Great Land of Alaska

The Ampitheater Mountains are a small subrange of the Alaska Range near the eastern entrance to the Denali Highway. Much of these mountains and their lakes are inaccessible by road, hiking is the only way to get to them.

Broad Pass is a wide, high Alaska Range pass that the Parks Highway and Alaska Railroad (shown in the picture) pass through. At 2,400 feet, it is the highest point of the Parks Highway.

Winter has only recently loosened its grip on the area so the only thing green at this time is the evergreen trees. In a couple weeks, all the deciduous trees and other plants will be in full bloom.

Denali National Park is perhaps the most well-known and most visited park in Alaska. The entire park lies within the Alaska Range and major attractions include the natural scenery, wildlife, and Denali.

The Denali Park Road (visible on the mountainside in the sixth picture) is the only road into and out of the park and is closed to all vehicle traffic except for tour busses.

Denali, one of the main attractions of Denali National Park, is a huge mountain. At 20,320 feet (6,194 meters) it's not only the largest mountain in Alaska, but it also the highest peak on the North American continent. In fact, Denali is largest mountain in the world above sea level, even taller than Everest. Everest's peak may be higher, but its base is also high so when measured from base to peak, Denali is much larger.

The Denali Highway is a 134 mile (216 km) gravel highway that runs east-west between Paxson on the Richardson Highway and Cantwell on the Parks Highway. The entire highway runs along and through various foothills and valleys of the Alaska Range.

The Dutch Hills are a small range of foothills just south of Denali National Park and the big mountain itself, Denali. These mountains are reachable by the Petersville Road (shown in the third picture) and are a popular destination for hunters, recreational gold panners, and snowmachiners.

At 4,086 feet (1,245 meters) MacLaren Summit is the highest point of the Denali Highway. The first two pictures were taken in mid-June and show that this high and far into the mountains, winter is only barely over.

The Nenana River starts in the Alaska Range, fed by melting snow, glaciers, and springs. It flows through the wide scenic Monahan Flat before turning north and paralleling the Parks Highway and eventually emptying into the Tanana River.

Late May in the Nenana River Valley and the temperatures are still cold enough that the leaves on the trees have only just begun to bud. There are a lot of good areas along the Parks Highway where a traveller can get a good view of the Nenana River.

The Peters Hills are another small range of Alaska Range foothills. The are located near the Dutch Hills south of Denali National Park and, like the Dutch Hills, are a popular place for hunters and showmachiners.

Spurr, shown here beyond some semi-frozen taiga, is one of the few active volcanoes of the Alaska Range. It has erupted in recent times, covering Anchorage with a thin layer of ash in autumn of 1992.

Mt. Susitna isn't exactly a part of the Alaska Range, but it's close enough that I've included it on this page. A very well-known mountain to Anchorage dwellars due to it's visibility, it's known by many as "The Sleeping Lady" because of its appearance.

The Susitna River is another well-known river that flows through a portion of the Alaska Range. Unlike the Nenana, the Susitna flows south and eventually empties into Cook Inlet.

The Wrangell Mountains are an impressive-looking range visible from the Richardson Highway near Glennallen. The mountains shown here are active volcanoes, currenly in a dormant state.