Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve

Area

7,523,897 acres

Established

December 2, 1980

Recreation visits

14,923 / yr

State

Alaska

Established

December 2, 1980

Area (park)

7,523,897 acres (30,448 km²)

Seven-day outlook at the park's reference point (67.760, -153.292). Elevation changes everything in the mountains — expect colder, windier and wetter conditions on high ground.

Landmarks

• Mount IgikpakPeak · 8,276 ftThe park's highest summit, a granite-crowned peak close to the source of the Noatak River.
• Arrigetch PeaksPeakA cluster of sheer granite spires above the Alatna valley whose Inupiaq name is often translated as fingers of an outstretched hand.
• Frigid CragsPeakThe western gatepost of the North Fork Koyukuk valley and one of the two peaks that gave the park its name.
• Boreal MountainPeakThe eastern gatepost facing Frigid Crags across the North Fork of the Koyukuk River.
• Mount DoonerakPeakA dark, steep summit north of the Gates that Bob Marshall admired and never climbed.
• Walker LakeLakeA long, deep glacial lake in the Kobuk headwaters at the southern edge of the park.
• Tinayguk RiverRiverA wild and scenic tributary that joins the North Fork of the Koyukuk in the heart of the park.
• Chandler LakeLakeA lake on the treeless north side of the divide, set among the rolling foothills of the North Slope.
• Anaktuvuk PassValleyA broad pass through the range and home of the Nunamiut village of the same name, a traditional caribou crossing.
• Oolah PassValleyA high pass near the park's eastern edge, in the country reached on foot from the Dalton Highway.

The rocks

• Endicott GroupPaleozoic
  Ancient sedimentary rock formed on the ocean floor that underlies much of the park.
• Brooks Range schist beltPaleozoic and older, metamorphosed during mountain building
  Recrystallized metamorphic rock along the southern flank of the range.
• Arrigetch–Igikpak granitePaleozoic
  Intrusive granite that cooled from magma underground and now forms the park's highest and most dramatic spires.

• 563vascular plant species recorded

• Boreal forest (taiga)Southern valleys and lower slopes
  Open stands of white and black spruce with birch, aspen and balsam poplar follow the rivers south of the divide and thin out toward treeline.
• Shrub tundra and river barsValley floors and gravel bars
  Thickets of willow, alder and dwarf birch line braided channels and provide browse for moose.
• Tussock tundraFoothills, especially north of the divide
  Knee-high tussocks of cottongrass over permafrost, famously exhausting to hike, with berries, Labrador tea and lichens between them.
• Alpine tundra and fell-fieldHigh ridges and passes
  Wind-scoured rock with cushion plants, mountain-avens and poppies, the summer home of Dall's sheep and marmots.
• Rivers and lakesThroughout
  Clear, cold waters that freeze for much of the year and carry salmon runs into the southern drainages.

Trees

• White sprucePicea glaucaThe tallest conifer in the park, favoring well-drained river terraces and marking the northern limit of forest in the valleys.
• Black sprucePicea marianaA slow-growing, spindly spruce of cold, wet soils over permafrost.
• Alaska birchBetula neoalaskanaA white-barked birch that mixes with spruce on warmer south-facing slopes.
• Balsam poplarPopulus balsamiferaA fragrant poplar that grows along gravel floodplains and can survive farther north than spruce.
• Quaking aspenPopulus tremuloidesFound in small clonal groves on dry, sunny slopes south of the divide.
• Feltleaf willowSalix alaxensisA willow that can reach small-tree size along rivers, an important winter food for moose.

Wildflowers, shrubs & other plants

• Tussock cottongrassEriophorum vaginatumThe builder of tussock tundra, its white seed heads nodding across the foothills in early summer.
• Dwarf birchBetula nanaA knee-high shrub birch that turns the tundra bronze and red in late August.
• Bog Labrador teaLedum groenlandicumAn aromatic evergreen shrub with rusty-felted leaf undersides.
• LingonberryVaccinium vitis-idaeaA low evergreen shrub whose tart red berries persist under snow into spring.
• Bog blueberryVaccinium uliginosumAbundant on tundra slopes and a major late-summer food for bears and birds.
• CloudberryRubus chamaemorusA single-flowered bog plant whose amber berries are prized in Alaska Native cooking.
• Eightpetal mountain-avensDryas octopetalaA mat-forming alpine plant with creamy flowers that track the sun.
• Moss campionSilene acaulisA tight pink cushion that shelters its own warm microclimate on windswept ridges.
• Arctic lupineLupinus arcticusBlue spikes of bloom on well-drained tundra and river terraces.
• FireweedEpilobium angustifoliumMagenta stalks that flood burned ground and gravel bars with color in July.
• Lapland rosebayRhododendron lapponicumA dwarf rhododendron with purple flowers on limestone slopes.
• White arctic mountain heatherCassiope tetragonaTiny white bells on scaly stems in snowbeds and alpine hollows.
• Woolly lousewortPedicularis lanataOne of the first tundra flowers of spring, wrapped in a fuzzy coat against the cold.

• 38mammals
• 121birds
• 1fish

Mammals

• CaribouRangifer tarandusAnimals from Alaska's great western Arctic herd migrate through the park's passes each spring and autumn.
• Grizzly bearUrsus arctosRoams tundra and valley alike, digging ground squirrels and grazing berries across huge home ranges.
• Black bearUrsus americanusKeeps mainly to the forested valleys south of the divide.
• Gray wolfCanis lupusPacks follow caribou and moose through the valleys.
• Dall's sheepOvis dalliWhite wild sheep of the crags and alpine ridges, rarely far from escape terrain.
• MooseAlces alcesBrowses willow thickets along rivers and lake margins.
• MuskoxOvibos moschatusAn Ice Age survivor occasionally seen on the northern tundra.
• WolverineGulo guloA tireless, solitary scavenger that covers enormous distances across the range.
• Alaska marmotMarmota broweriA marmot found only in Alaska's Brooks Range region, living in colonies among boulder fields.
• Arctic ground squirrelSpermophilus parryiiA deep hibernator whose body temperature drops below freezing in winter.
• Collared lemmingDicrostonyx groenlandicusThe only rodent that turns white in winter, growing enlarged claws for digging in snow.
• Canada lynxLynx canadensisA forest cat whose numbers rise and fall with the snowshoe hare cycle.
• Snowshoe hareLepus americanusChanges from brown to white each autumn and supports much of the boreal food web.

Birds

• GyrfalconFalco rusticolusThe largest falcon in the world, nesting on cliffs and hunting ptarmigan year-round.
• Golden eagleAquila chrysaetosSoars over open ridges and preys on ground squirrels and marmots.
• Willow ptarmiganLagopus lagopusAlaska's state bird, snow-white in winter and mottled brown in summer.
• Rock ptarmiganLagopus mutusOccupies higher, rockier terrain than its willow cousin.
• Northern wheatearOenanthe oenantheA small songbird that nests in alpine rock and winters in Africa, among the longest migrations of any songbird.
• Arctic ternSterna paradisaeaNests on gravel bars and lake shores after a flight from Antarctic waters.
• Long-tailed jaegerStercorarius longicaudusAn elegant, streamer-tailed predator of lemmings on the open tundra.
• Lapland longspurCalcarius lapponicusOne of the most common breeding songbirds of the tundra, singing in flight.
• Snow buntingPlectrophenax nivalisA black-and-white bird of high rocky slopes and early spring.
• American golden-ploverPluvialis dominicaNests on dry tundra and migrates to the grasslands of South America.
• Common redpollCarduelis flammeaA tiny finch that stays through the Arctic winter, feeding on birch and willow seeds.
• Gray jayPerisoreus canadensisA bold resident of the spruce forest that caches food for winter.
• Yellow wagtailMotacilla flavaAn Asian migrant that crosses the Bering Strait to nest in willow shrub tundra.

Fish

• Chinook salmonOncorhynchus tshawytschaThe only fish listed as present on the park's NPSpecies checklist, which remains incomplete for fish; king salmon run into the southern river systems.

Species totals are the park's certified NPSpecies checklist (occurrence: present).

• DenaliAlaska
• Glacier BayAlaska
• KatmaiAlaska
• Kenai FjordsAlaska
• Kobuk ValleyAlaska
• Lake ClarkAlaska
• Wrangell–St. EliasAlaska

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Sources: www.nps.gov · www.nps.gov · irmaservices.nps.gov · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · Official NPS site