Wrangell Saint Elias National Park - Alaska

Established December 2, 1980

13,188,000 acres

Even in a state famous for its size, Wrangell-St. Elias stands out. It is by far the largest national park in the United States—almost six times the size of Yellowstone. You fly over it and see mountains beyond mountains, glaciers after glaciers, rivers upon rivers. You float a river and watch the moods and mountains change by the minute. As you walk the tundra slopes, you find Dall's sheep and mountain goats grazing.

Three major mountain ranges converge here: the volcanic Wrangells, the St. Elias—tallest coastal mountains in the world—and the Chugach. Together they contain 9 of the 16 highest peaks in the United States, four of them above 16,000 feet. There are more than 150 glaciers; one, the Malaspina, is larger than Rhode Island. In 1980 Wrangell-St. Elias and adjoining Klu-ane National Park Reserve in Canada were designated a United Nations World Heritage site.

Vast and rugged as it is, the park is not a fortress. Two roads lead into small communities, remnants of the gold- and copper-mining towns that thrived in the early days of this century. Today not mining but the nearly limitless hiking, rafting, kayaking, and climbing opportunities beckon.