The Katmai Wilderness is a wilderness area

National Wilderness Preservation System

The National Wilderness Preservation System of the United States protects federally managed land areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. It was established by the Wilderness Act upon the signature of President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 3, 1964...

 in Alaska

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...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is part of the Katmai National Park and Preserve

Katmai National Park and Preserve

Katmai National Park and Preserve is a United States National Park in southern Alaska, notable for the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and for its brown bears. The park covers , being roughly the size of Wales. Most of this is a designated wilderness area, including of the park...

. Today 15 active volcanoes line Shelikof Strait

Shelikof Strait

Shelikof Strait is a strait on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Alaska between the Alaska mainland to the west and Kodiak and Afognak islands to the east....

, which separates Katmai National Park and Preserve from Kodiak Island

Kodiak Island

Kodiak Island is a large island on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait. The largest island in the Kodiak Archipelago, Kodiak Island is the second largest island in the United States and the 80th largest island in the world, with an...

. Katmai protects this volcanic "laboratory" and, equally important, large numbers of brown bear

Brown Bear

The brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized...

s. (Although brown and grizzly bear

Grizzly Bear

The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America...

s are considered the same species, grizzlies live at least 100 miles (160.9 km) from shore and don't grow to be as huge, due to a more limited diet.) Salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

 spawn in Katmai in vast numbers, attracting the bears. Here you'll find huge lakes whose edges provide nesting spots for swan

Swan

Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...

s, ducks, loons, and grebe

Grebe

A grebe is a member of the Podicipediformes order, a widely distributed order of freshwater diving birds, some of which visit the sea when migrating and in winter...

s. The area is shared by moose

Moose

The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...

 and caribou and numerous smaller mammals. A campground exists inside the park, and preregistration is required. The campground has water, pit toilets, food-storage caches, fire pits (but firewood is limited), and picnic tables. Meals are available at nearby Brooks Lodge.

Most of Katmai National Park has been designated Wilderness, and very little of it is ever seen by human eyes. It is the fifth-largest designated wilderness area in the United States, following the Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness

Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness

Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness is a wilderness area in Alaska, United States. At , it is the largest designated U.S. Wilderness Area, and lies within Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve, the largest national park in the United States...

, the Mollie Beattie Wilderness

Mollie Beattie Wilderness

The Mollie Beattie Wilderness is located in the northeastern section of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It is the second-largest designated wilderness area in the United States, after the Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness. It has an area of approximately , and comprises over 40 percent of the...

, the Gates of the Arctic Wilderness

Gates of the Arctic Wilderness

Gates of the Arctic Wilderness is a wilderness area in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located in the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, it is in area, the third-largest designated wilderness area in the United States .-History and Introduction:When the wilderness activist, Bob...

, and the Noatak Wilderness

Noatak Wilderness

The Noatak Wilderness is a wilderness area in Alaska, United States. It is part of the Noatak National Preserve. Together with neighboring Gates of the Arctic Wilderness, Noatak National Preserve, more than , protects almost the entirety of the largest untouched river basin in America, that of the...

. All are in the state of Alaska.