Gates of the Arctic Wilderness is a wilderness area

National Wilderness Preservation System

The National Wilderness Preservation System of the United States protects federally managed land areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. It was established by the Wilderness Act upon the signature of President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 3, 1964...

 in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

. Located in the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve

Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve

Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve is a U.S. National Park in Alaska. It is the northernmost national park in the U.S. and the second largest at 13,238 mi² , about the same size as Switzerland. The park consists primarily of portions of the Brooks Range of mountains...

, it is 7245600 acres (2,932,192.9 ha) in area, the third-largest designated wilderness area in the United States (after the Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness

Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness

Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness is a wilderness area in Alaska, United States. At , it is the largest designated U.S. Wilderness Area, and lies within Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve, the largest national park in the United States...

 and the Mollie Beattie Wilderness

Mollie Beattie Wilderness

The Mollie Beattie Wilderness is located in the northeastern section of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It is the second-largest designated wilderness area in the United States, after the Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness. It has an area of approximately , and comprises over 40 percent of the...

, both also in Alaska).

History and Introduction

When the wilderness activist, Bob Marshall

Bob Marshall (wilderness activist)

Robert "Bob" Marshall was an American forester, writer and wilderness activist. The son of wealthy constitutional lawyer and conservationist Louis Marshall, Bob Marshall developed a love for the outdoors as a young child...

, for whom Bob Marshall Wilderness

Bob Marshall Wilderness

The Bob Marshall Wilderness is a wilderness area in Flathead National Forest of western Montana in the United States. It is named after Bob Marshall , an early forester, conservationist, and co-founder of The Wilderness Society. The Bob Marshall Wilderness extends for 60 miles along the...

 in Western Montana

Western Montana

Western Montana is the western region of the state of Montana, United States. Although there is no firm definition, Western Montana is roughly considered by some the western third of the state.-Geography, Biomes and Climate:...

 is named explored the region in the early 1930s he bestowed the name "The Gates of the Arctic" on a pair of mountains near the head of the North Fork of the Koyukuk River

Koyukuk River

The Koyukuk River is a principal tributary of the Yukon River, approximately 500 mi long, in northern Alaska in the United States.It drains an area north of the Yukon on the southern side of the Brooks Range...

 (Boreal Mountain and Frigid Crags). Straddling the central Brooks Range

Brooks Range

The Brooks Range is a mountain range in far northern North America. It stretches from west to east across northern Alaska and into Canada's Yukon Territory, a total distance of about 1100 km . The mountains top out at over 2,700 m . The range is believed to be approximately 126 million years old...

 and looming entirely above the Arctic Circle

Arctic Circle

The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....

, the 8500000 acres (3,439,831 ha) Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve protects a mass of land four times larger than Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...

.

Towards the north, the land is a frozen desert, one of the driest places on Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

, the wilderness is home to many animals, among these are the barren-ground caribou

Barren-ground Caribou

Barren-ground Caribou is a subspecies of the caribou that is found mainly in the Canadian territories Nunavut and the Northwest Territories and western Greenland. It sometimes includes the similar porcupine caribou, in which case the barren-ground caribou also is found in Alaska...

 which travel in and live amongst large herds, grizzly bears, moose

Moose

The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...

, wolves, Dall sheep

Dall Sheep

The Dall sheep , Ovis dalli, is a species of sheep native to northwestern North America, ranging from white to slate brown in color and having curved yellowish brown horns...

, black bears

American black bear

The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...

, and many smaller mammals share this land also, the rivers are also home to many schools of fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

, the grayling

Grayling (genus)

Thymallus is a genus of freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes; it is the only genus of subfamily Thymallinae. The type species is T. thymallus, the grayling. The genus's five distinct species are generically called graylings, but without qualification this also refers...

, char

Salvelinus

Salvelinus is a genus of salmonid fish often called char or charr; some species are called "trout". Salvelinus is a member of the Salmoninae subfamily of the Salmonidae family. Charr may be identified by light cream pink or red spots over a darker body. Scales tend to be small, with 115-200 along...

 and chum salmon

Chum salmon

The chum salmon, Oncorhynchus keta, is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family. It is a Pacific salmon, and may also be known as dog salmon or Keta salmon, and is often marketed under the name Silverbrite salmon...

. Eagle

Eagle

Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...

s and other birds of prey can seen soaring overhead waiting for unsuspecting prey.

Remote glacier

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

-carved valleys split the range, drained by clear rivers and dotted with alpine lakes. Whilst no established trails exist, backpacking is becoming increasingly popular in the area. Many hikers carry firearm

Firearm

A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...

s for protection from bears, but such attacks rarely occur. The Arrigetch Peaks

Arrigetch Peaks

The Arrigetch Peaks are a cluster of rugged granite spires in the Endicott Mountains of the central Brooks Range in northern Alaska. The name Arrigetch means 'fingers of the outstretched hand' in the Inupiat language. The peaks ring the glacial cirques at the head of the Kobuk River and 2...

 and Mount Igikpak

Mount Igikpak

Mount Igikpak is the highest peak in the Schwatka Mountains region of the Brooks Range. It is also the tallest mountain in Gates of the Arctic National Park, located in the US state of Alaska. Some sources list the height of its summit at 8,510'...

 are common mountains which can be climbed. Hunting and trapping game is allowed in the preserve section. Although camping

Camping

Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...

 is unrestricted, wood is scarce and campfires are discouraged.

The Wilderness encompasses six rivers, the Alatna River

Alatna River

The Alatna River is a federally-designated wild and scenic river partially contained within the boundaries of Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska. It is called one of the most beautiful rivers in the United States...

, John River, Kobuk River

Kobuk River

The Kobuk River is a river located in the Arctic region of northwestern Alaska in the United States. It is approximately long...

, the North Fork of the Koyukuk River, part of the Noatak River

Noatak River

The Noatak River is a river in northwestern Alaska. The river's headwaters are on tall Mount Igikpak in the Schwatka Mountains of the Brooks Range in the Gates of the Arctic National Park. The Noatak flows generally westward approximately to the Chukchi Sea at Kotzebue Sound. The river's entire...

 and the remote and seldom visited Tinayguk River

Tinayguk River

The Tinayguk River is a river in Alaska. It flows into the North Fork Koyukuk River in north-central Alaska....

.

External links

• Wilderness.net Gates of the Arctic Wilderness at Wilderness.net
• ProtectedPlanet.net Gates of the Arctic Wilderness at Protected Planet