Tundra in the foreground and on the far side of Thorofare Bar. Muldrow Glacier shows at the foot of Mount McKinley.
Introduction
The Mount McKinley region was set aside as a National Park in 1917. The foresighted conservationists who advocated National Park status for this country were activated chiefly by their desire to preserve the flora and fauna in its pristine condition. An effort was made to give the park ample boundaries, but desirable extensions were later made, and it is possible that in the future additional adjustments will be desirable from the standpoint of assuring a self-sustaining ecological unit.
A drive from the Nenana River, the eastern boundary, to Wonder Lake, some 90 miles to the west and directly north of Mount McKinley, is always a fresh adventure. No two days are the same. One day we may see more grizzlies than usual; on another trip we may be especially fortunate and catch sight of a wolf or a wolverine. It is desirable to drive slowly and to stop occasionally to examine the landscape for animal life—the mountains for Dall sheep, the river bars and passes for grizzlies and caribou, and the water, for birds, beaver, or moose.
Some of the birds to be seen along the way are the ptarmigan—willow ptarmigan in the low country, rock ptarmigan on the high passes (the white-tailed are confined to higher elevations and probably will not be seen)—the long-tailed jaegers, the whimbrel (Hudsonian curlew), golden plovers, short-billed gulls, golden eagles, and several kinds of ducks. Ornithologists will be especially interested in seeing such asiatic birds as the wheatear and the willow warbler.
Much of the park is treeless tundra, but strips of woods follow the rivers far into the park, and patches grow here and there on the adjacent mountain slopes. Timberline varies according to soil and exposure; in places it reaches elevations of over 3,500 feet.
White spruce is the common conifer. Black spruce is confined to poorly drained and boggy areas. Along the north boundary I have seen a few patches of tamarack. Cottonwood and aspen are widely distributed and a few tree birches grow at lower elevations. Along the McKinley River an extensive strip of cottonwoods may be seen from the highway.
The tundra supports a growth of willow and dwarf birch. Over twenty kinds of willow occur in the park. They range in size from small forms only 2 or 3 inches in height, to brushy growths 20 feet tall. In places the small willows may grow dense enough to form a sod. These shrubs are highly important for wildlife. Alder brush is widely distributed and plentiful on canyon slopes; near Wonder Lake there are many clumps of alder in the rolling tundra.
The low ground cover over the park consists of mosses, lichens, sedges, grasses, horsetails, and herbaceous plants—many species of each. Early flowers may begin blooming in late April and early May, and at the higher elevations some blooms may be seen in late summer.