Alaska's WRANGELL-ST ELIAS

Discoveries America National Parks


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The Alaska is a land of superlatives. It's the largest state and home to America's largest national park, Wrangell-St Elias National Park and Preserve where you can experience genuine "Wild Alaska" on its own terms with very few fellow travelers. Nabesna - Northwest Road Access: From Slana to Nabesna this primitive road traverses the headwaters country of the Copper and Tanana drainages. Subsistence Fishing On The Copper River, famous for it's Sockeye salmon, the Copper River offers a terrific cultural experience as Alaskans subsistence fish for salmon with traditional dip nets or fish wheels.

Driving The McCarthy Road is an Alaskan adventure! Pushing east across 60 miles of America's most remote landscapes and homesteads, leads to the greatest concentration of North American peaks over 16,000 feet, the biggest glaciers on the continent, and the largest concentration of volcanoes. At the end, a foot bridge across the Kennicott River allows you to hike or take shuttles to the very last intact bush community still inside a national park, McCarthy and 5 miles beyond, the Kennecott Copper Mill townsite. Kennecott National Historic Landmark: This mine is the reason anything exists at all in this corner of Alaska.

Kennecott Copper Mill is the tallest wooden structure in north America where over $200 million dollars worth of copper ore helped put Kennecott on the map. Kennecott's Sister Town Of McCarthy: A perfect way to end a perfect day of exploration in this remote Alaskan village. Extras: McCarthy Museum and Bush Alaska Insights.

REVIEW: Video Librarian
This new entry in Jim and Kelly Watt's visually stunning series highlights America's largest national park: the Wrangell-St. Elias Park and Preserve in Alaska, which sprawls across 13 million acres-an area about as big as Vermont. The camera travels along rough and primitive roads (actually former rail beds), while offering glimpses of remote homesteads and views of spectacular scenery, including nine of the nation's highest peaks, the biggest glaciers in North America, and the continent's greatest concentration of volcanoes.

Along the way, we learn about fishing methods dating back to the beginning of recorded history, as native Alaskans use dip nets and fish wheels (contraptions that look like Ferris wheels of buckets) to scoop up salmon on the Copper River. Among the few modern imprints on the landscape are the Kennecott copper mill and mine, once a thriving enterprise and now part of a National Historic Landmark; and the tiny community of McCarthy, whose population of around 30 permanent residents balloons up to about 200 during the summer tourist season. DVD extras include "Bush Alaska Insights" and a featurette on the McCarthy Museum. Recommended. Aud: P. (C. Block)

REVIEW: The Midwest Book Review
Two beautiful new additions to the Discoveries... America National Parks documentary series on DVD are simply captivating to behold. "Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias: America's Largest National Park" (9781604901641) is a captivating slice of both Alaska's wild lands and its civilization.

The viewer receives a wondrous tour of the headwaters country of the Copper and Tanana drainages, the Alaskan practice of subsistence fishing with dip nets or fish wheels, the largest glaciers of North America, the Kennecott Copper Mill (the tallest wooden structure in North America, and the historical location of a past bonanza of mineral wealth), and Kennecott's sister town of McCarthy.

"Hawaii: Volcanoes, Hana Belt Road and USS Arizona Memorial" (9781604901634) explores the beauty and storied history of the most remote major island group on earth. The viewer is guided to the gravesite of famous aviator Charles Lindbergh, who called the Hawaii coast of Hana home in his final days; the Hana Highway of Maui, a winding marvel marked by waterfalls, beaches, and surf-spattered coastline; Volcanoes National Park including the perpetually erupting Kilauea Volcano that has added roughly 500 acres of land to the Big Island in the past 30 years; and the memorial of the USS Arizona, a tribute to all the civilians and servicemen who made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation during the World War II surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Both documentaries are lush, vivid, informative, and highly recommended especially for armchair travelers and public library DVD collections.