Kluane/Wrangell-St. Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek | |
Coordinates: | 61.1975°N -140.992°W |
Location: | Canada and the United States |
Area: | 98391.21comma=gapsNaNcomma=gaps |
Governing Body: | Parks Canada, BC Parks, U.S. National Park Service |
Designation1: | World Heritage Site |
Designation1 Date: | 1979 (3rd session) |
Designation1 Type: | Natural |
Designation1 Criteria: | vii, viii, ix, x |
Designation1 Number: | 72 |
Designation1 Free1name: | Region |
Designation1 Free1value: | Europe and North America |
Designation1 Free2name: | Extensions |
Designation1 Free2value: | 1992; 1994 |
Kluane / Wrangell–St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek is an international park system located in Canada and the United States, at the border of Yukon, Alaska and British Columbia.
It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 for the spectacular glacier and icefield landscapes as well as for the importance of grizzly bears, caribou and Dall sheep habitat.[1] The total area of the site is 98391.21km2, which is just smaller than the country of South Korea at 100339km2.
It is home to a number of notable landforms, including the world's largest non-polar icefield;[1] the largest piedmont glacier in the world, Malaspina Glacier; the world's longest interior valley glacier, Nabesna Glacier; as well as Canada's highest peak and North America's second-highest peak, Mount Logan, at 5,959 m (19,551 ft).
The international system comprises parks located in two countries and three administrative regions: