Park Statistics

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve protects more than 4 million acres of diverse habitats ranging in elevation from sea level to over 10,000 feet. Find fun facts and stats here.

 
Three hikers walk along a gravel river bed with misty mountains in the background
Mountains are an almost ever-present sight when walking through the backcountry in Lake Clark

NPS/ M. Hannam

 

Purpose

Lake Clark was established to protect a region of dynamic geologic and ecological processes that create scenic mountain landscapes, unaltered watersheds supporting Bristol Bay red salmon, and habitats for wilderness dependent populations of fish and wildlife, vital to 10,000 years of human history.

Established

  • December 1, 1978 - Designated as a National Monument by President Carter
  • December 2, 1980 - Designated as a National Park and Preserve and enlarged by congress through the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA).

Size

  • Total - 4,030,006 acres
  • National Park - 2,619,713 acres
  • National Preserve - 1,410,293 acres
  • For comparison, the state of Hawaii is 4.11 million acres in size, and Rhode Island and Connecticut combined are only 3.77 million acres.
 
Two women listen to a park volunteer talk about the Richard L. Proenneke cabin. The cabin is surrounded by greenery
Two visitors listen as a park volunteer gives a talk in front of the Richard L. Proenneke National Historic Site

NPS/ T. Vaughn

Additional Designations

 
Red salmon wim along a gravel bar in blue water
Lake Clark provides pristine habitat for pacific salmon to spawn

NPS/ D. Young

Plants

  • Approximately 800 plant species, 30 of which are not native to the area.

Fish and Wildlife

  • 37 species of terrestrial mammals.
  • 187 species of birds.
  • 1 species of amphibian.
  • 25 species of freshwater and anadromous fish
  • 147,000 to 3.1 million sockeye salmon migrate into Lake Clark via the Kvichak watershed each year as recorded at the Newhalen counting station.
  • Approximately 13,000 red salmon are harvested by subsistence users up-stream of the Newhalen Counting Station.
 

Geology

  • 2 active volcanoes sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Mount Iliamna and Mount Redoubt.
  • 4 confirmed eruption events have occurred in recorded history (all Mount Redoubt: 1902, 1966, 1989, and 2009).
  • 3.6 cubic miles of ice in the four largest glaciers on Iliamna Volcano, which is triple the amount of ice and perennial snow on Mt. Rainier in Mount Rainier National Park (measured as volume).
  • 81,000 acres of glacial ice has melted since the mid 1950s (measured as surface area).
  • The highest point in the park is Redoubt Volcano at 10,197ft above sea level.
 
a braided river cuts through jagged mountains with glaciers at the top
Land cover in Lake Clark ranges from salt marshes on the coast, tall peaks, and rolling tundra. This braided river cuts through the Neacola mountains

NPS/ T. Vaughn

Land Cover

Land Cover Type

%

Acres

Miles2

Sparsely Vegetated Gravel and Bedrock 24% 973,350 1,521
Snow and Glacial Ice 20% 800,419 1,251
Shrubland 19% 771,706 1,206
Tundra 15% 616,159 963
Forest 11% 440,459 688
Freshwater Rivers and Lakes 4% 151,955 237
Salt Marshes, Sedge Meadows, & Bogs 2% 93,029 145
Grassland 1% 40,640 63
Not measurable due to cloud cover 4% 142,956 223

 

Points of Interest with Elevations and Lake Depths

Location

Elevation

Lake Depth

Chinitna Bay 0 feet n/a
Silver Salmon Creek 0 feet n/a
Lake Clark 254 feet 870 feet
Crescent Lake 599 feet 110 feet
Telaquana Lake 1,219 feet 435 feet
Proenneke's Cabin on Upper Twin Lake 2,041 feet 276 feet
Tanalian Mountain 3,960 feet n/a
Iliamna Volcano 10,016 feet n/a
Redoubt Volcano 10,197 feet n/a
 
an ancient stone tool known as a side-notched point sits in the middle of a pile of gray and brown rocks
This side-notched point is an ancient stone tool used by the Northern Archaic people and is around 5,750 years old.

NPS/ J. Rogers

Human History

  • approximately 10,000 BP - The first human settlers arrive in the region some time after the close of the last great ice age.
  • approximately 1,700 BP - Sea mammal hunters and gatherers camp at and possibly create the red ochre rock paintings in Chinitna Bay. Similar paintings in Tuxedni Bay represent rituals associated with large sea mammal hunting. These are the only two rock painting sites known in the Alaska National Park system.
  • approximately AD 1000 - Dena’ina Athabascans are living in permanent settlements in the Kijik area near the shores of Lake Clark itself, intensively salmon fishing and storing surplus.
  • 1741 - Russian explorers reach Alaska. The following century holds rapid change for Alaskan Natives in the Lake Clark region.
  • 1891 - Lake Clark itself (known to the Dena’ina as Qizhjeh Vena - or the lake where people gathered) is named after John W. Clark of Nushagak, AK after he travels to the area with Albert B. Schanz and Vasili Shishkin.
  • 1902 to 1909 - Following outbreaks of flu & measles, Dena’ina Athabascans leave Kijik after approximately 900 years of occupation to settle in Old Nondalton further down lake.
  • 1911 - The first permanent, year-round settlement at Tanalian Point on the shores of Lake Clark is established as a mixed community of Euro-Americans and Dena’ina Athabascans.
  • 1930 - The first aircraft lands on Lake Clark at Tanalian Point.
  • 1950 - The name Port Alsworth is given to the settlement Babe & Mary Alsworth founded a few years earlier on the shores of Lake Clark at Hardenburg Bay. With access for float planes and a hardened landing strip for wheeled planes, it soon eclipses Tanalian Point as it is better suited to the modern age of air travel.
  • 1968 - Dick Proenneke completes and moves into his cabin at Upper Twin Lake.
  • 2000 - Dick Proenneke visits his cabin for the last time.
  • Today - Citizens of resident zone communities and those who live on private land within the park and preserve boundaries continue to practice a traditional subsistence lifestyle by harvesting the area’s resources for food and other needs.
 

More to Discover

Last updated: December 28, 2023

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Contact Info

Mailing Address:

PO Box 227
Port Alsworth, AK 99653

Phone:

907 644-3626

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