Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
| Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve | |
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IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)
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Johns Hopkins Glacier
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| Location |
Hoonah-Angoon Census Area and Yakutat City and Borough,  Alaska,  United States
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| Nearest city | Juneau |
| Coordinates | 58°30′N 137°00′W / 58.500°N 137.000°WCoordinates: 58°30′N 137°00′W / 58.500°N 137.000°W |
| Area | 3,223,384 acres (13,044.57 km2) |
| Established | December 2, 1980 |
| Visitors | 520,171 (in 2016) |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
| Website | Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve |
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is in the Alaska panhandle west of Juneau. President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the area around Glacier Bay a national monument under the Antiquities Act on February 25, 1925. Subsequent to an expansion of the monument by President Jimmy Carter in 1978, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) enlarged the national monument by 523,000 acres (2116.5 km2) on December 2, 1980 and in the process created Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, with 57,000 additional acres (230.7 km2) of public land designated as national preserve to the immediate northwest of the park in order to protect a portion of the Alsek River and related fish and wildlife habitats while allowing sport hunting.
Glacier Bay became part of a binational UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, was inscribed as a Biosphere Reserve in 1986 and in 1994 undertook an obligation to work with Hoonah and Tlingit Native American organizations in the management of the protected area. In total the park and preserve cover 5,130 square miles (13,287 km2). Most of Glacier Bay is designated wilderness area which covers 4,164 square miles (10,784 km2).
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve occupies the northernmost section of the southeastern Alaska coastline, between the Gulf of Alaska and Canada. The Canada–US border approaches to within 15 miles (24 km) of the ocean in the St. Elias Mountains at Mount Fairweather, the park's tallest peak at 15,300 feet (4,700 m), transitioning to the Fairweather Range from there southwards. The Brady Icefield caps the Fairweather Range on a peninsula extending from the ocean to Glacier Bay, which extends from Icy Strait to the Canada–US border at Grand Pacific Glacier, cutting off the western part of the park. To the east of Glacier Bay the Takhinsha Mountains and the Chilkat Range form a peninsula bounded by the Lynn Canal on the east, with the park's eastern boundary with Tongass National Forest running along the ridgeline. The park's northwestern boundary, which also abuts Tongass National Forest, runs in the valley of the Alsek River to Dry Bay. The preserve lands comprise a small area at Dry Bay — the majority of Glacier Bay lands are national park lands. The park boundary excludes Gustavus at the mouth of Glacier Bay. The lands adjoining the park to the north in Canada are included in Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park.
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Wikipedia