Location: Seward Map
Area: 699,983 acres
(2,833 km²)
Official site
Kenai Fjords National Park is a United States national park located
on the southern coast of Alaska, protecting the glaciers on the
eastern coast of the Kenai Peninsula. It was established first as a
national monument on December 1, 1978 and then as a national park on
December 2, 1980 and protects an area of 1,760 km² (it is the
smallest of the eight national parks located in Alaska).
In
the park is the Harding Icefield, one of the largest ice fields in
the United States (483 km²). The park is named for the numerous
fjords that have been sculpted by glaciers descending the mountains
from the ice field. The field is the source of at least 38 glaciers,
the largest of which is Bear Glacier.
The park can be
accessed from Seward, 130 kilometers south of the city of Anchorage
at the southern end of Seward Highway. It is one of only three
national parks in Alaska that can be reached by road, via the
Glacier Nature Center exit. A network of trails from the nature
center make access to the glacier easy.
Several cruise ships
originating from Seward also provide access to the park through
Resurrection Bay. Several companies offer tours, many guided by
national park rangers. The tours offer viewing points for
terrestrial and marine wildlife, particularly species such as the
Steller sea lion, puffin, Dall's porpoise, American black bear, snow
goat, humpback whale and orca, as well as natural landscapes, such
as fjords and tidal glaciers.
All boats offering tours must be approved by the park service. All
entry fees will be covered by your tour ticket price. Expect to pay
at least $100 per person. Permits for public use cabins must be
purchased in advance from park office at the Seward harbor. Cabin
users are responsible for their own transportation to and from the
cabin. Attempting to reach the remote cabins by kayak or other
unpowered boats is not recommended.
Kenai Fjords National
Park is situated at Kenai Peninsula Borough in Alaska, United
States. Kenai Fjords National Park covers an area of 699,983 acres
(2,833 km²). Kenai Fjords National Park is famous for its Harding
Icefield, one of the largest ice fields in the United States (483
km²). The park is named after the numerous fjords that have sculpted
the glaciers descending the mountains from the ice field. The field
is the source of at least 38 glaciers, the largest being the Bear
Glacier.
Kenai Fjords National Park can be accessed from
Seward, 130 kilometers south of the city of Anchorage at the
southern end of the Seward Highway. It is one of the only three
national parks in Alaska that can be reached by road, by the exit of
the Glacier nature center. A network of trails from the center of
nature facilitate access to the glacier.
Several cruisers
from Seward also provide access to the park through the Resurrection
Bay. Several companies offer visits, many guided by rangers of the
national park. The tours offer observation points of the terrestrial
and marine fauna, in particular of species like the sea lion of
Steller, the puffin, the porpoise of Dall, the American black bear,
the goat of the snows, the humpback whale and the killer whale, as
well as natural landscapes, such as fjords and tidal glaciers.
The national park is located on the southeastern side of the Kenai
Peninsula, about 130 miles south of Anchorage. The nearest town is
Seward on Resurrection Bay. Much of the park is covered by the Harding
Ice Field. The highest point is an unnamed peak in the Kenai Mountains
at 1970 meters. The park's landscape was formed by plate tectonics as
the Pacific Plate subducts below the North American Plate.
Temperatures in the rainy summer average between 10 °C and 15 °C.
The Kenai Fjords are heavily glaciated, with 51 percent of the park
covered in ice. The Harding Ice Field receives 18 m of snowfall per
year. More than thirty glaciers originate in the ice field that formed
about 23,000 years ago. In a 16-year study period, the ice field has
receded by 3 percent. The largest glacier in the park is Bear Glacier.
The most accessible glacier and the only part of the park accessible by
road is Exit Glacier.
The park was shaped by plate tectonics particularly by subduction of
the Pacific plate under the North American plate. The base of the fjords
can be 180 to 300 meters below sea level. The North Pacific Plate
brought a variety of rocks against the coast, so that the coastal region
is a mixture of rocks that originated elsewhere.
51% of the park
is covered in ice. The first glaciers formed about 23,000 years ago
(around the end of the last ice age - Alaska remained mostly ice-free
due to arid climate conditions.)
The park is home to a variety of land mammals including the Alaskan
wolf, North American porcupine, Canadian lynx, brown bear, American
black bear, Alaskan moose, and mountain goat. Small mammals such as the
coyote, American beaver, and North American river otter. Marine mammals
include the sea otter, harbor seal and Steller sea lion. The following
cetaceans have been sighted in the park's waters: killer whale, fin
whale, humpback whale, Dall's porpoise and slant-toothed dolphin (a
Pacific dolphin). Furthermore, many birds nest in the various areas of
the park such as: the bald eagle, the peregrine falcon, the black
magpie, the Steller's jay. While the sea birds are: the puffin, the
common guillemot and the marbled guillemot.
Plant communities in
the park are shaped by retreating glaciers. The first plants to appear
on the almost soilless stones are lichens and mosses. Then some very
hardy flowering plants appear such as dwarf fireweed and yellow dryas.
These pioneer plants are followed by others capable of fixing nitrogen
such as green alder, in this way the soil is further enriched. Willows
and alders are then followed by poplars and Sitka spruces. At this point
a rich undergrowth of various shrubs also forms (Alaska blueberries,
elderberry, red goat's beard, various types of liliaceae and female
fern). This more or less at sea level; at higher altitudes the
conditions become more difficult. The tree line in the park is located
between 230 - 300 m above sea level.
Access points and tourism
The best access point for the park is the town of Seward. During the
peak tourism period, one-day excursions depart from this place daily to
visit the fauna and above all the various marine glaciers of the park.
Most of the excursions are concentrated in Resurrection Bay.
Another point easily reachable by car is the Exit glacier. A few
kilometers before Seward, a fork on the right leads after about 10 km to
the car park from which some easy paths lead to some observation areas
of the glacier.
The glacial landscape of the Kenai Fjords National Park is retreating
more and more. Glaciers are shrinking, and the ice is exposing land for
living things to inhabit.
Large land mammals such as grizzly
bears, black bears, moose and mountain goats are found in the park, as
well as small mammals such as North American otters and beavers. Marine
mammals such as sea otters, harbor seals and Steller sea lions are also
found in the area of the national park. Various species of whales can be
found off the coast of the Gulf of Alaska, including killer, fin,
humpback and minke whales. The white-striped dolphin can also be found
in these waters.
Some of the best-known bird species in Kenai
Fjords National Park include bald eagles, as well as auks such as the
yellow-crested flounder and hornlund.
The area was first protected by proclamation on December 1, 1978 as a
national monument of the United States, forming part of a group of 15
natural areas in Alaska that Jimmy Carter, using presidential
prerogative, proclaimed new national monuments, after that the United
States Congress had postponed a large purchase of Alaskan lands that had
strong state opposition. Congress passed the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act in 1980, which incorporated most of these
national monuments into national parks and preserves, but also limited
future use of the land. presidential prerogative in Alaska.
On
December 2, 1980, the monument became a national park.