| Kenai Fjords National Park | |
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IUCN Category II (National Park)
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| Location | Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, USA |
| Nearest city | Seward |
| Area | 699,983 acres (2,833 km²) |
| Established | December 2, 1980 |
| Visitors | 284,604 (in 2007) |
| Governing body | U.S. National Park Service |
Kenai Fjords National Park is a United States National Park established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. The park covers an area of approximately 1,760 sq mi (4,600 km2) on the Kenai Peninsula in southcentral Alaska, near the town of Seward. The park contains the Harding Icefield, one of the largest ice fields in the United States. The park is named for the numerous fjords carved by glaciers moving down the mountains from the ice field. The field is the source of at least 38 glaciers, the largest of which is Bear Glacier.[1]
The park can be reached from Seward, 130 mi (210 km) south of Anchorage at the southern terminus of the Seward Highway. It is only one of three national parks in Alaska that can be reached by road, via the Exit Glacier Nature Center. A network of trails from the Nature Center provide access to the glacier, and the 7.4-mile (11.9 km) [2][3]
Cruise tours originating from Seward also provide access to the park via Resurrection Bay. Various companies offer tours, many guided by National Park Rangers. The tours provide views of land and marine wildlife, particularly Steller sea lions, puffins, Dall's porpoises, American black bear, Mountain goats, and humpback and orca whales, as well as natural sights such as the fjords and tidewater glaciers.[4]
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