Photo Friday: The Glacial Alaska Range


The Alaska Range is a narrow, 700-kilometer mountain range defined by rugged peaks and large U-shaped glacial valleys. The range lies in the southeast corridor of Alaska and is home to Denali, the tallest peak in North America. The Alaska range is part of the American Cordillera and possesses peaks only trumped by those in the Himalayas and Andes.

For many decades, the Alaska Range has played host to an incredible variety of landscapes and ecology, with visitors traveling from all over the world to hike, climb and sight see in Denali National Park. One-sixth of Denali National Park, or approximately one million acres, is covered by glaciers, which transport thousands of tons of ice each year, according to the National Park Service. Take a look at GlacierHub’s collection of images of Alaska’s impressive peaks and low valleys shaped by glacial activity over the past million years.

 

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An aerial view of the high altitude peaks of the Alaska Range (Source: Matt Verso/Creative Commons).

 

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Road entering Denali National Park on the east edge of the Alaska Range (Source: Arthur Chapman/Creative Commons).

 

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The U.S. Army flies a helicopter toward Kahiltna Glacier, the longest glacier in the Alaska Range (Source: Defense.gov/Creative Commons).

 

Moving toward the Harper Glacier in Denali National Park (Source: Mikep/Creative Commons).
Moving toward the Harper Glacier in Denali National Park (Source: Mikep/Creative Commons).

 

An aerial view of the Upper Muldrow Glacier, Denali National Park (Source: Pete Klosterman/Creative Commons).
An aerial view of the Upper Muldrow Glacier, Denali National Park (Source: Pete Klosterman/Creative Commons).

 

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Looking south across the Monahan Flat (Source: Albert Herring/Creative Commons).

 

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Looking east across the Monahan Flat (Source: Paxon Woelber/Creative Commons).

 

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Southern edge of the Alaska Range (Source: Denali National Park/Creative Commons).