ALASKA CRUISES
Carnival Cruises
Princess Cruises
Norwegian Cruises
ALASKA CITIES
Anchorage
Fairbanks
Juneau
Ketchikan
Nome
Seward
Sitka
NATIONAL PARKS
Aniakchak Preserve
Bering Preserve
Denali Park
Glacier Bay Park
Katmai Park
Kenai Fjords
Kobuk Valley
Lake Clark
Wrangell-Saint Elias
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Alaska National Parks
The
15 national parks in Alaska are home to the
United States’ tallest mountains and biggest glaciers and some of its most
exotic wildlife. Alaska contains the country’s six largest national parks:
Wrangell-Saint Elias, Gates of the Arctic, Denali, Lake Clark, Katmai, and
Glacier Bay.
Of the 20 highest mountains in the United States, 17 are in Alaska. Mount
McKinley, North America’s largest mountain at 6,194 m (20,320 ft), is a defining
highlight in Denali National Park and Preserve.
The second tallest mountain, Mount Saint Elias (5,489 m/18,008 ft), is located
in Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve, a
park characterized by remote mountains, valleys, and wild rivers, all rich with
wildlife.
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is just one
of the areas in which visitors can find examples of geological phenomena. Since
it was first seen by British explorer George Vancouver in the 1790s, the wall of
ice that shadows Glacier Bay has retreated about 100 km (about 60 mi). Harding
Icefield and forested coastal fjords are the highlights of
Kenai Fjords National Park. Spectacular scenery
stretches across the Lake Clark National Park and
Preserve from the Cook Inlet to the Chigmit Mountains, which include two
active volcanoes, Mount Redoubt and Mount Iliamna. More evidence of Alaska’s
natural history can be found at Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, where steam rises
from a few active volcanic vents at Katmai National
Park and Preserve. In the Aniakchak National
Monument and Preserve, the Aniakchak River cascades through a gash 500 m
(1,600 ft) long at the rim of a volcano crater.
Alaska’s national parks also preserve the state’s rich cultural history. The
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve is a remnant of
the land bridge that once connected Asia with North America, the route the
earliest residents took to the continent. Cape Krusenstern National Monument
contains archaeological sites that illustrate Eskimo communities dating back
some 4,000 years. Sitka National Historical Park commemorates the Battle of
Sitka, the only armed conflict between Alaska Nativesand Europeans. Relics of
the 1898 gold rush are preserved at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical
Park and the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve.
Several parks embody the state’s nickname The Last Frontier because of their
remote locations. They are generally accessible only by chartered planes and
recommended only to those adventurers who are confident in their outdoor
survival skills. Lying entirely north of the Arctic Circle, Gates of the Arctic
National Park and Preserve, the northernmost extension of the Rocky Mountains,
is the second largest national park in the United States. The Great Kobuk Sand
Dunes are located in the Kobuk Valley National Park.
A rich array of Arctic wildlife can be found in this park and the neighboring
Noatak National Preserve, including caribou, grizzly and black bear, wolf, and
fox.
Agency Specializing in Cruises to Alaska.
Alaska cruises is now
becoming one of the major cruise destinations and popular methods of visiting
the great state of Alaska. Not only will you find great scenery, but you will
find towering glaciers, abundant wildlife, gourmet dining, local entertainment.
The towns and ports
of call will offer beauty and unique tours throughout Alaska. There are a number of different cruise itineraries in Alaska offered by most
of the major lines.
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