Polar Bear Peak is a 6614 ft (2,015.9 m). mountain

Mountain

Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

 in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of 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...

, located in 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...

. Situated in the Chugach Mountains, it lies at the head of South Fork Eagle River, 5 mi (8 km) ESE of Eagle Lake, and 22 miles (35.4 km) ESE of downtown 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...

. The peak was named in 1963 by members of the Mountaineering Club of Alaska because a snow patch on its north face resembles a Polar bear

Polar Bear

The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...

 skin.

Terrain

Beginning at approximately 1000 ft., Polar Bear Peak becomes a predominantly alpine zone, characterized by exposed rock, extremely scant vegetation, a variety of lichen

Lichen

Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...

s, and snow pack (including year-round snowfields and glacier

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

s).

Wildlife

Like many Alaskan mountains, Polar Bear Peak may be frequented by rock ptarmigan, Dall sheep, mountain goat

Mountain goat

The Mountain Goat , also known as the Rocky Mountain Goat, is a large-hoofed mammal found only in North America. Despite its vernacular name, it is not a member of Capra, the genus of true goats...

s, and other alpine animals. Despite the lack of vegetation, a variety of insect

Insect

Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...

s thrive at high elevations throughout Alaska. Overhead, one may spot a hawk

Hawk

The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...

 or eagle

Eagle

Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...

.