Alaska
From Alaska Tourism

Katmi National Park &Preserve

In 1912 a tremendous eruption occurred in the wilderness that today is Katmai National Park and Preserve. The blast in which Mount Katmai collapsed was one of the most violent ever recorded. Afterwards, in what would become known as the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, fumaroles by the thousands issued steam hot enough to melt zinc. Only a few active vents remain, and the crater holds a lake.

Katmai’s scenery boasts lakes, rivers, glaciers, waterfalls, and a coastline of plunging cliffs and islets. This is the home of the huge brown bear -- Earth's largest terrestrial carnivore -- which in summer fishes the park and preserve's streams to feast on migrating salmon. This area is critical for the brown bear's survival on the Alaska Peninsula. It also boasts some of southwestern Alaska's best sport fishing.

Camping at Brooks Camp: Campground reservations are required for Brooks Camp Campground between June 1 and September 10. Reservations may be made through the address shown on the Park Office page. Length of stay is 7 nights In any 10-day period.

Access: Scheduled jets from Anchorage serve King Salmon on the park's west boundary from June through Labor Day. Daily commercial flights operate between King Salmon and the Brooks River area June through Labor Day. Air charters from King Salmon or Iliamna are available from May through October.

Approximate Size: 4 million acres.

Bering Land Bridge National Preserve

Bering Land Bridge National Preserve is a remnant of the land bridge that connected Asia with North America more than 13,000 years ago. The land bridge itself is now overlain by the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea. During the glacial epoch this was part of a migration route for people, animals, and plants whenever ocean levels fell enough to expose the land bridge. Scientists find it one of the most likely regions where prehistoric Asian hunters entered the New World.

Today Eskimos from neighboring villages pursue subsistence lifestyles and manage their reindeer herds in and around the preserve. Some 112 migratory bird species may be seen here, along with occasional seals, walrus, and whales. Grizzly bears, fox, wolf, and moose also inhabit the preserve. Other interesting features are rimless volcanoes called Maar craters, Serpentine Hot Springs, and seabird colonies at Sullivan Bluffs.

Access: Air service out of Nome and Kotzebue is the usual means of access to this quite isolated preserve.

Approximate Size: 2.7 million acres

You'll catch salmon, halibut, and crabs, walk in magical rain forests, visit Sea Lion Rookeries, watch bears feeding on spawning salmon, spend time with the graceful Humpback Whales and return home with a better understanding of the world we live in.

Visit http://www.alaskaone.com/ for more information