Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve facts for kids

The Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve is a special place in the United States. It protects a large part of the Brooks Range mountains in northern Alaska. This park is the most northern national park in the U.S. It lies completely north of the Arctic Circle.

This park and preserve is the second largest protected area in the U.S. It covers about 8.4 million acres. That's a huge area, almost as big as the state of Maryland! The national park part alone is also the second largest in the country. Only Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve is bigger.

Gates of the Arctic first became a national monument in 1978. Then, in 1980, it became a national park and preserve. This happened when a law called the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act was passed. Most of the park (about 85%) is also a special "wilderness" area. This means it is kept as wild and untouched as possible. This wilderness area connects to the Noatak Wilderness. Together, they form the largest continuous wilderness in the United States.

Why Gates of the Arctic is Important

The National Park Service explains the main goal of Gates of the Arctic:

The purpose of Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve is to preserve the vast, wild, undeveloped character and environmental integrity of Alaska's central Brooks Range and to provide opportunities for wilderness recreation and traditional subsistence uses.

This means the park aims to keep the land wild and natural. It also allows people to enjoy the wilderness. Local people can also continue their traditional ways of life, like hunting for food.

Exploring the Park's Geography

A map showing the park's location. You can find more detailed maps online!

Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve is west of the Dalton Highway. It sits right on the Brooks Range mountains. The park covers both the northern and southern sides of these mountains. It includes the Endicott Mountains and part of the Schwatka Mountains.

The park's eastern edge is a few miles from the Dalton Highway. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is about 10 miles further east. The Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge is near the park's southeast side. The Noatak National Preserve is next to its western border. The National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska touches the park's northwest corner.

Almost all of the park is a wilderness area. One exception is around Anaktuvuk Pass. This is a small Iñupiat village located in the middle of the park. There is also a separate part of the park. It surrounds Fortress Mountain and Castle Mountain to the north.

The Brooks Range has many mountain lakes. Many of these lakes formed in rocky basins carved by glaciers. Others were created when glaciers left behind piles of rock that blocked water. Walker Lake is the largest in the park. It is 14 miles long and 1 mile wide. It lies on the south side of the Brooks Range.

Rivers of the Park

The park is home to six special rivers. These are called "Wild and Scenic Rivers." They are protected for their natural beauty and importance:

• Alatna River (83 miles long)
• John River (52 miles long)
• Kobuk River (110 miles long)
• The North Fork of the Koyukuk River (102 miles long)
• Part of the Noatak River
• Tinayguk River (44 miles long)

People and Communities in the Park Area

Most of Gates of the Arctic is a national park. Here, only local people living in rural areas can hunt for food. This is called "subsistence hunting." In the national preserve areas, people can also hunt for sport. But they must have all the right licenses and follow state rules.

Ten small towns near the park are called "resident zone communities." These communities rely on the park's natural resources for food and their way of life. They include Alatna, Allakaket, Ambler, Anaktuvuk Pass, Bettles, Evansville, Hughes, Kobuk, Nuiqsut, Shungnak, and Wiseman.

About 259,000 acres of the park are owned by Native corporations or the State of Alaska. A huge 7.2 million acres are part of the Gates of the Arctic Wilderness. This is the third-largest wilderness area in the U.S.

Because it is a wilderness area, there are no roads or official trails in the park. There are also no visitor centers or campgrounds inside. Some unofficial trails for ATVs exist near Anaktuvuk Pass. The Dalton Highway is about five miles from the park's eastern border. But you need to cross a river to get into the park from the road.

Climate and Weather in the Arctic

Hikers looking at a glacier in the park.

The park has a subarctic climate. This means it has cool summers and rain all year round. Winters are very long and cold. Temperatures can drop to -75°F (-59°C). But summers can be surprisingly warm, sometimes reaching 90°F (32°C) for a short time. The park is located above the Arctic Circle.

Sadly, the park's permanent snowfields and glaciers are shrinking quickly. This is due to warming temperatures. From 1985 to 2017, these snowfields lost 13 square kilometers of their area. The warming also causes permafrost (permanently frozen ground) to thaw. This makes the soil unstable. It can lead to erosion and landslides.

The Park's Geology and Landforms

Hikers climb towards a high pass in the Brooks Range.

The park covers much of the central and eastern Brooks Range. It stretches east to the Middle Fork of the Koyukuk River. The Dalton Highway and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline run alongside this river.

The park sits on the continental divide. This means it separates rivers that flow to the Pacific Ocean from those that flow to the Arctic Ocean. The northern part of the park has small areas of Arctic foothills tundra. The Brooks Range runs east to west through the park's center. South of the Brooks Range is the Ambler-Chandalar Ridge. Between the mountains are many remote valleys carved by glaciers. These valleys are dotted with alpine lakes.

The southernmost part of the park includes the Kobuk-Selawik Lowlands. This is where the Kobuk River begins. The Brooks Range has been covered by glaciers many times. The most recent ice age, called the Itkillik glaciation, ended about 1,500 to 1,200 years ago.

Wildlife and Ecosystems

A wolverine on the bank of the Noatak River.

The boreal forest (also called taiga) reaches up to about 68 degrees north latitude. This forest has black and white spruce trees mixed with poplar trees. North of this line, which follows the Brooks Range, is the tundra. The tundra is covered with mosses and lichens. It also has patches of short, shrubby willows.

Animals of the Arctic

The park is home to many amazing animals. These include brown bears, black bears, muskoxen, moose, and Dall sheep. You can also find wolves, wolverines, coyotes, and lynxes. Smaller animals like Arctic ground squirrels, lemmings, voles, and marmots live here too.

Other animals include porcupines, river otters, red and Arctic foxes, and beavers. You might also see wood frogs, snowshoe hares, collared pikas, and muskrats. The skies are filled with birds like Arctic terns, bald eagles, golden eagles, peregrine falcons, ospreys, and different kinds of owls. The rivers are full of fish like grayling, Arctic char, and chum salmon.

More than half a million caribou travel through the central Brooks Range twice a year. They move north in summer and south in winter. These caribou are a very important food source for local Native peoples. However, the shrinking snowfields in the park might affect the size of these caribou herds. The park is also the northernmost place where Dall sheep live. About 132 brown bears live in the park, which means about one bear for every 100 square miles.

A Look at the Park's History

Ancient seabed formations have turned into cliffs and arches.

People have lived in the Brooks Range for a very long time, possibly as far back as 12,500 years ago. They were nomadic, meaning they moved around. They mostly hunted caribou and other wildlife for food. Scientists have found tools like projectile points, stone knives, and net sinkers from ancient times.

The first Iñupiat people arrived around 1200 AD. They came from the coast and spread into the Brooks Range. They became known as the Nunamiut, which means "people of the land." The Iñupiat moved to the Arctic coast in the early 1900s when caribou numbers dropped. They returned to the mountains in the late 1930s to hunt caribou again. In 1949, the last two groups of semi-nomadic Nunamiut settled together. They formed the community of Anaktuvuk Pass over the next ten years.

The Gwich'in people, another Native group, also lived in this area for the last 1,000 years. The two peoples sometimes had disagreements, which led to the Gwich'in moving south of the Brooks Range in the mid-1800s.

Explorers did not map the Alaskan interior until the late 1800s. This was just before the Klondike Gold Rush brought many people looking for gold to Alaska. A few small mining operations started in the early 1900s, but they never became very big.

The park got its name in 1929. A wilderness activist named Bob Marshall was exploring the North Fork of the Koyukuk River. He saw two mountains, Frigid Crags and Boreal Mountain, on either side of the river. He called this opening the "Gates of the Arctic." Marshall loved the area and worked to protect American wilderness. He even helped start The Wilderness Society. Later, in the 1940s, another researcher named Olaus Murie also suggested protecting Alaskan lands.

Ideas for a national park in the Brooks Range began in the 1960s. In 1968, the National Park Service suggested a 4.1-million-acre park. President Jimmy Carter used a special law in 1978 to declare many new Alaskan parklands as national monuments. This included Gates of the Arctic National Monument. Then, in 1980, Congress passed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. This law officially made the monument into Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.

There has been discussion about building a road called the Ambler Road. This road would cross 26 miles of the southern part of the national preserve. It would provide access to a copper mine.

Eroded mountains in the Central Brooks Range, made of rock from ancient sea floors. Taken near Ernie Pass

Fun Activities in the Park

Hikers in the Itkillik River valley, surrounded by tilted peaks.

Since it's a wilderness area, Gates of the Arctic has no roads or official trails. Visitors usually arrive by small "bush planes" or hike in. Many people start their hike from the Dalton Highway, which is five miles east of the park.

Popular activities include hiking, pack-rafting (using inflatable rafts), and sightseeing tours. Camping is allowed throughout the park. However, there might be some rules when crossing lands owned by Native corporations within the park.

The Arrigetch Peaks and Mount Igikpak are popular mountains for hikers.

Because it is so remote and has few facilities, Gates of the Arctic is the least visited national park in the U.S. In 2024, about 11,907 people visited the park. To compare, Grand Canyon National Park had millions of visitors in the same year!

The park's main office is in Fairbanks. There is also a visitor center in Coldfoot. It is open from late May to early September. This center gives information about the parks and refuges in the Brooks Range. Park operations are also managed from the Bettles Ranger Station and a ranger station in Anaktuvuk Pass.

The Simon Paneak Memorial Museum is in Anaktuvuk Pass. It is located within the park's general area. The museum shows exhibits about the Brooks Range environment and the culture of the Nunamiut people.

See also

In Spanish: Parque nacional y reserva Puertas del Ártico para niños

• List of national parks of the United States