Wrangell St Elias National Park
Wrangell St Elias National Park
A park in motion. Rising above the boreal forest, snowcapped mountains, themselves covered in clouds give a hint only of the vastness of Wrangell St. Elias. There is a sense of motion, glaciers striped with medial moraines, an open hole of a Moulin sucking down the surface water, crevices formed in the bending ice. Mist and clouds moving in and around the crags and peaks, one moment hiding, the next providing a delicate lace tiara.
A sense of industry – both manmade and natural. A park marked by the mining, with its copper mill and tailings, the red buildings of Kennecott overlooking the vast glacial plain covered with the ground up stone, the work of ice splitting and removing the face of the cliffs. Only Mt. Blackburn at 16,391 seems to anchor the scenery.
Disappearing into the valleys, past the motif of folds in the mountainside, the geology of the backcountry continues to reveal the very movement of the uplifted terrain. Streams converge and then disperse into braided streams depositing their load of sediments, slowly filling in the valley floor. Everything is in motion. Arriving at Skolai pass with its herds of reindeer / caribou and then, nothing but silence as the plane returns home.
Surrounded by alpine tundra, low hanging clouds dampen the panorama of wilderness. Climbing up into the side valleys to see the mix of rock with crystals mixed into the columnar basalt blocks spit out onto the landscape. Everything is in motion.
Read MoreA park in motion. Rising above the boreal forest, snowcapped mountains, themselves covered in clouds give a hint only of the vastness of Wrangell St. Elias. There is a sense of motion, glaciers striped with medial moraines, an open hole of a Moulin sucking down the surface water, crevices formed in the bending ice. Mist and clouds moving in and around the crags and peaks, one moment hiding, the next providing a delicate lace tiara.
A sense of industry – both manmade and natural. A park marked by the mining, with its copper mill and tailings, the red buildings of Kennecott overlooking the vast glacial plain covered with the ground up stone, the work of ice splitting and removing the face of the cliffs. Only Mt. Blackburn at 16,391 seems to anchor the scenery.
Disappearing into the valleys, past the motif of folds in the mountainside, the geology of the backcountry continues to reveal the very movement of the uplifted terrain. Streams converge and then disperse into braided streams depositing their load of sediments, slowly filling in the valley floor. Everything is in motion. Arriving at Skolai pass with its herds of reindeer / caribou and then, nothing but silence as the plane returns home.
Surrounded by alpine tundra, low hanging clouds dampen the panorama of wilderness. Climbing up into the side valleys to see the mix of rock with crystals mixed into the columnar basalt blocks spit out onto the landscape. Everything is in motion.
