Katmai National Park and Preserve

Katmai National Park and Preserve, southwestern Alaska, established as a national monument 1918, as a national park 1980. Located on the northeastern coast of the Alaska Peninsula, the park contains Katmai Volcano (2,047 m/6,716 ft), Novarupta Volcano, and the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. In June 1912 the newly formed Novarupta erupted violently, blowing off the entire mountaintop and showering volcanic ash over Kodiak Island and much of the Alaska mainland. The eruption formed the ash-filled Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and probably drained molten material from beneath the peak of nearby Katmai, causing the collapse of its top and forming a large crater. When a National Geographic Society expedition discovered the valley in 1916, they found numerous fumaroles (vents issuing gases and steam), only a few of which remain. Katmai crater, about 5 km (about 3 mi) wide and about 1,130 m (about 3,700 ft) deep, is lined with glaciers, some of which flow into the blue-green lake on its floor. Salmon abound in the park’s waters, and brown bear, moose, and wolf are common. Area, 1,487,029 hectares (3,674,530 acres).

Reviewed by: National Park Service