Katmai National Park and Preserve

Katmai National Park and Preserve is the fourth largest national park in the USA. Like all three major parks, the volcanic area is located in Alaska and is known for its Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and its brown bears. The park was established on December 2, 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act and is located on the Alaska Peninsula across from Kodiak Island. A small portion of the area to the north is subject to the lesser protection status of a National Preserve, and hunting is permitted here. The Preserve is listed as Category V (Protected Landscape) by the World Conservation Union.

The national park is joined by a chain of wildlife refuges on the peninsula that includes Katmai National Park, Becharof National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge, Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve, and Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.

The administration of the national park is located in King Salmon, about 470 km southwest of Anchorage. The town can be reached by scheduled flight and serves as a base from which the other protected areas in the region can be approached by chartered seaplane.

There are at least 14 active volcanoes in the park. The most important are Katmai, Trident, Mageik, Martin, Griggs, Juhle and Novarupta.

In 1912, Novarupta - one of the largest volcanic eruptions in historical times - erupted, forming the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. To protect this area, it was declared a National Monument on September 24, 1918.

When the Novarupta erupted, a layer of rocks and dust up to 200 m was deposited within a radius of 65 km², and it was reported that for two days a lantern held only an arm's length away could not be seen.

The park is also known for its brown bears and salmon. The salmon attract both the people and the bears. Many bears congregate at Brooks Falls between Lake Brooks and Naknek Lake, where they can be seen from a viewing platform. Many famous photos of brown bears have been taken here.