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Kenai Fjords National Park

 

 
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Kenai Fjords National Park
 
 
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Kenai Fjords National Park is a United States National Park established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act

The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act was a United States federal law passed in 1980 by the Congress of the United States and signed into law by President of the United States Jimmy Carter on December 2 of that year....
. The park covers an area of approximately 1,760 mi2 on the Kenai Peninsula
Kenai Peninsula

The Kenai Peninsula is a large peninsula jutting from the southern coast of Alaska in the United States. The name Kenai is possibly derived from Kenayskaya, the Russian name for Cook Inlet, which borders the peninsula to the west....
 in southcentral Alaska
Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
 near the town of Seward
Seward, Alaska

Seward is a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 3,016....
. The park contains the Harding Icefield
Harding Icefield

The Harding Icefield is an expansive ice field located in the Kenai Mountains of the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. It is also partially located in Kenai Fjords National Park....
, one of the largest ice field
Ice field

An ice field is an area less than 50,000 km? of ice often found in the colder climates and higher altitudes of the world where there is sufficient precipitation....
s in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
.

The park can be reached from the town of Seward, 130 miles south of Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska

Anchorage is a consolidated city-Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. With an estimated 279,671 municipal residents in 2007 , it is Alaska's largest city and constitutes more than 40 percent of the state's total population....
. The park receives about 250,000 visitors per year and, although it is one of the quieter National Parks, the visitation is quite high for Alaska. It is only one of three national parks in Alaska that can be reached by the road, at the Exit Glacier
Exit Glacier

Exit Glacier is a glacier derived from the Harding Icefield in the Kenai Mountains of Alaska.It received its name because it served as the "exit" for the first recorded crossing of the Harding Icefield....
 entrance.






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Kenai Fjords National Park is a United States National Park established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act

The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act was a United States federal law passed in 1980 by the Congress of the United States and signed into law by President of the United States Jimmy Carter on December 2 of that year....
. The park covers an area of approximately 1,760 mi2 on the Kenai Peninsula
Kenai Peninsula

The Kenai Peninsula is a large peninsula jutting from the southern coast of Alaska in the United States. The name Kenai is possibly derived from Kenayskaya, the Russian name for Cook Inlet, which borders the peninsula to the west....
 in southcentral Alaska
Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
 near the town of Seward
Seward, Alaska

Seward is a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 3,016....
. The park contains the Harding Icefield
Harding Icefield

The Harding Icefield is an expansive ice field located in the Kenai Mountains of the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. It is also partially located in Kenai Fjords National Park....
, one of the largest ice field
Ice field

An ice field is an area less than 50,000 km? of ice often found in the colder climates and higher altitudes of the world where there is sufficient precipitation....
s in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
.

The park can be reached from the town of Seward, 130 miles south of Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska

Anchorage is a consolidated city-Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. With an estimated 279,671 municipal residents in 2007 , it is Alaska's largest city and constitutes more than 40 percent of the state's total population....
. The park receives about 250,000 visitors per year and, although it is one of the quieter National Parks, the visitation is quite high for Alaska.
Kenai Fjords National Park
It is only one of three national parks in Alaska that can be reached by the road, at the Exit Glacier
Exit Glacier

Exit Glacier is a glacier derived from the Harding Icefield in the Kenai Mountains of Alaska.It received its name because it served as the "exit" for the first recorded crossing of the Harding Icefield....
 entrance. An easy stroll there leads to the base of an impressive glacier
Glacier

A glacier is a large, slow-moving mass of ice, formed from compacted layers of snow, that slowly deforms and flows in response to gravity and high pressure....
. The other popular way to visit the Park consists in taking day tour on a boat, starting in Seward. Along the way, one can see marine wildlife, steep fjord
Fjord

Geologically, a fjord or fiord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides, created in a valley carved by Glacier....
s, and tidewater glaciers. Other visitation options require extensive planning and backcountry travel.

Fjords are narrow inlets of the sea situated between cliffs or steep slopes. Fjords exist where glaciers once formed on mountains bordering costal areas.

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