Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve The Aniakchak Caldera, is the result of a series of eruptions, the latest in 1931. Nearly six miles in diameter and covering some ten square miles, it is one of the finest examples of dry caldera in the world. Located in the volcanically active Aleutian Mountains, the crater contains many outstanding examples of volcanic features, including lava flows, cinder cones, and explosion pits. Surprise Lake, located within the caldera, is the source of the Aniakchak River, which cascades through a 1,500-foot gash in the caldera wall. The site also contains the Aniakchak Wild River.
Arctic NWR The Arctic Refuge includes a unique diversity of pristine habitats offering exceptional wildlife, wilderness, recreation, scientific and aesthetic values. The area includes an assemblage of plant and animal communities found nowhere else in the circumpolar region. There are 8 million acres of designated wilderness and three designated wild rivers. Habitats vary from tundra to taiga forests and mountians to wetlands. These habitats support unusually diverse wildlife populations. The huge Porcupine Caribou Herd, over 150,000 animals, depends upon the Refuge. All three species of North American bears (black, grizzly and polar) are found here as are muskox, Dall sheep, moose, wolverine, wolf, arctic fox, red fox, lynx, marten and snowshoe hare. Arctic Grayling and Dolly Varden are abundant in Refuge rivers. Bowhead whales and ringed seals are found off the coast. About 180 species of migratory and resident birds have been seen on the Refuge. The coastal plain is especially important as the calving area for the Porcupine caribou herd, and for nesting and feeding shorebirds and waterfowl during the summer. Well over 100,000 snow geese stage on the refuge in preparation for fall migration. The Refuge also supports the northernmost breeding populations of golden eagles and arctic peregrine falcons.
Beaver Creek Beaver Creek NWR is a Class I, clear water river, that flows past jagged limestone peaks in the White Mountains and through the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge before joining the Yukon River. It may be the longest road-to-road float in North America.Those folks seeking true adventure can find it floating Beaver Creek National Wild River.
Becharof NWR The Becharof National Wildlife Refuge is located at the base of the Alaska Peninsula approximately 295 miles southwest of Anchorage, between Katmai National Park and Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge encompasses about 1.2 million acres. Landforms on the Refuge include volcanic mountains, sea cliffs, glacial lakes including Becharof Lake(second largest lake in Alaska), and low tundra wetlands. The eastern one-third of the refuge is designated Wilderness. Important fish and wildlife resources include some of the densest concentrations of brown bears in the world. Barren-ground caribou are common, as are moose and wolves. Nearshore waters support thousands of seals, sea lions, and sea otters. Waterfowl, seabirds, and other migratory birds are abundant in the summer. All five species of Pacific salmon inhabit the refuge, as do rainbow salmon, Arctic char and grayling.
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve The Bering Land Bridge National Preserve is one of the most remote national park areas, located on the Seward Peninsula in northwest Alaska. The Preserve is a remnant of the land bridge that connected Asia with North America more than 13,000 years ago. The majority of this land bridge, once thousands of miles wide, now lies beneath the waters of the Chukchi and Bering Seas.
During the glacial epoch this was part of a migration route for people, animals, and plants whenever ocean levels fell enough to expose the land bridge. Archeologists agree that it was across this Bering Land Bridge, also called Beringia, that humans first passed from Asia to populate the Americas. The Preserve's western boundary lies 42 miles from the Bering Strait and the fishing boundary between the United States and Russia.
Campbell Tract Recreation Management Area The Campbell Tract is a 730-acre natural area used mostly by urban recreationists seeking a piece of Alaska wilderness in the heart of the city. The tract is a BLM administrative site with office buildings and a restricted-use airstrip. Surrounding the administrative complex are forested lands containing shrubs, grasses, forbs, mosses, fungi, and lichens. The tract is home to moose, black bear, wolf, and brown bear. Other animals that visitors may encounter include lynx, coyote, fox, procupine, and squirrels. Campbell Creek meanders through the property and provides spawning and rearing habitat for rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, and king and silver salmon. BLM operates its Campbell Creek Science Center here.
