Katmai National Park and Preserve

Park Information

• Date Established: December 2, 1980
• Location: Alaska
• Area: 4,021,327 acres

Overview

Katmai National Park and Preserve is home to fifteen volcanoes and more than two thousand brown bears, both under the careful observation of experts. The volcanoes were the source of one of the most powerful eruptions in North America in the twentieth century. The brown bears are part of the largest population of protected bears on the North American continent. Both the bears and the volcanoes draw thousands of tourists to the park each year.

Many visitors come to bear watch, especially during salmon spawning season when seeing the bears catch a salmon in mid-jump is a common sight. Tourists also come to visit the lava dome and the many volcanoes and steam vents that still send up plumes of smoke more than one hundred years after the last eruption took place in the area. In addition to these attractions, the park includes clear waters for canoeing, kayaking, and fishing, as well as many beautiful areas for hiking, camping, and other outdoor activities. Much of the park shows the ways nature does its own landscaping, including vast areas altered by the volcanoes and others that show the effects of the glaciers that are part of the area.

History

The park is named for Mount Katmai, a stratovolcano that formed during the Pleistocene era about eleven thousand years ago. Initially, Katmai was credited as the source of the June 1912 eruption that left about 40 square miles (103 square kilometers) of the area literally smoking for more than a century. However, it was later determined that the ash flow of the largest eruption of the twentieth century actually began at the Novarupta volcano about 6 miles (9 kilometers) away. The eruption created a new, steep volcanic caldera, or large cauldron-like depression, when the Novarupta explosion drained the magma from Mount Katmai.

The pyroclastic flow of searing gases and ash from the eruption covered more than 40 square miles, leaving the area devastated. It also gave rise to countless numbers of fissures in the earth that allow gas and plumes of steam to rise up from the burnt landscape. This led to people calling the area the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.

Following the eruption, a national monument was established at the site in 1918. The goal was to commemorate the explosion, protect the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and surrounding area, and preserve the area for study of its volcanic activity.

The area is also rich in other history, with documentation of human activity in the area dating back to about nine thousand years ago. The park includes archeological sites that delve into the prehistoric and more recent history of humankind in Alaska. It is also a prime habitat for brown bears and part of the spawning route for salmon. In recognition of the historic importance of the eruptions and the value of the human history and animal habitats in the vicinity of Mount Katmai, the area was made a national park on December 2, 1980.

Geology and Ecology

The volcanoes and seething steam vents in the Katmai area are part of the worldwide Ring of Fire, a band of volcanoes that circles the earth. The park’s geology has been established largely by the effects of these volcanoes as well as glaciers that cut through the earth during the last ice age. Volcanoes and glaciers continue to be part of the area’s geology, with at least fifteen volcanoes still active in the area. Many more dormant volcanoes are also found here. The park also includes several glaciers as well as the evidence of glaciers that cut through the area in the past.

In the time since the eruption, the caldera at the center of Mount Katmai has filled with water to become an 800-foot (243-meter) lake. It is one of many in the park, nearly all of which are bordered by glaciers and kept filled by rainwater and runoff from the glaciers. The same sources also fill a multitude of streams that crisscross the terrain, providing habitats for numerous fish and animal species as well as sites for human water sports.

The park is best known for the more than two thousand brown bears that live in the area as part of the preserve. The bears are protected by the park and, in return, are part of the draw for tourists. Park authorities have established “bear cams” that allow people to use the Internet to monitor the bears, which are all tagged and named. The park even runs an informal contest via Facebook each year, and people can vote for which bear has fattened up the most prior to winter hibernation.

The park’s second best-known animal resident is the salmon. Each year in June and July, the sockeye salmon return from the Pacific Ocean and run through the park’s waterways on their way to spawn. After spending two years in lakes in the area, the young salmon return to the sea and then begin the process again. Salmon fishermen and those who want to see the proficiency of the brown bears that catch and eat salmon flock to the area during the salmon runs.

In addition to bears and salmon, the park is host to dozens of other species. Moose, reindeer, foxes, wolves, wolverines, and lynx are among the other large mammals that reside there. Besides the famed salmon, the waterways are also home to several kinds of trout.

Katmai National Park and Preserve also includes more than seven hundred species of plants. The park is especially known for its wildflowers, including Alaska Indian paintbrush, fireweed, lupine, yarrow, and northern geraniums. Several species of invasive plants are also found in the park. These plants, introduced either accidentally or intentionally by human or animal activity, include dandelions, bird vetch, chickweed, and at least two types of waterweed that cause problems in the area’s lakes.

Bibliography

Asher, Joseph. “Magma Zone beneath Volcanoes Causes Powerful Eruption.” Natural World News, 24 July 2012, www.natureworldnews.com/articles/3/20120724/magma-zone-beneath-volcanoes-causes-powerful-eruption-read-more-at-http-www-naturenplanet-com-articles-2842-20120720-magma-zone-beneath-volcanoes-causes-powerful-eruption-htm-qeiuwid9emkvus7k-99.htm. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.

Bodry, Catherine. “Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.” BBC, 6 June 2012, www.bbc.com/travel/story/20120605-the-valley-of-ten-thousand-smokes Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.

“Katmai.” Smithsonian Institution, volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=312170. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.

“Katmai National Park.” Visit Anchorage Alaska, www.anchorage.net/discover/national-parks/katmai-national-park/. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.

“Katmai National Park and Preserve.” National Geographic, 31 May 2024, www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/national-parks/katmai-national-park/. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.

“Katmai National Park and Preserve.” National Park Foundation, www.nationalparks.org/explore-parks/katmai-national-park-and-preserve. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.

“Katmai National Park and Preserve.” National Park Service, www.nps.gov/katm/index.htm. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.

Shaw, Gabbie. “It’s Officially Fat Bear Week at an Alaskan National Park—and the 2018 Winner Has Been Crowned.” Insider, 10 Oct. 2018, www.thisisinsider.com/fat-bear-week-alaska-2018-10. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.