Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve
| Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve | |||
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| Location: | Alaska , United States | ||
| Next city: | King Salmon | ||
| Surface: | 555.1 km² | ||
| Founding: | December 1, 1978 | ||
| Visitors: | 26 (2007) | ||
Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve (German Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve ) is under the administration of the National Park Service -standing National Monument of the United States of America , which in a hard to reach area on the Alaska Peninsula to the volcanic Aniakchak in the Aleutian Range protects.
It sits in a chain of wildlife sanctuaries on the peninsula that includes Katmai National Park , Becharof National Wildlife Refuge , Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge , Aniakchak National Monument, and Izembek National Wildlife Refuge .
The main attraction of the national monument is the caldera of Aniakchak , which was last active in 1931. With the crater lake Surprise Lake, it is the source of the Aniakchak River, which makes its way through a 600 meter deep gorge into the Pacific Ocean . On December 1, 1978, the region around the crater, which belongs to the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire , was declared a national monument and covered an area of 555 km². Two years later, on 2 December 1980 the followed within Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act the addition of a 1,885 km² nature reserve ( Preserve ). The areas differ in that in the preserve, hunting is still permitted under the legal regulations of the state of Alaska.
The sanctuary
The Aniakchak National Monument and Sanctuary does not have a visitor center and is almost exclusively reached by chartered seaplane from King Salmon . The planes land on Surprise Lake as there is no runway. The coastal strip belonging to the preserve can also be approached by boat. In addition, there are no organized campsites, nor any other facilities or services. With just 26 registered visitors, the Aniakchak Volcano region was the least-visited area of the National Park Service's visitor-accessible units in 2007 .
Web links
- National Park Service: Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve (official site; English)
- Cultural Resources in Aniakchak National Monument (English)
