NPS It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. The following photos explore some of the many natural and cultural resources which make Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve a unique special place! Check out our photo albums at: NP Gallery
Photo Gallery Radovan Camp, Wrangell-St. Eli...9 Images In 1908, Martin Radovan arrived in Cordova, Alaska, with thousands of other workers to help construct the Copper River Northwestern Railway stretching 196 miles from the port of Cordova to the bustling mining town of Kennecott. After the railway was complete in 1911, Martin stayed in Alaska and worked a number of mining related jobs before prospecting for copper in the Glacier Creek Mining District, which is now located within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Martin gained notoriety as a prospector when he laid claim to the Binocular Prospect, a copper outcrop situated high on the face of a cliff overlooking a glacial cirque. While others attempted to reach the outcrop and failed, Martin managed to access it by following a precipitous route along the cliff wall. Martin spent nearly his entire adult life carefully and meticulously scrutinizing every inch of the contact zone, often skirting along ledges cut along the vertical cliff faces and digging tunnels in the rock at elevations up to 7,000 feet completely by himself until he was into his early 90s. Although the Binocular Prospect never produced any ore, Martin never abandoned his dream of finding his ‘Copper Mountain’. To learn more about the incredible life of Martin Radovan please explore ‘Martin Radovan: A Prospector’s Life,’ by Katherine Ringsmuth, Daniel Trepal, and Logan Hovis of the National Park Service: www.nps.gov/…/…/martin-rodovan-a-prospectors-life.pdf Photo Gallery Glacier Mine, Wrangell-St. Eli...12 Images The Kennecott Mines are located on Bonanza Ridge, several thousand feet above the Kennicott and Root glaciers in Wrangell- St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Between 1900 and 1938, five distinct mines were developed at Kennecott, each with its associated surface camp: Bonanza, Jumbo, Mother Lode, Erie and Glacier. All of the mines are situated adjacent to a greenstone-limestone contact which defined the location of ore on Bonanza Ridge. Glacier Mine was constructed to support the extraction of the West Slide ore body, which unlike the Jumbo and Bonanza deposits, was formed by the erosion of extremely high grade ores in the Bonanza outcrop that slid downslope into the lateral moraine and ice mass of an alpine glacier, thus making the ore encased in glacial ice rather than loose in the scree. Notable exploratory work occurred in 1917 when two tunnels were driven to examine the extent and quality of the ore. A third tunnel was driven later to further define the ore body. These tunnels ran parallel to the lateral moraine and several crosscuts ran at right angles to determine the width of the deposit. Miner’s worked inside the glacier, drilling, blasting, and timbering tunnel walls as they would in rock. By 1918, a sufficient amount of ore was located to justify expenditures on the labor, materials, and equipment to remove it and construction began on a 5,000’ long aerial tramway as well as a loading and sorting station at the toe of the glacier. Glacier Mine was immediately put into production once the aerial tramway was completed in 1920. The future of the mine appeared promising as the February 1920 issue of Economic Geology reported Glacier Mine had been ‘explored by three tunnels from which several crosscuts had been run enabling the ore to be partially outlined and sampled.’ Allegedly, over 100,000 tons of ore had been developed by this time and further development was planned. Several artificial thawing experiments were conducted, but the increased cost of mining during the winter was too great for the return. As such, the mine was worked approximately three months out of the year, July through September, when the glacial ice melted sufficiently to release the ore. Eventually, drilling and blasting were abandoned in favor of using scrappers and winches on the surface to efficiently move ore from the mine to the sorting facilities below. By 1928, the ore was worked out of Glacier Mine and its equipment was relocated to support other operations at Kennecott after its closure. No further work was done at Glacier Mine thereafter. Although the Kennecott Mines were in operation for only a short period of time, they collectively produced over 4.6 million tons of ore valued at $200 million. Glacier Mine alone produced over 163,028 tons of ore and 3,526 tons of copper, contributing to the success of the Kennecott Mines. Photo Gallery Erie Mine, Wrangell- St. Elias...15 Images The Kennecott Mines are located on Bonanza Ridge, several thousand feet above the Kennicott and Root glaciers in Wrangell- St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Between 1900 and 1938, five distinct mines were developed at Kennecott, each with its associated surface camp: Bonanza, Jumbo, Mother Lode, Glacier, and Erie. All of the mines are situated adjacent to a greenstone-limestone contact which defined the location of ore on Bonanza Ridge. Although Erie was not the largest or richest of the Kennecott Mines, it produced over 56,941 tons of ore and 8,565 tons of copper between 1901 and 1937, and largely supported operations as the rich ore bodies in the Bonanza and Jumbo mines began to slowly diminish during the late 1920s and 1930s. Erie Mine briefly reopened after new ore bodies were discovered in June 1937 but closed before the year’s end as the discoveries were not as rich as hoped. Electricity was cut on October 14, 1937 and the personnel and equipment were moved to Bonanza Mine. In October 1938, the Kennecott Copper Corporation closed all mining operations on Bonanza Ridge and no further work was done at Erie Mine thereafter. Although the Kennecott Mines were in operation for only a short period of time, they collectively produced over 4.6 million tons of ore valued at $200 million. Photo Gallery Yakutat coastal area14 Images Yakutat coastal area includes temperate rainforest, extensive coastline and beaches, glaciers, lakes, ponds and streams with Mount St. Elias looming nearby. Photo Gallery Past & Present12 Images Comparison of images past and present, similar to then and now repeat photography, of Kennecott, Chisana, Yakutat Bay, Nabesna Glacier, Chitina, McCarthy Road, Mt Wrangell, and Copper Center. Photo Gallery Ethel LeCount Historical Photo...25 Images Selections from the personal photo album of Ethel LeCount, a former nurse at the Kennecott Mill Town (1937-38) Photo Gallery Kennecott Engineering Drawings15 Images Detailed engineering drawings of Kennecott Mines and Mill Town created for the Historic American Engineering Record Photo Gallery NPS Passport Cancellation Stam...5 Images NPS Passport Cancellation Stamps for all park locations: Copper Center, Slana, Chitina, Kennecott and Yakutat. Photo Gallery Kennecott Mines National Histo...17 Images Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark is located within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. This landmark contains several copper ore mines and the mill town that was used to extract the copper from the ore. The Kennecott Corporation established and managed this area during the early 1900s. Photo Gallery Kennecott Mines National Histo...12 Images Images of the cultural landscapes within Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska Photo Gallery Kennecott Cemetery Cultural La...25 Images Images of the Kennecott Cemetery cultural landscape, within the Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska Photo Gallery Mammals of Wrangell-St. Elias5 Images Ranging from the enormous humpback whale in the ocean depths to the tiny pika living on mountaintops, Wrangell-St. Elias National park has a great diversity of mammal life. Photo Gallery Nugget Creek36 Images Images of the Nugget Creek cultural landscape, within the Kotsina-Kushulana Historic Mining District in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska Photo Gallery Mountains- Wrangell Mountains44 Images Lying entirely within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, this volcanic mountain range covers an area bigger than Connecticut! |
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Last updated: December 12, 2024