Nature
Denali National Park and Preserve protects more than 6 million acres of Interior Alaska centered on Denali, North America’s highest mountain, whose enormous vertical rise and harsh weather dominate the landscape. Its terrain ranges from taiga forest to tundra, glaciers, and bare rock, and the wider region shows human presence going back over 11,000 years, later especially among the Koyukon, Tanana, and Dena’ina peoples. The park grew from an early twentieth-century conservation campaign, beginning as Mount McKinley National Park in 1917 and taking its present form in 1980. Road, rail, and visitor access expanded over time, while debates over hunting, access, and the mountain’s name continued.
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Cantwell, Alaska · United States
