Chugach Mountains
Encyclopedia
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in 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...
are the northernmost of the several mountain range
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
s that make up the Pacific Coast Ranges
Pacific Coast Ranges
The Pacific Coast Ranges and the Pacific Mountain System are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico...
of the western edge of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. The range is about 500 km (300 mi) long, running generally east-west. Its highest point is Mount Marcus Baker
Mount Marcus Baker
Mount Marcus Baker is the highest peak of the Chugach Mountains of Alaska.It is located approximately 75 miles east of Anchorage. This peak is very prominent because of its proximity to tidewater and is only 12 miles north of the calving face of Harvard Glacier.When ranked by topographic...
, at 13176 feet (4,016 m), but most of its summits are not especially high. Even so its position along the Gulf of Alaska
Gulf of Alaska
The Gulf of Alaska is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the east, where Glacier Bay and the Inside Passage are found.The entire shoreline of the Gulf is...
ensures more snowfall in the Chugach than anywhere else in the world; an annual average of over 1500 cm (600 in).
The mountains are protected in the Chugach State Park
Chugach State Park
Chugach State Park is a 495,204-acre state park in the Municipality of Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located in the Chugach Mountains just east of the Anchorage Bowl, it is a very popular recreation destination...
and the Chugach National Forest
Chugach National Forest
-External links:*****...
. Near to Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
, they are a popular destination for outdoor activities. The World Extreme Skiing Championship
World Extreme Skiing Championship
World Extreme Skiing Championship - The WESC competition revolutionized the ski industry by promoting big mountain skiers. The first year had 37 contestants. Valdez hosted the World Extreme Skiing Champions starting in 1991. In 1994, WESC champion Doug Coombs, along with his wife Emily, went on...
is held annually in the Chugach near Valdez
Valdez, Alaska
Valdez is a city in Valdez-Cordova Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 4,020. The city is one of the most important ports in Alaska. The port of Valdez was named in 1790 after the Spanish naval officer Antonio Valdés y...
.
The Richardson Highway
Richardson Highway
The Richardson Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska, running 368 miles from Valdez to Fairbanks. It is marked as Alaska Route 4 from Valdez to Delta Junction and as Alaska Route 2 from there to Fairbanks. It is also connects segments of Alaska Route 1 between the Glenn Highway and the...
, Seward Highway
Seward Highway
The Seward Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska that extends 127 miles from Seward to Anchorage. It was completed in 1951 and runs through the scenic Kenai Peninsula and Turnagain Arm, for which it was designated an All-American Road by the U.S...
, and the Glenn Highway
Glenn Highway
-References:* Pasch, A. D., K. C. May. 2001. Taphonomy and paleoenvironment of hadrosaur from the Matanuska Formation in South-Central Alaska. In: Mesozioc Vertebrate Life. Ed.s Tanke, D. H., Carpenter, K., Skrepnick, M. W. Indiana University Press. Pages 219-236.-External links:**...
run through the Chugach Mountains. The tunnel from Portage
Portage, Alaska
Portage is a former settlement on Turnagain Arm in Alaska, about south of Anchorage. The town was destroyed almost entirely in the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake when the ground in the area sank about six feet, putting most of it below sea level. All that remains today are the ruins of a few...
on the Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet
Cook Inlet
Cook Inlet stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage....
to Whittier
Whittier, Alaska
Whittier is a city in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area, in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of 2006, the population was 177. The city is also a port for the Alaska Marine Highway.-Geography:...
on Passage Canal also provides railroad and automobile access underneath Maynard Mountain to the Prince William Sound
Prince William Sound
Prince William Sound is a sound off the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System...
.
The name "Chugach" is from the Eskimo
Eskimo
Eskimos or Inuit–Yupik peoples are indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia , across Alaska , Canada, and Greenland....
tribal name Chugachmiut recorded by the Russians and written by them "Chugatz" and "Tchougatskoi"; in 1898 U.S. Army Captain W. R. Abercrombie spelled the name "Chugatch" and applied it to the mountains.
Mountains
- Mount Marcus BakerMount Marcus BakerMount Marcus Baker is the highest peak of the Chugach Mountains of Alaska.It is located approximately 75 miles east of Anchorage. This peak is very prominent because of its proximity to tidewater and is only 12 miles north of the calving face of Harvard Glacier.When ranked by topographic...
13176 ft (4,016 m) - Mount Thor 12251 ft (3,734 m)
- Mount Steller 10617 feet (3,236 m)
- Mount MichelsonMount Michelson (Chugach Mountains)Mount Michelson is a mountain at the head of the Meares Glacier, NW of Valdez in the Chugach Mountains of Alaska, USA. The mountain was named around 1957 for Albert Abraham Michelson by members of the Chugach Mountains Expedition sponsored by the Arctic Institute of North America....
8701 feet (2,652 m) - Mount PalmerMount Palmer (Alaska)Mount Palmer is a mountain in the Chugach Mountains in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located within the Municipality of Anchorage....
6940 feet (2,115 m) - Flattop MountainFlattop Mountain (Anchorage, Alaska)Flattop Mountain is a 3,510-foot mountain in the U.S. state of Alaska, located in Chugach State Park just east of urban Anchorage. It is the most climbed mountain in the state....
3510 feet (1,070 m) - Eagle PeakEagle Peak (Alaska)Eagle Peak is a mountain in the U.S. state of Alaska, located in Chugach State Park in Anchorage Municipality.- Location :The peak is situated at the head of South Fork Eagle River Valley, east of downtown Anchorage, and stands out as the highest summit along a long ridgeline that includes Flute...
6955 feet (2,120 m) - Polar Bear PeakPolar Bear PeakPolar Bear Peak is a . mountain in the U.S. state of Alaska, located in Chugach State Park. Situated in the Chugach Mountains, it lies at the head of South Fork Eagle River, ESE of Eagle Lake, and ESE of downtown Anchorage...
6614 feet (2,016 m) - Ptarmigan Peak (Alaska)Ptarmigan Peak (Alaska)Ptarmigan Peak is a mountain in the Chugach Mountains near Anchorage, Alaska. Its north face is extremely steep and is sometimes attempted by mountaineers. Hikers generally reach the mountain's summit from the less steep southern side...
- Wolverine Peak
- O'Malley Peak