Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
By Donald H. Richter, Danny S. Rosenkrans, and Margaret J. Steigerwald, 1995
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 2072
The Wrangell Mountains form the volcanic heart of the park. Covering over 2,000 square miles, the Wrangell Volcanic Field is made up of thousands of lava flows and some of the highest peaks in North America, and includes Mount Wrangell, one of the largest (by volume) active volcanoes in the world.
The Wrangell volcanoes were formed over the last 5 million years by massive eruptions which were the result of tectonic collisions along the Pacific and North American crustal plates. Volcanism in this region started much earlier than that (as much as 26 million years ago), but all that remains of that early volcanism is the rocks themselves—the volcanic mountains from that time period have long since been eroded away. Although this activity has slowed for the past few thousand years, there is still heat at shallow depth, as evidenced by Mount Wrangell's occasional steam plumes, and by a series of active mud volcanoes east of Glennallen. The mountain range includes Mt Sanford, Mt Drum, Mt Wrangell, Mt Blackburn, Mt Churchill, Mt Jarvis and Mt Regal.
Mount Wrangell (14,163')
Mount Wrangell is the only volcano in the Wrangell Mountains that is currently active. During the winter and on cool summer mornings, it is not unusual to see a steam plume rising out of the vents situated in craters along the margin of the summit caldera. In spite of frequent puffs of steam, geologists tell us that Wrangell is showing no signs of erupting any time soon. But those steam vents remind visitors that there is still heat below and that this massive volcano is still active.
When did Mt. Wrangell last erupt?
Minor eruptive activity has been noted on Mt. Wrangell in 1784, 1884-5, 1900, 1914 and 1930.
Geodiversity Atlas ~ Geodiversity refers to the full variety of natural geologic (rocks, minerals, sediments, fossils, landforms, and physical processes) and soil resources and processes that occur in the park. A product of the Geologic Resources Inventory, the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides information in support of education, Geoconservation, and integrated management of living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components of the ecosystem.
Wrangell-St. Elias is also home to a very rare feature-mud volcanoes! Click on the following link to read a USGS report about mud volcanoes: Shrub and Upper Klawasi Mud Volcanoes
Locations:Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve
Offices:Geologic Resources Division
Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park.
Locations:Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve, Bandelier National Monument, Big Bend National Park, Crater Lake National Park, Kalaupapa National Historical Park, Katmai National Park & Preserve, Lake Clark National Park & Preserve, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Lava Beds National Monument, Mojave National Preserve, Valles Caldera National Preserve, Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve, Yellowstone National Parkmore »
Offices:Geologic Resources Division
Lava domes are steep-sided rounded accumulations of highly viscous silicic lava over a vent. Some domes are part of composite volcanoes, but large ones can make up their own volcanoes. Lassen Peak is a dome.
Locations:Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve, Denali National Park & Preserve, Gates Of The Arctic National Park & Preserve, Katmai National Park & Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Lake Clark National Park & Preserve, Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preservemore »
Alaska is one of the most heavily glaciated areas in the world outside of the polar regions. Approximately 23,000 square miles of the state are covered in glaciers—an area nearly the size of West Virginia. Glaciers have shaped much of Alaska’s landscape and continue to influence its lands, waters, and ecosystems. Because of their importance, National Park Service scientists measure glacier change. They found that glaciers are shrinking in area and volume across the state.
Locations:Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve
Mount St. Elias is the tallest mountain in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Rising to an elevation of 18,008 feet (5,489 m) above Icy Bay, it is the second tallest peak in both the United States and Canada and fourth tallest in North America.
Locations:Denali National Park & Preserve, Gates Of The Arctic National Park & Preserve, Lake Clark National Park & Preserve, Noatak National Preserve, Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve
Read the abstract and link to a recent paper in Ecosphere on Dall's sheep population impacts from weather events: Rattenbury, K. L., J. H. Schmidt, D. K. Swanson, B. L. Borg, B. A. Mangipane, and P. J. Sousanes. 2018. Delayed spring onset drives declines in abundance and recruitment in a mountain ungulate. Ecosphere 9(11):e02513. 10.1002/ecs2.2513
Locations:Denali National Park & Preserve, Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve, Yukon - Charley Rivers National Preserve
Read the abstract and get the link to a published article on what we learned from monitoring the timing of wood frog calls: Larsen, A. S., J. H. Schmidt, H. Stapleton, H. Kristenson, D. Betchkal, and M. F. McKenna. 2021. Monitoring the phenology of the wood frog breeding season using bioacoustic methods. Ecological Indicators 131: 108142.
Locations:Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve
Read the abstract and get the link to several articles, including this one published in Scientific Reports: Higman, B., D. H. Shugar, […] M. Loso. 2018. The 2015 landslide and tsunami in Taan Fiord, Alaska. Scientific Reports 8: 12993.
Locations:Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve, Bandelier National Monument, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Big Bend National Park, Chiricahua National Monument, Coronado National Memorial, Crater Lake National Park, Death Valley National Park, Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, Grand Teton National Park, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Katmai National Park & Preserve, Lake Clark National Park & Preserve, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Mojave National Preserve, Mount Rainier National Park, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Pinnacles National Park, Saguaro National Park, Valles Caldera National Preserve, Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve, Yellowstone National Parkmore »
Offices:Geologic Resources Division
Pyroclastic flows and surges are among the most awesome and most destructive of all volcanic phenomena. Pyroclastic flow deposits are found in at least 21 units of the National Park System.
Locations:Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve, Bandelier National Monument, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Big Bend National Park, Capulin Volcano National Monument, Channel Islands National Park, Chiricahua National Monument, Coronado National Memorial, Crater Lake National Park, Craters Of The Moon National Monument & Preserve, Death Valley National Park, El Malpais National Monument, Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, Haleakalā National Park, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Kalaupapa National Historical Park, Katmai National Park & Preserve, Lake Clark National Park & Preserve, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Lava Beds National Monument, Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail, Mojave National Preserve, Mount Rainier National Park, National Park of American Samoa, Nez Perce National Historical Park, Petrified Forest National Park, Petroglyph National Monument, Saguaro National Park, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, Valles Caldera National Preserve, Whitman Mission National Historic Site, Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve, Yellowstone National Park, Zion National Parkmore »
Volcanoes vary in size from small cinder cones that stand only a few hundred feet tall to the most massive mountains on earth.
Locations:Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, National Park of American Samoa, Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve
Offices:Geologic Resources Division
Nonexplosive calderas are located at the summit of most large shield volcanoes, like Kīlauea and Mauna Loa in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. They form during VEI 0-1 (Effusive to Severe) eruptions that drain the shallow magma chambers located beneath them. Nonexplosive calderas can contain pit craters, which are smaller collapse structures, as well as lava lakes that can be active for periods of time.
