Birds - 172 recorded species (160 breeding or resident + 12 incidentals)
Fish - 14 species (including 3 salmon species)
Reptiles - none
Vascular plants - 758 species
Trees - 8 species
Mosses - 380 species documented to date
Liverworts - 119 species documented to date
Lichens - 442 species documented to date
Species Lists
Species Attribute Definitions
Definitions
Occurrence
Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.
Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.
Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.
Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.
Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.
Occurrence Tags
Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.
False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.
Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.
Abundance
Abundant:
Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.
Common:
Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.
Uncommon:
Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.
Rare:
Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.
Occasional:
Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).
Unknown: Abundance unknown
Nativeness
Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.
Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.
Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.
List Differences
The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.
The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.
The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.
Visit NPSpecies for more comprehensive information and advanced search capability. Have a suggestion or comment on this list? Let us know.
Natural History
Paleontology
Thousands of trace fossils (tracks, footprints, or body prints) have been found since the first discovery of dinosaur prints in 2005, all dating from 65-72 million years ago. They include theropods, hadrosaurs, ceratopsians, and pterosaurs, as well as bird tracks, fish traces, crayfish burrows, and insect trackways. Myirospirifer breasei, a species of extinct marine brachiopod that has been found only in Denali, is named after Phil Brease, park geologist from 1986 until his untimely death in May 2010. Learn more about paleontology in the park.
Lakes and Streams
Chilchukabena Lake: 2.6 miles long, 2 miles wide, 2056 acres (largest in the park)
Wonder Lake: 2.7 miles long, 1/2 mile wide, 649 acres, 280 feet maximum depth
Approximately 12,206 lakes and ponds in the park and preserve; 18,679 miles of streams
Glaciers
15% of park's land area is covered with glaciers (approx. 1,422 sq. miles).
Loss of 8% from 1950 - 2010.
Largest glacier: Kahiltna Glacier on the south side of Alaska Range (45 miles or 72.4 km long)
Largest glacier on north side of Alaska Range: Muldrow Glacier (34 miles or 54.7 km long)
Deepest measured glacier: Ruth Glacier, 3805 feet or 1160 meters
Check out detailed annual mountaineering statistics, including total climbers and narrative summaries of each climbing season since 1978.
Notable Ascents First summit of South Peak (true summit): June 7, 1913; W. Harper, H. Karstens, H. Stuck, R. Tatum
First summit of North Peak: April 3, 1910; Pete Anderson, Billy Taylor
First woman to summit: June 6, 1947; Barbara Polk Washburn
First solo ascent: August 26, 1970; Naomi Uemura
First winter ascent: February 28, 1967; Dave Johnston, Art Davidson, Ray Genet
First solo winter ascent: February 12, 1984; Naomi Uemura (died on descent)
First successful winter solo ascent completed: March 7, 1988; Vern Tejas
Oldest person to summit: June 28, 2013; Tom Choate, 78 years old
Youngest person to summit: June 17, 2001; Galen Johnston, 11 years old
Last updated: February 5, 2024
Park footer
Contact Info
Mailing Address:
PO Box 9
Denali Park,
AK
99755
Phone:
907 683-9532
A ranger is available 9 am to 4 pm daily (except on major holidays). If you reach the voicemail, please leave a message and we'll call you back as soon as we finish with the previous caller.
