Location: King Salmon Map
Area: 4,725,188 acres (19,122 km²)
Official site
The Katmai National Park (English Katmai National Park and Preserve)
is the fourth largest national park in the USA. Like all three major
parks, the volcanic area is located in Alaska and is known for its
Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and its brown bears. The park was
established on December 2, 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act and is located on the Alaska Peninsula across from
Kodiak Island. A small part of the area in the north is subject to the
lower protection status of a National Preserve; hunting is permitted
here. The preserve is listed as Category V (Protected Landscape) by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The national park
is followed by a chain of nature reserves on the peninsula, which
includes Katmai National Park, Becharof National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge, Aniakchak National Monument and
Preserve and Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.
There are no fees charged for entrance to the park, but fees are
charged for camping in the Brooks Camp Campground, staying in Fure's
Cabin, and for commercial filming.
Katmai National Park is
situated near town of King Salmon in Bristol Bay Borough in Alaska,
United States. Katmai National Park covers an area of 4,725,188 acres
(19,122 km²). Katmai National Park protects area around eponymous
stratovolcano Katmai. It is an active volcano that reaches an elevation
of 2,000 meters and a diameter of 10 km. During last and most powerful
eruption in 1912 formed a volcanic lake with a dull green water. Its
eruption destroyed the pine forest on the western slope of the volcano,
turning it into the valley thousands of fumes. Katmai National Park was
established in December 1980 by the law of the US Congress. Katmai
National Park occupies the entire coastline Shelikof Strait, the
Aleutian Peninsula and part of the land situated to the north of Lake
Nanek.
Katmai National Park is mostly covered by mountains and
numerous rivers. Nature lovers come here for hiking, camping, fishing,
kayaking and canoeing. Keep in mind that these rivers are full of salmon
that draws dozens of brown bears that come here for fish. There are
numerous of these beautiful animals along Brooks River. Keep cautious of
these potentially violent animals, wear something that rattles and makes
noises and bring a pepper spray for protection.
Brooks Camp. Brooks Camp Campground is the only developed/improved camping area in Katmai National Park and Preserve. It is located on the shores of Naknek Lake, about a quarter mile from the Brooks Camp Visitor Center. Facilities in the campground include a food cache, gear cache, fuel storage locker, potable water, cooking shelters, outhouse, and an electric fence. Drinking water and the electric fence are only provided from June 1 to Sept 17 each year. The campground fills on a per person basis to a maximum of 60 campers per night sharing 18 sites. Campsites will be shared when the campground is filled to capacity and/or flooded. Reservations must be made in advance - many days in July are booked full within a few hours of the opening of the reservation period. Reservations for the current calendar year can be made beginning January 5 at 8AM AKST (noon EST) by visiting http://www.recreation.gov or calling +1-877-444-6777. $12 per person per night June 1 through September 17 and $6 per person per night in May and September 18 through October 31.
Part of the territory was declared a National Monument (conservation zone) back in 1918, to protect the area around the Novarupta volcano formed during the 1912 eruption and the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes created by the giant pyroclastic flow. After the eruption, the National Geographic Society sent out five expeditions to study the area, volcanic activity, and the aftermath of the eruption. Given its status due to volcanic activity, the national monument and surrounding lands have come to be prized for their abundance of salmon, brown bears and other Alaskan wildlife attracted to salmon.
In June 1912, an eruption began in the region of Katmai volcano,
which resulted in the formation of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and
a new volcano, called Novarupta ("New Eruption"). It was one of three
eruptions of the 20th century, which were assigned a rating of 6 on the
scale of volcanic eruptions. The power of the eruption, which lasted
about 60 hours, was 17 km³, of which about 11 km³ of ash fell to the
ground.
A pyroclastic ash flow formed the valley, and for several
years after the eruption, many fumaroles formed in the still-hot ash
spewing gases and steam. In 1916, the American ecologist Robert Griggs,
who led the expedition of the National Geographic Society, gave the
valley its name, and a little later published a report, entitled "Valley
of Ten Thousand Smokes."
The area of the valley is about 100 km²,
its depth reaches 210 m. The river Lethe, flowing through the valley,
named after the mythological Lethe, washed out deep canyons, exposing
layers of ash. Since the ash has already cooled and the vast majority of
fumaroles have finally died out, despite their name, the valley is
currently not filled with smoke.
The park is home to 29 species of mammals, 137 species of birds, 24
species of freshwater fish and 4 species of anadromous fish. The most
important fish for the ecosystem of the park is sockeye salmon, which
during spawning (from June to October) forms the basis of the diet of
brown bears and bald eagles.
Katmai is known for its population
of brown bears, the largest of the protected populations. The US
National Park Service estimates that there are about 2,100 bears in the
park. During salmon spawning, bears in the park especially like to get
close to Brooks Falls, where salmon rise earlier than in other rivers,
and from 40 to 70 bears can be seen near this waterfall in June-July. In
coastal bays, bears feed on sedge, molluscs and various fish, and
therefore bears can be seen near the bays all year round.
Recently, webcams have been installed in the park to monitor bears.
Activities in Katmai include hiking, camping, cross-country skiing,
fishing, kayaking, boat tours, and interpretive programs.
Katmai
is also well known for watching Alaskan brown bears fishing for sockeye
salmon in the river.
There are also archaeological sites, the
ancient villages of Kaguyak and Kukak.
The grounding of the tanker Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989 caused significant contamination of the Katmai coast.