitish gentian.jpg
  • Mt. McKinley (Denali) and the Alaska Range looms over a glacial kettle pond near Wonder Lake in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.
    Wonder Lake pond.jpg
  • A group of dall sheep look warily on a distant approaching grizzly bear look over the Plains of Murie on Marmot Point near the Polychrome Mountains in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.
    Dall sheep on Marmot Point.jpg
  • The alpha male wolf of the Grant Creek gray wolf pack keeps watch on his six pups near Stony Creek in Denali National Park and Preserve. This photo was taken on July 31, 2004.
    Grant Creek wolf pack pups.jpg
  • Mount Brooks, a 11,940 foot tall peak in the Alaska Range, is bathed in morning sunlight as seen from the Wonder Lake campground in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Mount Brooks, first climbed in 1952, is located at the confluence of the Muldrow, Traleika, and Brooks glaciers. The mountain is named after geologist Alfred Hulse Brooks who is credited with determining that the Brooks Range, the biggest mountain range in Arctic Alaska, was separate from the Rocky Mountains.
    Mt. Brooks.jpg
  • Mount Brooks, a 11,940 foot tall peak, towers over smaller mountains in the Alaska Range as seen from the Wonder Lake campground in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.
    Mt. Brooks in clouds.jpg
  • Sun rises on Denali and the Alaska Range as seen from Wonder Lake in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Denali is North America's tallest peak at 20,310 feet and towers over 18,000 feet above the surrounding lowlands. Other mountain peaks pictured include: Mount Brooks, Mount Silverthrone, Mount Tatum, and Mount Carpe. SPECIAL NOTE: This image is a panorama composite consisting of multiple overlapping images stitched together.
    Mt. McKinley sunrise panorama 9.jpg
  • Sun rises on Denali and the Alaska Range as seen from Wonder Lake in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Also pictured is the setting moon, above Denali. Denali is North America's tallest peak at 20,310 feet and towers over 18,000 feet above the surrounding lowlands. Other mountain peaks pictured include: Mount Brooks, Mount Silverthrone, Mount Tatum, Mount Carpe and Mount Foraker. SPECIAL NOTE: This image is a panorama composite consisting of multiple overlapping images stitched together.
    Denali sunrise moon panorama.jpg
  • Sun rises on Denali and the Alaska Range as seen from Wonder Lake in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Also pictured is the setting moon, above Denali. Denali is North America's tallest peak at 20,310 feet and towers over 18,000 feet above the surrounding lowlands.
    Denali sunrise with moon.jpg
  • Comparison of wolf print with hand.jpg
  • Denali (Athabaskan for "The High One") basks in the final light of sunset on a summer evening in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. The snow and glacier covered mountain, part of the Alaska Range soars to a height of 20,310 feet. Denali is the tallest mountain on the North American continent. Although Mt. Everest is higher, the vertical rise of Denali is greater. This view is of the north slopes of the mountain seen from Wonder Lake.
    Sunset on Denali.jpg