Denali National Park and Preserve

national park, Alaska, United States

By Kenneth Pletcher View Edit History

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Denali National Park and Preserve, vast region with an unspoiled natural environment of alpine
tundra and boreal forest (taiga) in south-central Alaska, U.S. It lies roughly equidistant from
Fairbanks to the northeast and Anchorage to the south-southeast and is some 200 miles (320
km) south of the Arctic Circle, in the subarctic climate zone. The park and preserve were
created in 1980, encompassing the former Mount McKinley National Park (1917) and an
additional 6,405 square miles (16,590 square km). In 1976 it was designated by UNESCO as a
biosphere reserve.

Denali National Park, Alaska: autumn vegetation

Denali National Park, Alaska: autumn vegetation

Autumn vegetation in Denali National Park and Preserve, south-central Alaska, U.S., with
Denali (Mount McKinley) towering in the centre background.

Robert Glusic/Getty Images

The park has an area of 7,408 square miles (19,187 square km). The preserve adds another
2,085 square miles (5,400 square km) and adjoins the park in two units, one on the northwest
and the other on the southwest; in addition, Denali State Park borders the national park on the
southeast. National park headquarters are at the park’s entrance in the northeast corner. A
ranger station at Talkeetna, 100 miles (160 km) south of the entrance, manages
mountaineering activities in the park.

Gutzon Borglum. Presidents. Sculpture. National park. George Washington. Thomas Jefferson.
Theodore Roosevelt. Abraham Lincoln. Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota.

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The park and preserve encompass the heart of the rugged Alaska Range and a large area of
lower hills and outwash plains north of the mountains. Central to the park is Denali, the tallest
peak in North America. Denali (“The Great One” or “The High One”) is the ancient Athabaskan
Indian name for the mountain. The peak was long named Mount McKinley, for U.S. President
William McKinley, but its original name was restored in 2015. Other highlights of the park
include the large glaciers of the Alaska Range, Mount Foraker—with an elevation of 17,400
feet (5,304 metres)—and other peaks in the range that exceed heights of 10,000 feet (3,050
metres), the Savage River area west of park headquarters, and the region’s pristine
environment.

Alaska Range

Alaska Range

The Alaska Range reflected in Wonder Lake, Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

© Corbis

Denali’s official elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190 metres) was established by the United States
Geological Survey in September 2015 after a careful remeasurement of the mountain’s height
conducted earlier that year. It superseded the value of 20,320 feet (6,194 metres) that had
been the official height since the early 1950s. Prior to 2015 other attempts had been made to
measure the mountain’s height. One such survey, conducted in 2010, had used advanced radar
technology. The result of that measurement, 20,237 feet (6,168 metres), was made public in
September 2013, but it was later determined to be inaccurate.

Winters are long and bitterly cold, typically lasting from late September to April. Temperatures
in the coldest months can stay below 0 °F (−18 °C) for extended periods of time and can drop
to −40 °F (−40 °C) or colder at night. Summers are short (late May to early September) and
cool, with high temperatures averaging about 75 °F (24 °C) on the warmest days. Snow can fall
in any month. In winter, snow accumulations are heaviest on the south side of the Alaska
Range. Temperatures decrease with elevation, and diurnal temperature ranges can be
extreme, especially in winter.

Permafrost underlies much of the park and preserve’s area, but the short summer thaw of
accumulated snow and the ground’s surface layer releases more than 1,500 species of plants,
including some 430 species of flowering plants. The boreal forest environment in the river
valleys supports white and black spruce, aspen, balsam poplar, and paper birch. Above the
timberline the tundra zone consists of plants adapted to the short growing season: dwarfed
shrubs, tiny wildflowers, blueberries, sedges, and cottongrass. Wildlife is abundant in the park
and preserve. Large mammals include moose, brown (grizzly) and black bears, wolves, caribou,
and Dall sheep. Among the smaller mammal residents are foxes, wolverines, snowshoe hares,
hoary marmots, lynx, and voles and lemmings and other rodents. More than 150 species of
birds (most of them migrants) have been seen in the park and preserve, including ptarmigans,
ravens, owls, golden eagles, and hawks.

The area of the former Mount McKinley National Park is now designated a wilderness area.
Private motor vehicles are largely prohibited in the park and preserve, and access is almost
entirely by shuttle buses, which operate from late May to mid-September. Denali, first
ascended in 1913, is scaled by hundreds of climbers each year. Other popular activities include
wildlife viewing and air tours. In the winter, when most of the park’s access road is closed,
cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, dogsledding, and limited snowmobiling are available. There
are few marked trails; except for a small area near the park’s entrance, hiking is strictly cross-
country. Summer-only visitor centres are located near the park entrance and in the interior of
the park northeast of Denali. The park has several campgrounds but otherwise provides no
overnight accommodations. However, there are several privately operated lodges within the
park at the end of the access road that are open during the summer.

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