KATMAI NATIONAL PARK, Alaska — Protecting over 85 million acres of land, the U.S. National Park Service manages a vast network of natural reserves. While many of these 63 national parks are increasingly accessible, others, like Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska, demand considerable planning for visitation. Access is limited to airplane or boat, and some historic areas require a combination of bus travel and hiking to reach.
Valley Shaped by Volcanic History
At the heart of Katmai’s 4 million acres lies the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, a landscape indelibly marked by a cataclysmic volcanic eruption. This event, according to park officials, is the reason for the park’s establishment as both a national monument and, later, a national park.
“The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is how we became a national park, how we became a national monument in the first place. It’s the site of the largest volcanic eruption in the 20th century,” explained Mary Lisa Carenza, a ranger at Katmai National Park and Preserve.
The valley, now characterized by vibrant teal waters, snow-capped mountains, and abundant birdlife, bears witness to the immense power unleashed in June 1912. A single magma vent, now known as Novarupta, was the source of an eruption whose effects reverberated globally.
The eruption’s force was so great that Mount Katmai, located more than six miles away, collapsed as magma was rapidly withdrawn from beneath it. The event had a devastating impact on local wildlife.
“The wildlife were decimated. Birds were falling out of the sky. The animals, mammals, destroyed. And the salmon did not come back for five years. They were just gone,” Carenza said.
Remarkably, no human lives were lost, attributed to the local population’s awareness of natural warning signs passed down through generations. “No one who was currently living here, in this area, had never experienced an eruption themselves. But they had known, from knowledge that had been passed down for generations that when the earth quakes, that’s a sign,” Carenza added.
When explorers returned years later, they encountered a landscape unlike any they had seen before, prompting its protection as a uniquely alive and remarkable environment. Today, despite the lingering presence of ash, pyroclastic flows, and pumice, the valley exudes a sense of peace and untouched wilderness.
One of the Largest Grizzly Bear Populations
Beyond its volcanic history, Katmai National Park is renowned for its substantial grizzly bear population. The park provides critical habitat for thousands of brown bears, which congregate there to feed on abundant salmon runs. The park is home to North America’s largest protected population of brown bears.
Each autumn, the park celebrates the bears’ successful preparation for winter through “Fat Bear Week,” an online event where the public votes for their favorite bears based on their size and condition.
The park encompasses 4,093,077 acres (6,395.43 square miles or 16,564.09 square kilometers), an area comparable in size to the combined states of Connecticut and New Jersey. Most of the park is designated as wilderness, preserving its pristine character.
Katmai’s location on the Alaska Peninsula, across from Kodiak Island, and its headquarters in King Salmon, approximately 290 miles southwest of Anchorage, contribute to its remoteness and the challenges of access. The park was initially designated in 1918 to protect the area surrounding Novarupta and the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, but remained largely undeveloped and unvisited until the 1950s.
The park includes as many as 18 volcanoes, seven of which have been active since 1900, underscoring the ongoing geological forces shaping the landscape. The area also holds 9,000 years of human history, adding another layer of significance to its preservation.
