Misty Fjords National Monument

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Misty Fjords National Monument
IUCN Category IV (Habitat/Species Management Area)

Location	Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Census Area and Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska, USA
Nearest city	Ketchikan, AK
Coordinates	55°37′18″N 130°36′26″W / 55.62167, -130.60722
Area	2,294,343 acres (9,246 km²)
Established	December 1, 1978
Governing body	U.S. Forest Service

Misty Fjords National Monument was created December 1, 1978, and covers 2,294,343 acres (9,246 km²) of Tongass National Forest in the Panhandle of southeast Alaska. All but 151,832 acres (614 km²) is designated wilderness; Congress reserved the non-wilderness area for the Quartz Hill molybdenum deposit, possibly the largest such mineral deposit in the world. The monument is administered by the U.S. Forest Service, an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The area is called "The Yosemite of the North" for its similar geology. Light-colored granite, about 50 to 70 million years old (Eocene Epoch to Cretaceous Period) has been sculpted by glaciers that gouged deep U-shaped troughs throughout the monument. Many of the glacial valleys are filled with sea water and are called "canals", but they are not man-made in any way; the walls of these valleys are near-vertical and often rise 2,000 to 3,000 feet (600 to 900 m) above sea level, and drop 1,000 feet (300 m) below it. Because of the remoteness of the area, most visitors arrive by cruise ship or fly over the monument in tourist aircraft from Ketchikan or Juneau, Alaska.

Misty Fjords Waterfall and kayak

The region was first visited by Europeans in 1793 when George Vancouver sailed through Behm Canal, the prominent sea-filled glacial trough along the western margin of the monument and separating it from Revillagigedo Island. Vancouver discovered New Eddystone Rock, a 237 foot (72 m) tall column of basalt in the middle of Behm Canal. It was formed within the past 5 million years by volcanic activity, evidence for which is scattered sparsely through the monument, including a lava flow high above Punchbowl Cove, and at Blue River in the far northern part of the monument near the Canadian border.

Across from the Salmon River and Portland Canal and the settlement of Hyder, Alaska, small glaciers occupy high areas of the northeast part of the monument. Soule and Through Glaciers cover high plateaus and valleys in the Lincoln and Seward Mountains, where one peak rises to 6,250 feet (1,900 m) above sea level. Most mountain tops in the monument are in the 4,000 to 5,000 foot (1,200 to 1,500 m) elevation range. Tree line is usually around 2,700 feet (800 m).

Western Hemlock, Sitka Spruce and Western Redcedar dominate the prolific rainforest vegetation; wildlife in abundance includes both Grizzly and Black Bears, many species of salmon, whales, mountain goats, and deer.