Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve

The Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve resides in Alaska's Brooks Range. This vast area of natural beauty contains rugged mountains, wild rivers, glaciated valleys, boreal forests, and arctic tundra vegetation. The area is inhabited by wolves, caribou, Dall sheep, and both grizzly and black bears.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter designated this area as a national monument. in 1980, Congress passed the Land Claims Act, creating 106 million acres of new protected lands in Alaska. The final boundaries of Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve encompass eight million contiguous acres.

The entirety of the park lies north of the Arctic Circle and is the northernmost national park in the United States. There are no established roads, trails, visitor facilities, or campgrounds in the park. Access into the park is by charter plane from Bettles or other locations.

Ten small communities are within the resident zone of the park and are home to approximately 1,500 people. Many of these residents depend on resources within the park to sustain their livelihood and to maintain cultural traditions.

Interesting fact: Chert is a fine-grained rock used by the prehistoric in habitants of the Brooks Range to create tools such as scrapers, knives, and spear points. The Brooks Range contains one o the richest deposits of "tool quality" chert in the world.

Park Service Information Office:
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve
Park Headquarters
102 Elk Creek
Gunnison, CO 81230-8397

Email: Gates of the Arctic