Saint Elias Mountains
| Saint Elias Mountains | |
|---|---|
Mt. Saint Elias
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| Highest point | |
| Peak | Mount Logan |
| Elevation | 5,959 m (19,551 ft) |
| Coordinates | 60°34′02″N 140°24′10″W / 60.56722°N 140.40278°W |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 300 mi (480 km) |
| Width | 90 mi (140 km) |
| Area | 112,509 km2 (43,440 sq mi) |
| Geography | |
Saint Elias Mountains, east of the Wrangell Mountains
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| Countries | United States and Canada |
| States/Provinces | Alaska, Yukon and British Columbia |
| Range coordinates | 60°30′N 139°30′W / 60.500°N 139.500°WCoordinates: 60°30′N 139°30′W / 60.500°N 139.500°W |
| Parent range | Pacific Coast Ranges |
| Borders on | Wrangell Mountains |
The Saint Elias Mountains are a subgroup of the Pacific Coast Ranges, located in southeastern Alaska in the United States, southwestern Yukon and the very far northwestern part of British Columbia in Canada. The range spans Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in the USA and Kluane National Park and Reserve in Canada and includes all of Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska. In Alaska, the range includes parts of the city/borough of Yakutat and the Hoonah-Angoon and Valdez-Cordova census areas.
This mountain range was named after Mount Saint Elias which had been named in 1741 by the Russian explorer Vitus Bering.
The St. Elias Mountains is the highest coastal mountain range on Earth. It formed due to the subduction of the Yakutat microplate underneath the North American Plate. The Yakutat microplate is a wedge shaped oceanic plateau with 20–30 km thickness. Similar to the adjacent Pacific plate (7 km crustal thickness) the Yakutat plate is currently moving northwestward with a rate of ~50 mm/year with respect to North America. The Yakutat plate is transported northwards along the active Fairweather Fault, which probably started more than 35 million years ago. Due to its thickness the Yakutat plate is buoyant resulting in surface uplift of the overriding North American plate, which formed the Talkeetna Mountains and the Alaska Range in southcentral Alaska located above the subducted part of the Yakutat plate.
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Wikipedia