Places

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve is home to a vast array of special places, including McCarthy, Kennecott, Chisana, Chitina, Slana/Nabesna, Yakutat along the coast and a portion of the Valdez Trail in Copper Center (Headquarters). Many historic places within and around Wrangell-St. Elias allow us a nostalgic glimpse into the past, where people ventured into remote areas and endured the hardships of wilderness, wildlife and weather.

In addition, Wrangell-St. Elias is part of a World Heritage Site and an international treasure.

In the Shadow of Kennecott: The Forgotten Mining Camps of the Wrangell Mountain Region

by Geoff Bleakley, Park Historian (13 pages, pdf format, 1.7 MB)

Kennecott was one of the richest ore bodies ever discovered, and yielded most of the region's mineral wealth. However, significant exploration and mining development occurred elsewhere in the district at the Mother Lode on the east side of Bonanza Ridge; the Green Butte on McCarthy Creek; the Westover on a tributary of Dan Creek; and the Valdez on a tributary of the Kuskulana.

Community and Copper in a Wild Land

by Shawn Olsen & Ben Shaine (86 pages, pdf format 4.5 MB)

The town of McCarthy and the Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark are a center of human activity, residence and development within the vast mountains, valleys, and glaciers of Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve. Community and Copper in a Wild Land introduces the natural and cultural history of this unusual place. As a general introduction to its natural and cultural history, this book is intended to help those who visit McCarthy, Kennecott and Wrangell-St. Elias feel at home in these special places.