Katmai National Park and Preserve
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| Katmai | |
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Missing image LocMap_Katmai_National_Park.png Image:LocMap_Katmai_National_Park.png | |
| Designation | National Park |
| Location | Alaska USA |
| Nearest City | Kodiak, Alaska |
| Coordinates | Template:Coor dm |
| Area | 4,725,188 acres 1,912,216 ha |
| Date of Establishment |
December 2, 1980 |
| Visitation | 23,754 (2003) |
| Governing Body | National Park Service |
| IUCN category | Ib (Wilderness Area) II (National Park) |
Katmai National Park and Preserve is a United States National Park in Alaska, notable for the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and for its brown bears. The park covers 7,383 mi˛ (19,122 km˛). Most of this is a designated wilderness area, including 5,288 mi˛ (13,696 km˛) of the park.
Established on December 2, 1980, the park is located on the Alaska Peninsula, across from Kodiak Island, with headquarters in nearby King Salmon, about 290 air miles southwest of Anchorage. Originally, on September 24, 1918, the area was designated a national monument to protect the area around the major 1912 volcanic eruption of Novarupta, which formed the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, a forty square mile (100 km˛), 100 to 700 foot deep, pyroclastic flow.
There are at least fourteen active volcanoes within the national park. Katmai is also well known for brown bears and the salmon which attract both bears and people. Katmai contains the world's largest protected brown bear population; it is estimated to be in excess of 2,000. Bears are especially likely to congregate at Brooks Falls, where there is a viewing platform. Many well known photographs of brown bears have been taken at Brooks Falls.
Katmai.jpg
Activities at Katmai include hiking, backpacking, camping, fishing, paddling, boat tours, snow skiing, and interpretive programs.
This park contains numerous archaelogical sites which indicate a long history of prehistoric occupations from the Paleoarctic tradition up to the Thule tradition.
See also
External links
- Official site: Katmai National Park (http://www.nps.gov/katm/)
- Photos of Katmai National Park - Terra Galleria (http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np.katmai.html)
- Katmai National Park & Preserve Pictures (http://www.nationalparksgallery.com/parks/Katmai-National-Park-Preserve)