View source for Kobuk Valley National Park

{{short description|National park in Alaska, United States}}
{{Infobox Protected area
| name = Kobuk Valley National Park
| iucn_category = II
| photo = Kobuk Bendlova 235.jpg
| photo_caption = Meanders in the Kobuk River from the air
| map = Alaska#North America
| relief = 1
| map_caption = Location in Alaska##Location in North America
| map_width = 250
| location = [[Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska]], [[United States|USA]]
| nearest_city = [[Kotzebue, Alaska|Kotzebue]]
| coordinates = {{coord|67|33|N|159|17|W|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| area_acre = 1750716
| area_ref = <ref name="area">{{NPS area|year=2011|accessdate=2012-03-07}}</ref>
| established = December 2, 1980
| visitation_num = 17,616
| visitation_year = 2023
| visitation_ref = <ref>{{cite web |title=Annual Park Ranking Report for Recreation Visits in: 2023 |url=https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/SSRSReports/National%20Reports/Annual%20Park%20Ranking%20Report%20(1979%20-%20Last%20Calendar%20Year)|website=nps.gov |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=March 23, 2024 }}</ref>
| governing_body = [[National Park Service]]
| website = {{official url}}
}}

'''Kobuk Valley National Park''' is a [[List of national parks of the United States|national park of the United States]] in the [[Arctic]] region of northwestern [[Alaska]], located about {{convert|25|mi|km|0}} north of the [[Arctic Circle]]. The park was designated in 1980 by the [[Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act]] to preserve the {{convert|100|ft|m|abbr=on}} high Great Kobuk Sand Dunes<ref name=npskova2/> and the surrounding area which includes [[Porcupine caribou|caribou]] migration routes. Park visitors must bring all their own gear for backcountry camping, hiking, backpacking, boating, and [[Sled dog|dog sledding]]. No designated trails or roads exist in the park, which at {{convert|1,750,716|acre|sqmi km2|1}},<ref name="area"/> is slightly larger than the [[U.S. state|state]] of [[Delaware]].<ref>[https://www.census.gov/geo/reference/state-area.html "State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316004512/https://www.census.gov/geo/reference/state-area.html |date=2018-03-16 }}. ''census.gov''. [[United States Census Bureau]]. 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2018.</ref> Kobuk Valley is one of [[List of national parks of the United States|eight national parks]] in Alaska, the state with the second most national parks, surpassed only by [[California]] which has nine. The park is managed by the [[National Park Service]].

Since no roads lead into the park, visitors arrive via chartered air taxi from [[Nome, Alaska|Nome]], [[Bettles, Alaska|Bettles]], or [[Kotzebue, Alaska|Kotzebue]]. Flights are available year-round, but are weather-dependent. The park is one of the least-visited American national parks,<ref name="visits">{{NPS visitation|accessdate=2019-03-08}}</ref> along with others inaccessible by road, including the neighboring [[Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve|Gates of the Arctic]], [[Isle Royale National Park|Isle Royale]] in the middle of [[Lake Superior]], the [[Dry Tortugas National Park|Dry Tortugas]] at the end of the [[Florida Keys]], as well as [[Katmai National Park and Preserve|Katmai]] and [[Lake Clark National Park and Preserve|Lake Clark]] in southern Alaska.

==Geography==
The park is the center of a vast ecosystem between [[Selawik National Wildlife Refuge]] and the [[Noatak National Preserve]]. It is over {{convert|75|mi|km|0}} by river to the [[Chukchi Sea]]. The [[Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve]] lie {{convert|32|mi|km|0}} to the east. The park includes about {{convert|81000|acre|ha}} of lands owned by native corporations and the State of Alaska.<ref name=npsakso1>{{cite web|title=Cultural Resources of Kobuk Valley National Park|url=https://www.nps.gov/locations/alaska/index.htm|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=23 February 2013}}</ref>

The park consists of the broad wetlands valley of the [[Kobuk River]], which runs along the southern edge of the western [[Brooks Range]], which is known as the [[Baird Mountains]]. The boundary of the park runs along the height-of-land of the Baird Mountains in the north and the shorter [[Waring Mountains]] in the south that form a ring, defining and enclosing the Kobuk Valley. The middle two-thirds of the Kobuk River, from just above [[Kiana, Alaska|Kiana]] to just below [[Ambler, Alaska|Ambler]], is included in the park, as are several of its major tributaries such as the [[Salmon River (Kobuk)|Salmon River]] and the [[Hunt River (Alaska)|Hunt River]]. The valley floor is mainly covered by [[drift (geology)|glacial drift]].<ref name=npsakso1/> Much of the southern portion of the park, south of the Kobuk River, is managed as the Kobuk Valley Wilderness of {{convert|174545|acre|ha}}. The Selawik Wilderness lies to the south, in the adjoining Selawik National Wildlife Refuge.<ref name=wilderness1>{{cite web|title=Kobuk Valley Wilderness|url=http://www.wilderness.net/NWPS/wildView?WID=298|publisher=Wilderness.net|access-date=21 February 2013}}</ref>

[[File:KobukDunes.jpg|thumb|left|Kobuk Sand Dunes]]
Three sets of sand dune fields are located on the south side of the Kobuk River. The Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, Little Kobuk Sand Dunes and the Hunt River Dunes are remnants of dune fields that covered as many as {{convert|200000|acre|ha}} immediately after the retreat of Pleistocene glaciation. A combination of [[Outwash fan|outwash]] deposits from the glaciers and strong winds created the field, which is now mostly covered by forest and tundra. In present times, the active dune fields cover about {{convert|20500|acre|ha}}. The Great Kobuk Sand Dunes comprise the largest active Arctic dune field in North America.<ref name=npskova2>{{cite web|title=Sand and Glaciers|url=https://home.nps.gov/kova/learn/nature/sandglaciers.htm|work=Kobuk Valley National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=21 February 2013}}</ref> [[NASA]] has funded their study as an analog for Martian polar dunes.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Dinwiddie|title=Sand, Wind and Ice: Mars Analog Aeolian Studies at the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, Alaska|url=http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/dunes2010/pdf/2029.pdf|journal=Second International Planetary Dunes Workshop|date=May 2010|volume=1552 |page=21 |access-date=23 May 2015|bibcode=2010LPICo1552...21D|display-authors=etal}}</ref>

The park's headquarters are at the [[Northwest Arctic Heritage Center]] in [[Kotzebue, Alaska|Kotzebue]], about {{convert|100|mi|km}} west of the park on the Bering Sea coast.<ref name=npskova5>{{cite web|title=Operating Hours and Seasons|url=https://www.nps.gov/kova/planyourvisit/hours.htm|work=Kobuk Valley National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=21 February 2013}}</ref> Seasonal ranger stations are operated along the Kobuk River at Kallarichuk, at the west end of the park, and at Onion Portage at the east end of the park.<ref name=npskvamap1>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/kova/planyourvisit/maps.htm|title=Kobuk Valley National Park Map|publisher=National Park Service|website=nps.gov|access-date=October 16, 2018}}</ref> Offices and visitor services for [[Cape Krusenstern National Monument]] and [[Noatak National Preserve]] are in the same facility.<ref name=npscakr100>{{cite web|title=Operating Hours and Seasons|url=https://www.nps.gov/cakr/planyourvisit/hours.htm|work=Cape Krusenstern National Monument|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=21 February 2013}}</ref><ref name=npsnoat100>{{cite web|title=Operating Hours and Seasons|url=https://www.nps.gov/noat/planyourvisit/hours.htm|work=Noatak National Preserve|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=21 February 2013}}</ref><ref name=npskova12>{{cite web|title=Northwest Arctic Heritage Center, Kotzebue, Alaska|url=http://www.nps.gov/kova/parknews/nwahc.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130403043615/http://www.nps.gov/kova/parknews/nwahc.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 3, 2013|work=Kobuk Valley National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=21 February 2013}}</ref> The units are managed together as the [[Western Arctic National Parklands]], with a single Park Service superintendent in charge.<ref name=npskova101>{{cite web|last=Quinley|first=John|title=Superintendent Named for Western Arctic National Parklands|url=http://www.nps.gov/kova/parknews/new_superintendent.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429051936/http://www.nps.gov/kova/parknews/new_superintendent.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 29, 2014|work=Kobuk Valley National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=21 February 2013}}</ref>

==Climate==

According to the [[Köppen climate classification]] system, Kobuk Valley National Park has a [[Subarctic climate]] (''Dfc'') with cool summers and year around precipitation. ''Dfc'' climates are defined by their coldest month averaging below {{Convert|0|C}} , 1–3 months averaging above {{Convert|10|C}}, all months with average temperatures below {{Convert|22|C}}, and no significant precipitation difference between seasons. According to the [[United States Department of Agriculture]], the Plant [[Hardiness zone]] at Kallarichuck at {{Convert|13|ft}} elevation is 2a with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of {{Convert|-47.1|F}}.<ref name="USDA">{{cite web|url=https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/|publisher=[[United States Department of Agriculture]]|access-date=2019-07-12|title=USDA Interactive Plant Hardiness Map}}</ref>

Weather in the park is subject to extremes. Average low temperatures in January are {{convert|-8|F|C}}, and can reach nighttime lows of {{convert|-50|F|C}}. Summer temperatures average around {{convert|65|F|C}}, and can reach {{convert|85|F|C}}. Since the park is above the Arctic Circle, the sun does not set from June 3 to July 9, and the sun is visible for only {{frac|1|1|2}} hours on the winter solstice, with long periods of twilight on either side of sunrise and sunset. As is the case over all of northern Alaska, the [[aurora borealis]] is often visible on winter nights when solar activity is high. Snow can happen at any time of the year. Wind and rain are common in summer.<ref name=npskova7>{{cite web|title=Weather|url=https://www.nps.gov/kova/planyourvisit/weather.htm|work=Kobuk Valley National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=21 February 2013}}</ref>

==Ecology==
The park lies in a transition zone between [[boreal forest]] and [[tundra]].<ref name=npsakso1/>

[[File:Swimming the Kobuk (8510280141).jpg|thumb|Caribou swimming across the Kobuk River]]
The fish and wildlife in the park are typical of arctic and subarctic fauna. The major economic species are [[Porcupine caribou|caribou]], [[Alaska moose|moose]], and fish species such as [[salmon]] and [[sheefish]].<ref name=npsakso1/> The most visible animals are the 400,000 caribou of the Western Arctic herd. The herd migrates annually between their winter breeding grounds, south of the Waring Mountains, and their summer calving grounds, north of the Baird Mountains. The herd's annual crossing of the Kobuk River is central to the [[Inupiaq]] people's subsistence hunting.<ref name=npskova3>{{cite web|title=National Historic Landmarks|url=http://www.nps.gov/kova/historyculture/nhl.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061012130109/http://www.nps.gov/kova/historyculture/nhl.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 12, 2006|work=Kobuk Valley National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=21 February 2013}}</ref> Large mammals in the park include [[Alaskan tundra wolf|wolf]] packs, [[Arctic fox|Arctic]] and [[red fox]]es, caribou, and moose. [[American black bear|Black bears]], [[Grizzly bear|brown bear]]s, [[North American beaver|beaver]]s, [[North American river otter|river otter]]s, [[Canada lynx|Canadian lynx]]es, and [[Dall sheep]] exist in the park as well. Smaller mammals include [[wolverine]]s, [[American marten|marten]]s, [[American mink|mink]]s, [[North American porcupine|porcupines]], [[muskrat]]s, [[snowshoe hare]]s, and a variety of [[vole]]s.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080210142327/http://www.nps.gov/kova/naturescience/upload/KOVA_mammals.pdf KOVA mammals] </ref> Fish species include [[chinook salmon|chinook]], [[chum salmon|chum]], [[pink salmon|pink]], and [[sockeye salmon]], with other salmonids including [[Dolly Varden trout|Dolly Varden]], [[Arctic char]], [[lake trout]], and [[Arctic grayling]]. Other species include [[burbot]], [[Arctic lamprey]], [[round whitefish|round]], [[broad whitefish|broad]] and [[humpback whitefish|humpback]] whitefish, and [[pond smelt|pond]] and [[rainbow smelt|rainbow]] smelt.<ref name=npskova9>{{cite web|title=Fish Species of Kobuk Valley National Park|url=https://home.nps.gov/kova/learn/nature/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=154418|work=Kobuk Valley National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=21 February 2013}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Giddings Cabin and Cache.jpg|thumb|Archeologist [[J. Louis Giddings]]' backcountry cabin and cache in the [[Onion Portage Archeological District]]]]
Human habitation in Kobuk Valley is believed to extend back at least 12,500 years. The present inhabitants of the valley are the [[Inupiat people]], who subsist on hunting and fishing in the region.<ref name=npskovagmp1>{{cite web|title=Kobuk Valley National Park General Management Plan|url=https://home.nps.gov/kova/learn/management/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=137107|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=21 February 2013|page=3|year=1986}}</ref> The [[Onion Portage Archeological District]] is a [[National Historic Landmark]] district at the east end of the Kobuk River's course through the park. The site, strategically located at a major caribou river crossing, documents nine cultural complexes spanning from 8,000&ndash;6,000 BC to about 1000&ndash;1700 AD.<ref name=npskova3/> The site is an [[inholding]] of the [[NANA Regional Corporation]], an Alaskan native corporation with rights in the park.<ref name=npsakso1/>

The first human inhabitants of the Kobuk Valley were people of the [[Paleo-Arctic tradition]], who hunted caribou at Onion Portage.  The region was apparently deserted for about 2,000 years until people of the [[Archaic period in North America|Archaic tradition]] appeared in the valley from the south and east. By about 4,000 years before the present, people of the [[Arctic Small Tool tradition]] arrived, but departed between 1,500 and 1,000 years ago, again leaving the valley unoccupied. New people arrived by about 1200 AD, as documented by the Ahteut site {{convert|25|mi|km}} downriver from Onion Portage. People remained in the valley until the mid-19th century, when the caribou population declined and people moved closer to the coast. These people were the Akunirmiut and Kuuvaum Kangiamirnuit. One of their villages was located in the present park at the mouth of the Hunt River. Their descendants, now known as the Kuuvangmiit, have mostly moved out of park lands.<ref name=npsakso1/>

About 32 prospectors' camps were established during a short gold rush in 1899&ndash;1900. Surveys have not yet located them, although debris associated with the miners' boats has been found.<ref name=npsakso1/>

Kobuk Valley National Park was established as one of fifteen new [[National Park Service]] properties established by the [[Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act]] (ANILCA) of 1980. It was first declared a [[national monument (United States)|national monument]] by President [[Jimmy Carter]] on December 1, 1978, using his authority under the [[Antiquities Act]] when Congressional negotiations on the proposed ANILCA bill were stalled. ANILCA was finally passed in 1980, and signed by Carter on December 2, 1980. Unlike many Park Service units in Alaska, Kobuk Valley is entirely national park land, with only subsistence hunting by local residents permitted. No part of the park is designated as a [[national preserve]], which would allow sport hunting.<ref name=npskova1>{{cite web|title=Management|url=https://www.nps.gov/kova/learn/management/index.htm|work=Kobuk Valley National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=21 February 2013}}</ref><ref name=npskova6>{{cite web|title=Things to Know Before You Come|url=https://www.nps.gov/kova/planyourvisit/things2know.htm|work=Kobuk Valley National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=21 February 2013}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of national parks of the United States]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage}}
{{Commons category|Kobuk Valley National Park}}
* {{Official website}} of the National Park Service
* [https://www.nps.gov/locations/alaska/index.htm Cultural Resources of Kobuk Valley National Park] (archive) - National Park Service Alaska Regional Office

{{National parks of the United States}}
{{Protected Areas of Alaska}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Kobuk Valley National Park| ]]
[[Category:ANILCA establishments]]