Misty Fiords National Monument

Misty Fiords National Monument
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
One of the thousands of ocean inlets at Misty Fiords.
Location of Misty Fiords in the United States
Location	Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska, United States
Nearest city	Ketchikan, AK
Coordinates	55°37′18″N 130°36′26″W / 55.62167°N 130.60722°W / 55.62167; -130.60722Coordinates: 55°37′18″N 130°36′26″W / 55.62167°N 130.60722°W / 55.62167; -130.60722
Area	2,294,343 acres (9,246 km²)
Established	December 1, 1978
Governing body	U.S. Forest Service

Misty Fiords National Monument (or Misty Fjords National Monument) is a national monument and wilderness area administered by the U.S. Forest Service as part of the Tongass National Forest. Misty Fiords is about 40 miles (64 km) east of Ketchikan, Alaska, along the Inside Passage coast in extreme southeastern Alaska, comprising 2,294,343 acres (928,488 ha) of Tongass National Forest in Alaska's Panhandle. All but 151,832 acres (61,444 ha) are designated as wilderness. Congress reserved the remainder for the Quartz Hill molybdenum deposit, possibly the largest such mineral deposit in the world. The national monument was originally proclaimed by President Jimmy Carter in December 1978 as Misty Fiords National Monument,^[1] using the authorization of the Antiquities Act and became a part of an ongoing political struggle between the federal government and the State of Alaska over land use policy and authority that finally led to the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1980.^[2] In that law, it was statutorily established as Misty Fjords National Monument.^[3]

Physical geography

John Muir compared the area with Yosemite Valley for its similar geology and glacial morphology.^[4] 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.

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).

Ecology

Western hemlock, Sitka spruce and western red cedar dominate the prolific rainforest vegetation; wildlife in abundance includes both grizzly and black bears, many species of salmon, whales, mountain goats, and deer.

Visitor access

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. More adventurous travelers choose an overnight charter service or spend days exploring by kayak.

History

The region was first visited by Europeans in 1793 when George Vancouver explored up 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.

References

↑ Proclamation 4623 - Misty Fiords National Monument of December 1, 1978
↑ Alaska Humanities Forum: ANILCA
↑ Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act – PUBLIC LAW 96-487-DEC. 2, 1980, Sec 503
↑ John Muir: Travels in Alaska. Boston, New York, Houghton Mifflin co., 1915, p 45

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Misty Fjords National Monument.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Misty Fiords National Monument.

Protected areas of Alaska

Federal

National Parks	Denali Gates of the Arctic Glacier Bay Katmai Kenai Fjords Kobuk Valley Lake Clark Wrangell–St. Elias

National Historical Parks	Klondike Gold Rush Sitka

National Monuments	Admiralty Island (USFS) Aniakchak Cape Krusenstern Misty Fiords (USFS) World War II Valor in the Pacific

National Preserves	Bering Land Bridge Noatak Yukon–Charley Rivers

National Wildlife Refuges	Alaska Maritime Alaska Peninsula Arctic Becharof Innoko Izembek Kanuti Kenai Kodiak Koyukuk Nowitna Saint Lazaria Selawik Tetlin Togiak Yukon Delta Yukon Flats

National Forests	Chugach Tongass

Forest Service units	Mendenhall Glacier

U.S. Wilderness Areas	Aleutian Islands Andreafsky Becharof Bering Sea Bogoslof Chamisso Chuck River Coronation Island Denali Endicott River Forrester Island Gates of the Arctic Glacier Bay Hazy Islands Innoko Izembek Karta River Katmai Kenai Kobuk Valley Kootznoowoo Koyukuk Kuiu Lake Clark Maurille Islands Misty Fjords Mollie Beattie Noatak Nunivak Petersburg Creek–Duncan Salt Chuck Pleasant/Lemusurier/Inian Islands Russell Fjord Saint Lazaria Selawik Semidi Simeonof South Baranof South Etolin South Prince of Wales Stikine-LeConte Tebenkof Bay Togiak Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Tuxedni Unimak Warren Island West Chichagof-Yakobi Wrangell–Saint Elias

National Conservation Area	Steese

State

State Parks	Afognak Island Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Baranof Castle Hill Birch Lake Chena River Area Chena River Site Chugach Deep Creek Denali Kachemak Bay Totem Bight Wood-Tikchik

State Forests	Haines Southeast Tanana Valley

Alaska Department of Natural Resources

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