UNTAMED

ALASKA

Pli()l()j^ra|)li\l)\

Slew and \()i;i Kauliuaii

Iiilrodiiciioii In

Mallard

I..

Munc

ISBN 0-934738-28-9

For

Mount McKinley rising in the pink

alpenglow of dawn symbolizes the Alaskan
some,

brown bear raking

wilderness; for others, a

salmon from an icy river embodies the power of this

region. But the essence of the wilderness is also in
the

the dew clingFrom windswept dunes on

down of a tundra swan cygnet and

ing to a willow catkin.

Nunivak Island

to

luminous

UNTAMED ALASKA
and splendor of

this

ice caves in

Glacier Bay,

depicts the variety

\'ividly

rugged land.

The photographers,

Yogi

Kaufman and

his

son Steve, have explored Alaska's backcountry for

twelve years and from

many

angles. Steve recorded

a volcanic eruption from a seaplane, flying between

engine -choking dust clouds for a view. Yogi

tilted his

windy cliff in pursuit of a tufted puffin.

For three days both men followed a pair of snowy
owls to find their nest, and took turns photographing
from their vantage point, belly down in numbingly
tripod over a

cold water.

UNTAMED ALASKA'S images capture the

eerie-green northern lights shimmering below the
Big Dipper and the glaring red eyes of a loon nesting
on the Yukon Delta. They show the texture of braided
glacial melt patterns and of walrus lounging on rocks,
their

white tusks piercing a coastal

fog.

Arranged in six sections, the photographs

move from Denali National Park to the southeast
Panhandle, south-central Alaska, the Yukon Delta,

Nunivak and the

and beyond the

Pribilof Islands,

A brief essay accompanies each section

Arctic Circle.

and provides a context in which

view the Alaskan

to

wild.
In her introduction, writer
ist

Margaret

E.

Murie

recollects with affection her

childhood in frontier Alaska, a

drawn

and conservationterritory

sleighs, river steamers, ar

games. Her

lively

anecdotes reveal

t.

of horse-

midnight

'

ball

kind of humor

and determination people needed to settle in

challenging land. Reflecting on the wilderness

this

trea-

sure she took for granted as a child, she expresses

her hope that

its

future will be secure.

The remarkably evocative images and text in

UNTAMED ALASKA make this book a unique
tribute to the last great

American wilderness.

(COVER) ALPENGLOW AT D^WN.

MOUNT MCKINLEY

THOMASSON-GRANT

MOU,

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MCKINLEY FROM WONDER LAKE

BULL MOOSE. KENAl PENINSULA

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KimWAKES AND COMMON MURRES, CAPE NEWENHAM

'CFBERG,

ENDICOTT ARM

BRAIDED GLACIAL MELT PATTERNS, POLYCHROME PASS

Published by Thomasson-Grant,

Inc.,

Frank L.Thomasson and John E Grant, Directors

Designed by
Edited by Elizabeth L.T

Pam Castaldi

Brown and Carolyn M. Clark

1987 by Thomasson-Grant, Inc. All rights reserved.

1987 by photographers as attributed on page 128.
Introduction copyright 1987 by Margaret E. Murie.

Copyright

Photographs copyright

This book, or any portions thereof,

may

not be reproduced in any

form without written permission of the publisher, Thomasson-Grant,

Library of Congress catalog

number

Inc.

87- 50137

ISBN 0-934738-28-9
and bound in Japan by Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.
Any inquiries should be directed to the publisher, Thomasson-Grant,
Printed

505 Faulconer Drive, Suite IC,

Charlottesville.Virginia 22901, telephone (804) 977-1780.

IHC )M ASSON-GR ANT

Inc.,

UNTAMED

ALASKA

Ph()t()grai)h\ h\' Steve

and Yo^;!

Kaiitinaii

Inlrodurtioii bvMart^^arct K. Miiric

12

BROWN

BEAR.

ALASKA PENINSULA

Whenever
the

on my home country Alaska, always find

give a lecture

first difficulty is

communicating a sense of

its size.

can say to

my audience that Alaska's area is 586,000 square miles, larger than

Norway Sweden, and Finland combined;
that

its

Rhode

lakes cover
Island.

their native
I

can say that

contrast in climate

has

major

six

rivers

one of its glaciers is larger than

which

am

crossed, west to east,

is

glad have

all

kept

by three great mountain chains,

in the world,

98 above in summer!

in the winter to

Anchorage are the farms of the famous Matanuska Valley with

tions in the world flourish in the Bristol

largest fishing

opera-

Bay region and on through the Aleutians

Island, site of the second-ranking fishing port

Fishing continues

for the

very wet coast, the dry Interior. Fairbanks, in the middle

huge strawberries and 30-pound cabbages. Some of the

Kodiak

34,000 miles long;

and the Alaska and Brooks Ranges. This accounts

the

Just north of

to

that

is

has one of the greatest temperature ranges of any place

from 60 below

their

it

shoreline

names: Yukon, Noatak, Kobuk, Kuskokwim, Tanana, and Koyukuk.

can add that Alaska

state,

its

an estimated 60 million acres;

the coastal mountains

of the

that

under the American

flag.

on southward through Prince William Sound and down the

southeast coast to the great forests. There are also broad interior valleys, at least
three still-active volcanoes,

and hundreds of

islands

the

Pribilofs, the Aleutians,

and those of the Alexander Archipelago.

And when I have said all that, still don't know what kind of picture lodges
minds of my audience. In 1908, Ella Higginson said, "No writer has ever
I

in the

described Alaska; no writer ever

The photographs

in this

will.

"

book

now what she meant.

realize

will give

you an idea of the natural beauty

The joyous fact is that nearly all of the species

present when the white man came are still here, still in their age-old habitats. The
natives who were here in 1741 when Bering discovered that Alaska was entirely
For this we can be
separate from Asia lived in the wilderness without destroying
and amazing wildlife

in

our 49th

state.

it.

eternally grateful.

We

can also be grateful for the wisdom and foresight of William H. Seward,

and the courage of Andrew Johnson,

secretary o{ state,
president.

Thanks

needed money

to

for

that

them, Alaska was purchased from Russia

European

wars. Apparently the Russians

much-maligned

in

1867 (The aar

felt

that they

had

already obtained most of Alaska's treasures in the pelts of sea otters

and

But we cannot be proud of the next few years

Congress and

most of the people seemed

all

engaged

in

lamenting

its

the Bureau of Education,

to

in the state's history.

fur seals.

who remembered it at
its worth. The Na\7. the Army

have forgotten Alaska. Those

purchase and decrying

and the

collector of

and haphazard manner what might be called

customs comprised

in a restricted

temporary government.

It

took years

1}

of agitation before Congress finally passed the Organic Act providing a

ernment

tragedies

and

was not granted

until 1959.

and dreadful

frustrations

gov-

by President Chester A. Arthur on May

for Alaska, signed into law

1884. Statehood

civil

And

in those intervening years

17,

were

toward the native people. There

injustices

was also the influx of white men looking for gold and fur, pouring into the Canadian

"The joyous fact

is

that

Klondike in 1897 By 1900, they had reached the sands of Nome, by 1902, the

nearly all of the species

creeks around Fairbanks.

when the white

man came are still here,

When my

present

still

in their

habitats."

age-old

well established.

family

The

moved

to Fairbanks in 1911, the federal

had been divided

Territory

for

government was

governmental purposes into

four judicial divisions, each with a district judge, U.S. marshal, and land office.
Fairbanks, with a population of about 5,000, was the center of the Fourth Division;

my

stepfather

was an

assistant district attorney

Reaching

to the Arctic coast, the

Fourth Division covered 220,000 square miles!

Here

middle of

in the

this

enormous land was a

little,

booming com-

busy,

munity where mining and trapping were the bases of life. If a miner had a prospect
but no funds for food and tools to continue searching, a merchant grubstaked him.
If

the miner "struck

in the mine.

it,"

the merchant was repaid and typically had a future interest

And there were usually some lawyers mixed up in all this,

Fairbanks had both a grabbing,

of the "Outside" way of

tures.

and

Front Street

in the very

on

life. It

the river

town have

some
cul-

four- or five-block length,

its

make nine -year-olds question, "Why does that

board fence around

and

a regular routine,

it?"

the pattern for the town

all

kinds of social

life

and

and the

Wash day was Monday

First

difficulties

its

homes. Steady

school, library, church

a definite project for each day helped.

against the isolation, the cold,

sleigh

a striving for

middle of town, only two blocks from the federal courthouse, was

contact with other people through

tell

manner and

had 23 saloons along

The respectable women set

to

frontier

was torn between the "improper" and "proper"

the red-light district something to

part of

lusty,

too.

It

was

their

bulwark

of housekeeping.

the yellow card went

up in the kitchen window

"Fred the Waterman" to bring in extra buckets from his great

wooden

tank-

drawn by two huge grey horses. We children were warned to stay in the living

room by the stove so we would not catch a chill while he carried in all that water and
poured

it

kitchen range to heat water in the copper wash boiler,

the stove, put the

washboard

melted

wash

it

Then Mother stoked the

set up washtubs in front of

into the big barrel in the corner of the kitchen.

for the

the clothes

had

to

water.

in place, cut the Fels-Naphtha

And when

all

the scrubbing

be hung on lines fastened under the

outdoors was impossible;

it

were happiness compared

would

to

freeze immediately

soap into shavings, and

and

rinsing were done,

ceiling, for

The

hanging laundry

other days of the

week

Monday.

Alaska then was the dancingest place in the world, I think. There were dances

14

every

week and many

satin, lace,

crepe de Chine, and correct dark

would dance

Model Cafe

all

Eagles,

Odd

the

suits,

Then

for breakfast.

to

and go

tire),

to the

they would go home, change clothes, and go to

Masons, Moose, Pioneers of Alaska, Arctic Brotherhood,

Yes, the

and Elk certainly kept

Fellows,

lodges. In

women and men of Fairbanks

seemed

night (Billy Root's orchestra never

church or to work.

on by the

special balls with midnight suppers put

social

life

sparkling.

"The people of Alaska

we were few in comparison to adults, since that frontier

population was largely made up of unattached men, and so we were pampered. On
Saturdays we were all over town, going on errands and racing our Huskies hitched
As

to

little

for us children,

coaster sleds.

We took for granted the jovial greetings, the help in untangling

harnesses, the 50-cent pieces (a quarter

into

was the smallest coin

our town) thrust

in

an atmosphere of tolerance and

in

hold in town had some miner or trapper friend

the family

They came

there for Thanksgiving

in

from the creeks

love.

think nearly every house-

who became

game

a sort of

for part of the winter

way

of life. Cold

and dark could not

defeat them. It was not
easy to ^et into that
it

was not

easy to get out of it."

member of

and were always

with berry picking, gardening, and trips on the river or

out to the creeks to visit miner friends and watch them work.

on

berant

own exu-

and Christmas and what Santa Clauses they were!

Summer was busy

the big parade

their

country

our palms: "Here, go buy yourself some candy."

We lived

made

the longest day of the year

in that never-failing,

warm

sunlight.

and the big

And yes,

And always there was

event, a midnight ball

must be honest,

suppose

there were mosquitoes, too!

Like every Alaskan

town

in those days, Fairbanks

had

citizens of a variety

now look back on with fascination as well as affection. The love of adventure,
the craving for gold, hard times or dull lives in their home place, whatever the circumstances which brought people to the country, they were such that we had every
that

kind from dukes to roustabouts, a wealth of nationalities, professions, and

were treated

alike

and with

knew about the"Blue

for better or

Parka

worse earned some

Man" who was a

berry Kid "who was so fond of that berry, and the "Seventy-Mile Kid
to

guide Archdeacon Stuck on the

earliest ascent

of

The

Frank"

who

fiery editor of

thief,

in-

the" Blue-

"who later was

Mount McKinley s south peak

and afterward become the first superintendent of Denali National

Em-Up

All

a great deal of humor.

Those who distinguished themselves

teresting nicknames.

skills.

Park.

knew "Eat-

ran a roadhouse and always thus announced meal time.

our

local

newspaper was lame and known

as "Step-and-a-

Half Thompson."
I

think nearly every

little

town had

group. All of the churches had choirs.

its

orchestra,

The people

of Alaska

uberant way of life. Cold and dark could not defeat them.
that country

it

was not easy to get out of it.

Surely,

dance band, and theatre

It

made

their

own

was not easy to get

ex-

into

when people reached whatever

promising creek they chose and built there some kind of settlement, they could

IS

well begin to create a livable

I

grew up in the Fairbanks of $18-an-ounce gold, of river steamers in summer

and horse-drawn
dence.

all

sleighs

and dog teams

in winter,

and of tolerance of interdepen-

We needed one another. The big world was far away.

But

grew up in the Fairhanks of $18' an- ounce

and lovable community.

it

was coming

closer. In

the middle of the morning

the town's whistles suddenly started blowing. Immediately an

"J

on March

12, 1914,

impromptu parade

formed down Front Street. The Alaska railroad bill had passed; James Wickersham,
one delegate

had triumphed. Highways were

to Congress,

gold, of river steamers

Alaska's

summer and horsedrawn sleighs and dog

teams in winter, and of

but a railroad in the meantime would open both the Healy River coal deposits and

tolerance of interdepen-

terminus, 470 miles from the sea.

in

dence.

Alaska to the world. In

the construction campsite of Anchorage

became

headquarters for the ambitious enterprise to link Seward to Fairbanks, the northern

We needed one

another."

1917,

far into the future,

History
ture.

A new era for Alaska had begun.

always a tale of inexorable changes, for

is

man is such a restless crea-

Fairbanks went from the prerailroad, prehighway, $18-gold period to a depres-

War

sion during World

machinery. World

I.

Then came big mining companies with dredges and heavy

War 11 brought the military establishment.

inaeased, for the airplane had

Alaska in

and

tures
years,

many ways,

activities.

Later travel

made the entire state knowable.

was ready for the changes, eager for new ven-

think,

Yet Alaskans also cherished the independent spirit of the early

and much of

endures to

it

this day.

On the Arctic coast the

adopted many of the habits imposed on them by the white

sist

on

and tourism

the land, fishing

and hunting whales, polar

race,

Eskimos have

but they

bears, caribou, seals,

still

and

sub-

birds.

Prudhoe Bay and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline are only 50 miles west of the boundary
of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,

home

of a 180,000-head caribou herd as

many other mammal and arctic bird species. Millions of migratory waterfowl
are protected in the deltas of the Yukon and Kuskokwim with the concerned cooperation of that region's natives. The largest of our national forests, the T^ngass, is now
being studied to determine how much logging is too much. Southwest of the "big
well as

city"

Anchorage

is

the Kenai Peninsula with

which have been pumping away

for

its

about 30

moose refuge and

offshore

oil rigs

years.

But overriding all of these manmade triumphs and concerns, we must always

remember the "Great Country" and

The Kobuk sand dunes,

the still-victorious power of the land

the untouched Noatak River Valley

Glacier Bay, Lake Clark, T)giak Refuge,

the Alaska Lands Act of 1980. This

history, established 10

the WrangeU- Saint

Elias,

is

16

preserves,

now

protected under

and parks (one of which,

the largest national park in the United States), 9

and

scenic rivers

a marvelous providential fact that, of

parks, wildlife refuges,

are

Cape Krusenstem,

one of the most important events in Alaska's

new national monuments,

national wildlife refuges, 25 wild

It is

act,

and many more

itself.

and wild

rivers,

altogether
all

new

105 million acres.

the areas chosen for national

none holds minerals,

oil,

or timber to any

tempting degree. Thus we can be fairly sure that those 105 million acres will be there
unspoiled into the future

if

they are given the kind of loving care which they deserve.

Forty-nine conservation organizations are active in Alaska today; their

people from every occupation. They are proud to

Meeker said

in a 1975 talk

by accident.

It isn't

he gave

in

easy to get here,

live in

Alaska.

members are

As my

friend Joe

Anchorage, "Very few people come to Alaska

and it isn't easy to stay Strong values and beliefs

are necessary simply to justify one's presence in this part of the world."

Granted that industry

resources have

The one

is

here to

stay,

when

all

from

industry, aside

and self-perpetuating

for

fishing,

which can be most

left for

Alaska?

lucrative, nondestructive,

time a commodity in short supply in other world

all

markets the industry of simply letting people come, look, and enjoy!
I

have talked to

many

ing for a variety of things: vastness, magnificence, mountains, glaciers, great trees,

whales, seals, birds, and other wildlife.

Alaska, an informality of

They

happy and

life,

are also searching for glimpses of old

enthusiastic people.

seers in Fairbanks stopping to look at a garden,

all

the

rest,

and

talk

watched some

sight-

admire the cabbages, the peas, and

with the white-haired old-timer working in

it.

nature They are fortunate, perhaps.

those of us

otherwise,

something

Alaska and discovered that they are search-

tourists in

may be people

who feel no need for

the nonrenewable natural

been dug up, piped away, or cut down, what will be

"There

These are things

unless

who feel
who feel
is

missing

we can

hike across

land disturbed only by

our footsteps or see creatures

they

roaming freely as
have always done,

surely there should

be a wilderness.'

remember,

travelers will

Today

people are always fascinated by people.

home mental images of rich and free and innoBut will people 50 years from now be able to find, observe, and

visitors to

cent wild creatures.

for

Alaska take

photograph birds and animals in their natural world

you

in this

book? Thanks

to that

still

were taken

pleasures were free,

There may be people who

haps. But for those of us

we can

one another

that

think they

will,

but

feel

no need

grew up with

in a

Is

time

when great space and wilderness

They can be taken for granted no

for granted?

in this huge, indescribable "Last Treasure."

that tolerance, that caring for

when so many treasures and

Kaufmans have done for

Alaska Lands Act of 1980,

wonder about the forces now at work

there

as the

longer.

for nature. TTiey are fortunate, per-

who feel otherwise, who feel something

is

missing unless

hike across land disturbed only by our footsteps or see creatures roaming

freely as they

other than

have always done, surely there should

man

have

rights, too.

materialistic civilization,

Having furnished

our neon-lit
on?

existence, have the right to live

to the wilderness this right?

society,

economy and

This

is

submit that

happy

life

all

be a wilderness. Species

the requisites of our proud,

does nature, which

is

the basis for our

Do we have enough reverence for life to concede

if

nonrenewable resources are gone, Alaska

healthy

still

for her

our answer

will

still

is

"yes," then,

when

all

the

have one which can support a

people for

all

But for

time.

my hope and my prayer.

Margaret E. Murie

17

still

18

FIRST SNOWFALL, DENALI NATIONAL PARK

AND PRESERVE

.rj^^^mt^

19

20

MOON RISE OVER MOUNT BROOKS

At

the turn of the 20th century, gold

Although

source, nor
Still

was not the

it

was

to

it

drew thousands to Alaska.

be the

last, its

appeal was undeniable.

some noticed other attractions. As Robert Service

There's gold,

So much

haunting and haunting;

as of old;

as just finding the gold.

the great, big, broad land 'way

It's

up yonder.

the forests where silence has lease;

It's

the beauty that

It's

wrote:

the gold that I'm wanting

isn't

it

it's

me on

luring

It's

Yet

and

valuable natural re-

territory's first

thrills

the stillness that

It's

me with wonder.
me with peace.

fills

Increasingly in recent years, the Alaskan wilderness has

a resource in

panned

its

own

when President Jimmy Carter signed

Lands Conservation Act

set aside in

and

perhaps more precious than

all

as

the nuggets ever

in the states icy creeks.

Since 1980,
Interest

right,

been recognized

new or expanded

Of

wildlife refuges.

into law,

some

national parks,

the Alaska National

105 million acres have been

monuments,

forests, preserves,

those acres, over half are designated as Wilder-

ness where, according to the Wilderness Act of 1964, "the earth

community of life

are

and

untrammeled by man, where man himself is a

its

visitor

who does not remain."

The quantity of these holdings is both staggering and misleading, lb
survive Alaska's long winters, a single

of land; a single

300 square
States,

but

miles.
its

brown bear on
Alaska

short

may be

summers

moose may forage over 25

to 100 acres

may range

over 100 to

the Arctic Slope

one-fifth the size of the lower

48 United

so limit vegetative growth that the land sup-

ports only a fraction of the wildlife that could live

on the same acreage

further south.

Located in the Alaska Range, Denali National Park and Preserve

covers 6 million acres

and

is

capable of sustaining entire ecosystems.

McKinley dominates the landscape.

Denali, "the great one,"

and

America's highest mountain,

in

summer
above

so strongly

Athapaskan

20,320 feet make

tall

enough

to create

tribes called

it

Mount McKinley North

its

own

weather.

Though

clouds shroud the twin peaks almost two days in three, the

Athapaskans believed
rises

its

Early

Mount

its

it

was the home of the sun.

No mountain on

earth

surroundings so precipitously, and no landmark in the state

embodies the grandeur of what the Aleuts

called Alashka

"the great land."

21

22

MOUNT MCKINLEY

23

24

(ABWE AND

LEFTI [KLL SHEER DENALI B\RK

2S

26

DALL SHEER DENALI PARK

28

TUNDRA POND;

(RIGHT) BEAVER. DENALI I^RK

.ycj

>

/v

29

30

ALASKA RANGE, DENALI HIGHWAY

1.

32

(ABOVE

AND

RIGHT) CARIBOU DENALI I^RK

t^l

33

34

WRANGELL MOUNTAINS, WRANGELL- SAINT ELIAS NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE

/W

^k

^/

^k/

hen Secretary of

State William H.

Czar Alexander Us failing colony

T dubbed Alaska "Seward's

Ice Box."

Seward purchased

in 1867, a skeptical press

Few would

claim that at

two cents an acre the czar got the best of the bargain, but some misconceptions persist. Despite
is

green

of the

at least half

its

image as a land of

and snow, much of Alaska

of the year; glaciers cover only about three percent

Because high precipitation

state.

ice

is

as essential to glaciers as

low

temperatures, most are located not in the far north, but rather in the rainy
south-central

and southeast regions.

Exploring Glacier Bay in 1879, John Muir wrote, "Here, too, one
learns that the world,

morning of

though made,

creation." Glaciers build

is

yet being

made;

on mountain

that this

is still

where countless

slopes,

heavy snowfalls become compacted in masses so dense that prismatic

deep

crystals reflect light as a

land

like rivers

towards the

grinding advance.

Where

Most Alaskan

"glacier blue."

sea, glaciers

Drawn by

carve

the

ice

gravity across the

U-shaped

valleys in their

tidewater glaciers retreat, inlets form.

glaciers never reach the sea.

Among

the debris at the

faces of those that do, like the 16 tidewater glaciers of Glacier Bay, are

microscopic plants and animals attracting fish and sea birds. Harbor
sea otters, porpoises,

seals,

and whales feed in the cold waters. Some of the makings

of this glacial world are dramatic, as glaciers calve icebergs into the water
so loudly that the Indians called the area

more

"Thunder

Bay."

Others are much

subtle.

After a glacier recedes, mosses and lichen work on the rubble that
remains, turning

it

into

new

soil.

Over the course of 20

small tundra plants, then alder, willow,

some 100

years,

to

30

and cottonwood take

years, first
over. After

western hemlock and Sitka spruce reclaim the land until

another glacier advances over them.

The lofty trees of the coastal rain forests

are but part of an endlessly rhythmical process that begins with the falling

of snow.

36

MELT VWTER POND. MALASPINA GLACIER

37

38

HUBBARD GLACIER, WRANGELL- SAINT ELIAS NAHONAL PARK AND PRESERVE

40

HUBBARD GLACIER;

(RIGHT) AERIAL VIEW

OF BARNARD GLACIER

41

42

MUIR GLACIER, RIGHT)

I

ICE CAVE, GLACIER BAY

43

44

OUTER COAST, GLACIER

BAY NATIONAL R\RK

AND PRESERVE

45

46

(ABOVE

AND

RIGHT) FORDS TERROR WILDERNESS

:^:**i*-

...V

48

HUMPBACK WHALE. CHATHAM STRAIT

49

The
quakes.
forces

geological forces that created the magnificent Alaska

way

inevitable.

the tectonic plates that

up

the earth's thin crust grind past one another, the earth

at

the molten matter

upon which

to the surface, volcanoes erupt.

boundaries of two tectonic

which

feet

power of a land which,

capable of running

up

ash.
to

for all

Because

at their backs; others attach

walk.

Campers

to

are

and food

interpret

its

warned not

makes up the

it

to chase

brown bear

roots

to

can be

and

Of all Alaskan

we who intrude

50

keep the

to pitch their tents near berry patches,

bear

wander within the 50-yard

at

them

as

an offer

to charge,

now

and

species, the Interior's grizzly

nor

diet;

fishing

and the

considered Vrsus arctos distinguished

the grizzly consumes fewer fish

and hunting

was part of the

and

grizzly's

squirrels to killing larger

animals, an often hazardous, futile undertaking. Near

respect.

try to

animal

bear's "critical space," they are advised not to

are both

fight,

and explode

fatal to startle a large

berries. Despite the horribilis that

often than

typifies the

"bear bells" to their packs or sing as they

be separate

name, brown bears prefer

more

valley

them by running.

primarily by their location

more

it

beauty, can tremble

caches. If they inadvertently

Once thought
coastal

its

attempts to get a better look

encourage

though seldom

brown bear

the

35 miles per hour, some hikers

wind

radius which

active,

of ash.

shower of volcanic

trails,

plates, seismic activity

40 square miles of

in 1912 buried

More than any other Alaskan mammal,

in a

drift,

On the Alaska Peninsula are more than one-tenth of the world's

so violently as Katmai,

latent

these plates

Because Alaska's southern

known volcanoes; some of these are unquestionably

under 600

make

still

coastline lies along the

is

As

in Alaska.

are

When magma,

its

work

Range

humans, they

flee

but they are unpredictable, warranting cautious

animals, the

in the wilderness.

brown bear most reminds us

that

it is

II

L-

mu SHEEP KENAI PENINSULA

SI

52

COW MOOSE.

KENAl PENINSULA

53

54

MARCH

1986

ERUPTION; (RIGHT)

DOME FORMING BEFORE AUGUST 1986 ERUPTION, AUGUSTINE VOLCANO

55

56

AUGUSTINE ISLAND

57

58

BROWN

BEARS. MCNEIL RIVER

59

60

(ABOVE

AND RIGHT) BROWN BEARS WITH SALMON, ALASKA PENINSULA

61

62

LOW TIDE, MCNEIL RIVER

63

64

BALD EAGLES. KENAl PENINSULA

65

66

WALRUS, TOGIAK NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

Each

year thousands of walrus clamber

upon

ice floes

with the

help of their heavy ivory tusks, feed on clams dredged from

the bottom of the sea,

mer in

the southern Bering Sea. For

and swim along Alaska's

many other species,

in

coast to

sum-

an environment

of limited resources and dramatic seasonal changes, migration

is

also

essential to survival.

Over 20,000

years ago the Asiatic ancestors of Alaska's Indians

followed migrating herds across the land bridge over the Bering Sea into
Alaska. Traditionally the welfare of native Alaskans has been linked to the

waxing and waning of animal populations; elderly Yup'ik Eskimos

Yukon

Delta, the water-logged flatland

Rivers, recall times

to eat boiled
still

when

between the Yukon and Kuskokwim

and

the hunting was bad

mice and the leather of

in the

their

starvation drove

mukluks. Birds and

play an important role in the lives of Alaskans.

Under

them

mammals

the terms of the

Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, the native inhabitants of small
villages

in other

throughout the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge,

Alaskan

wildlife refuges, continue to trap, fish, hunt,

eggs, maintaining their traditional

and ponds of the Yukon

those

and gather

way of life.

During the summer, some 170 migratory bird species

rivers

like

flock to the

Delta. All of the world's cackling

Canada

geese, smaller than their better-known cousins, with a shriller, brittle

and 90 percent of

its

bristle -thighed

mosquitoes. Black scoters and

brant, spectacled eider
river delta with

as far

away

and

curlews nest here

common

loons,

long-tailed jaegers,

among

call,

clouds of

emperor geese and black

all

share the nation's largest

moose, wolves, beaver, and muskrats. The birds come from

as the southern coast of Chile, adding their cries to the

honking

of geese that signals the end of the long, dark winter to the Eskimos of the

Yukon

Delta.

67

68

COMMON

MURRES. TOGIAK BAY

69

70

(LEFTl

WALRUS CAPE NEWENHAM UALRUS, CAPE PEIRCE

71

72

YUKON DELTA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

7}

74

CACKLING

CANAm GEESE, YUKON DELTA

75

76

AERIAL VIEW; (RIGHT) BLACK BRANT, YUKON

L^iLLTA

77

78

(LEFT)

RED-THRmTED LOON. COMMON LOON. YUKON DELTA

79

80

SPECTACLED EIDER, YUKON DELTA

81

82

(ABOVE

AND

RIGHT)

TUNDRA SWANS, YUKON DELTA

83

84

TUTAKOKE RIVER
SUNSET AT MIDNIGHT ON THE SUMMER SOLSTICE,

85

Lured

by the Bering

Sea's protein-rich waters, millions of

migratory sea birds jostle for perches and lay their eggs on

rocky ledges in the

the rookeries
to

where the world s

herd of northern fur

largest

mate and bear young, each returning

Squawking birds and bawling

seals

across these fog-bound islands

in

of the Pribilof Islands. Below are

cliffs

yearly to the place of

seem

to

its

own birth.

winds

as intrinsic as the

that

blow

300 miles from the Alaska mainland. But

an environment where loud noises can panic an entire bird

them

seals gathers

knock hundreds of eggs and new chicks

colony, causing

into the sea, existence

is

a question of balance.

When

survivors of the expedition

on which Dutch explorer Vitus

Bering died returned to Siberia in 1741, the sea otter pelts they brought
with them roused such a desire for furs that hundreds of Russian hunters

and

traders thronged to Alaska.

fur seal

of

were nearly

this exploitation.

extinct.

The

By the

early 1900s,

both the sea

otter

and

But sea mammals were not the only victims

ancestors of the Aleut-Russians

who now

live in

the Pribilof Islands were brought there to slaughter fur seals for the Russians.
It is

estimated that some 10,000 Aleuts died during this period of virtual

enslavement.

The musk-ox herds of Nunivak

between human

oxen gather

desires

and the natural world.

in a circle or

huddle near

the danger. This instinct, which helped

proved useless against

Island attest to

men

musk-ox population were

cliffs,

earlier collision

threatened,

them fend

off wolves for centuries,

last

of Alaska's original

by Eskimo hunters before the turn of the

19th century. Like the reindeer brought to Alaska in the early 1900s,

musk oxen

are the descendants of animals imported

prized for their thick undercoats of

animals wander the

the Ice

86

Age when

island's

musk

turning their horns towards

with guns, and the

killed

When

an

qiviut,

windswept

from Greenland. T)day,

a cashmere-like wool, these rare

coastal dunes, living

they ranged throughout

Nunivak s

remnants of

much of North America.

TUFTED

PUFFIN. PRIBILOF

ISLANDS

87

88

SAINT PAUL ISLAND

_Ji.

89

90

(ABOVE

AND

RIGHT) ARCTIC FOXES. PRIBILOF ISLANDS

^-sife'

91

92

(ABOVE

AND LEFT) NORTHERN FUR SEALS. PRIBILOF ISLANDS

93

94

STELLER'S SEA LIONS,

NABANG01AK ROCK

:m A

-^/:-

.^^

*<.;
r-...

*^

I
95

96

REINDEER, NUNIVAK ISLAND

97

;H

wmmm^

itt

**

''

'

I'JR^ i-'k^^K

(ABOV^E

AND

LEFT)

MUSK OXEN, NUN1V\K ISLAND

99

100

COTTON GRASS, NUNIVAK ISLAND

101

102

SALMON FISHERMEN, NASH HARBOR

^^.

precipitation

little

^^fc would be

^^.^^
this layer

a desert were

in permafrost.

above the Arctic Circle that the area

falls

it

not for water locked below ground

Underlying more than two-thirds of the

of frozen subsoil, gravel, and rock

in parts of the

is

as

much

state,

as 2,000 feet thick

North Slope between the Brooks Range and the Arctic Ocean.

Each spring the permafrosts top

and the animals

that feed

layer

thaws just enough to sustain plants

on them.

In June the arctic tundra

blooms with the

tiny flowers of plants that

have developed ways to deal not only with cold winters but also with a
growing season of singular

intensity, rarely

than 45E Their stunted

winds. In

some

in others hairy

varieties

size

waxy

longer than nine weeks or

warmer

helps protect arctic plants from incessant

leaves slow the evaporation of moisture,

stems or clustered buds serve as insulation.

Many

and

arctic

plants reproduce asexuaUy; those that don't often have unusually hardy
seeds, thickly encased. Arctic lupine seeds have
lying

its

rugged appearance, the

arctic

tundra

is

extremely vulner-

Because permafrost prevents efficient drainage for its thawed top

the water that pools in a misplaced footprint

scarring the land. This harsh

on

to sprout after

dormant for nearly 10,000 years.

Despite

able.

been known

its

wildlife.

Only the

may remain

environment makes

layer,

there for years,

uncommon demands

ceaseless migrations of the caribou herds,

sum-

mering on the North Slope and wintering south of the Brooks Range,
enable thousands to graze on sparse, slowly growing vegetation without
depleting

it.

With

their acute sense of smell

and wide front hooves, caribou

can locate and dig for lichens buried under the snow.
Arctic birds have also adapted to this environment. White in winter,

mottled in summer, the ptarmigans changing plumage helps protect

from predators. In a

treeless landscape, the

of matted grass to keep watch for foxes.

the North Slope year-round,

adaptation to
as

104

it

summers when

many as 84 days.

snowy owl

One

nests

it

on mounds

of the few birds to

live

on

hunts by day as well as by night, an essential

the sun does not drop below the horizon for

RED FOX. NORTH SLOPE

105

106

BROOKS RANGE; (RIGHT) WILLOW PTARMIGAN,

NORTH SLOPE

107

108

(LEFT)

WILLOV CATKINS, KONGAKUT

RIVER.

NORTH SLOPE

109

10

MIGRATING CARIBOU KONGAKUT RIVER

Ill

112

i,WVl*^:~1i*^-'

'."r'i';i>-'^,l^;.'

:-^i
v^'\ V''

^^^f&-/^^^:^^/-1^^^'

lJ^ ^^^K>.

(LEFT)

CARIBOU ANTLER AND DOUGLASL^ ARCTICA. CARIBOU

B\SS,

NORTH SLOPE

in

114

(ABOVE

AND

RIGHT) LUPINES,

NORTH SLOPE

115

116

SNOWY OWL. ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

t.

.^^
117

118

NORTHERN LIGHTS BENEATH THE BIG DIPPER

Almost
even

half of

Anchorage, the

in

makes

Alaskans

all

From time

itself felt.

some

streets are

city,

the

area,

one-fourth of the

is

time the earth trembles or

Winds blow

state;

accessible only

moose-car

so fiercely across Juneau

by sea and

air.

state

Roads reach

collisions are a realistic concern.

Bush planes circle mountain peaks that have never been named, much
scaled. Discussions

sleds can
can't eat

about the

relative merits of

end with the observation

snow machines and dog

that in a life-threatening situation,

summers and

the least populated places

Winter's inexorable cold

on

thriving towns, Alaska

earth, challenging the people

and summer's

wet, cool weather

the leading cause of wilderness deaths.

climate because they believe

But
splendors.

if

some of

it

Some

Alaska's chaOenges

lights

still

all

more

will.

so too

shimmering

veils

on

its

of green, white, and

rosy haze of alpenglow

in

Alaska that may

without ever seeing a human, and places that remain

gently

do

to describe the aurora

of North America was before the 16th century,

rested

live here.

crackle across the midnight sky as solar

At dawn and dusk, the slanting sun casts the

their entire lives

who

one of

make hypothermia

seem immutable,

above snowcapped mountains. There are animals

as

you

residents cherish the difficult

Almost 100 years ago, John Muir struggled

The northern

is still

discourages newcomers and always

electrons collide with gas particles in

lavender.

less

an engine.

Despite green

borealis.

but

untamed land

equipped with handrails, and unlike any other

capital in the nation, the city

just

to

Anchorage

the

states largest

bears wander into suburban backyards.

that

live in

live

much

when human hands

this land.

119

120

ALASKA RANGE, DENALI PARK

121

122

ALPENGLCW AT OWN, MOUNT MCKINLEY

123

124

DENALl PARK

125

126

CATHEDRAL

SPIRES, DENALI PARK

Photography Credits
Yogi

Kaufman: Cover, pages

10, 18-19, 24,

26-27, 28-29, 29 (lower), 30-31, 33, 34-35,

41 (right), 55, 58-59, 62-63, 72-73, 76-77, 77 (right), 79, 80-81, 82-83, 83 (lower),

84-85,

87,

88-89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94-95, 96-97, 98 (lower), 98-99, 100-101, 102-103,

108-109, 112-113, 116-117, 120-121, 122-123,

Steve

Kaufman: Pages

60-61,61

(right),

and 124-125.

2-3, 4-5, 6-7 12, 20, 22-23, 25, 32, 51, 52-53, 54, 56-57,

64-65, 66, 68-69, 70(left), 70-71, 74-75, 78, 105, 106, 107 108

110-111, 112 (lower), 114-115, 115 (right), 118,

Tom

Bean: Pages 8-9,

37,

and

(left),

126.

38-39, 40-41. 42-43, 43 (lower), 44-45, 46-47, 47 (lower),

and 48-49.
Excerpt from "The Spell of the Yukon" in The Collected Poems

by permission of Dodd,

Mead

Reprinted by permission of Houghton Miftlin

128

oj

Robert Service

& Company, Inc. Excerpt from Travels

Company

in

Reprinted

Akukii by John Muir

YOGI and STEVE

KAUFMAN are a father

and son team in which the father. Yogi, has departed

the norm by following in the footsteps of his son.
Steve, as an outdoors and wildlife photographer. A
retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral and career submariner. Yogi "left the Nav^ to see the world through
the broader sweep of a camera lens after 38 years of
restriction to a periscope. Steve, a University of

Mary-

land graduate and former National Park Ser\'ice

ranger turned freelance photographer, has completed

numerous assignments

for

National Geographic

books and Traieler Magazine The Kaufmans' work

in North America, Africa, and Asia has been published widely in outdoors and nature publications,
textbooks, and advertising. Steve lives in Homer.
Alaska; Yogi makes his home in Potomac. Maryland.

MARGARET E. MURIE was bom m Seattle.

Washington and grew up
first

woman

in Fairbanks. Alaska.

The

graduate of the Universit>' of Alaska.

Mrs. Murie worked closely with her husband, the

noted biologist Olaus

wildlife in the field.

J.

Murie. studying Alaskan

Her writings include the

account of her experiences on the Alaskan

Two

the

classic

frontier.

Far North, and a now! of Eskimo

bland Between

In

honorary Doctor of

1976,

Mrs Murie

Humane

the University of Alaska.

recei\'ed

lite.

an

Leners degree from

ISBN 0-934738-28-9

Printed in Japan