Katmai was declared a national monument in 1918 to preserve the living laboratory of its cataclysmic 1912 volcanic eruption, particularly the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. The intervening years have seen most of the surface geothermal features cool. But the protection of brown bears has become an equally compelling charge for Katmai. To protect this magnificent animal and its varied habitat, the boundaries were extended over the years, and in 1980 the area was designated a national park and preserve. Katmai looms so vast that the bulk of it must elude all but a very few persistent visitors. To boat its enormous lakes and their island studded bays, to float its rushing waterways, to hike the wind-whipped passes of its imposing mountains, or to explore its Shelikof Strait coastline require great effort and logistical planning. This unseen Katmai lies beyond our usual experiences here of fishing from Brooks Camp, walking up to Brooks Falls, and riding the bus out to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. We come to Katmai to sample but an edge of this enormity of raw natural forces, a sampling that itself constitutes a rare and endangered opportunity.

Use the menu below to quickly access information on this park:

General Information

Variety marks this vast land: lakes, forests, mountains, and marshlands all abound in wildlife. The Alaska brown bear, the world's largest carnivore, thrives here, feeding upon red salmon that spawn in the many lakes and streams. Wild rivers and renowned sport fishing add to the attractions of this subarctic environment. Here, in 1912, Novarupta Volcano erupted violently, forming the ash-filled "Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes" where steam rose from countless fumaroles. Today only a few active vents remain. The park-preserve contains part of the Alagnak Wild River.

Katmai National Park's Coastal Unit makes the park the second longest coastal park on the continent. Many active volcanoes are part of the coastal viewscape, including 7,606-ft. Mt. Denison, only 8 miles from saltwater. Mountain glaciers are included in the coastal panoramas at Hallo Bay and Cape Douglas. The islands and rocks offshore to 5 miles are included in the park. Most of the Katmai coast is designated wilderness and there you can see brown bears digging clams, walking beaches, diving for salmon, and grazing in meadows against a backdrop of mountain glaciers or ocean panoramas. Unlike Brooks Camp, McNeil River and other famous bear viewing locations, the Katmai coast has truly wilderness bear watching with no observation platforms, public use cabins or other improvements.

A satellite office for Kodiak is located in Kodiak. Park staff work out of this office and support operations on the Katmai Coast.

Important Dates

Proclaimed as Katmai National Monument Sept. 24, 1918; established as a National Park and Preserve Dec. 2, 1980. Boundary changes: April 24, 1931; Aug. 4, 1942; Jan. 20, 1969: Dec. 1, 1978; Dec. 2, 1980. Wilderness designated Dec. 2, 1980.

Visitation

The park receives about 55,000 visitors annually. The majority of visitors come from early June through mid-September.

Location

About 290 miles southwest of Anchorage on the Alaska Peninsula, just west of King Salmon. Kodiak Island lies just off the Katmai Coast to the east.

Address

Katmai National Park and Preserve
P.O. Box 7
King Salmon, Alaska 99613

Kodiak Satellite Office
Katmai National Park
202 Center Ave., Suite 201
Kodiak, AK 99615
Telephone

King Salmon Office: (907) 246-3305

Coastal Unit Office: (907) 486-6730

Operating Hours & Seasons

The park is open year-round. NPS and concessionaire services are offered at Brooks Camp from early June to mid-September.

Transportation

Katmai is 290 miles southwest of Anchorage. There is no road access to the park. Daily commercial flights operate between Anchorage and King Salmon. Charters, air taxis and boat tours are available from King Salmon, Anchorage, Homer, and Kodiak. Scheduled service into Brooks Camp is available from King Salmon by floatplane and boat. Many area lodges provide their own transportation to the park. Snow machines can be used in deep winter during some years when temperatures are sufficiently low to form thick ice.

Fees, Costs & Rates

There is no entrance fee for Katmai National Park and Preserve.

Golden Eagle Passport

The Golden Eagle Passport is an entrance pass to any National Park, monument, historical site, recreation area, and national wildlife refuge that charges an entrance fee. It is a great convenience for those who plan on visiting several different areas that charge special fees. It is valid for one year from the purchase date. A Golden Eagle Passport may be purchased for $50 at any National Park Service entrance fee area or by mail. To order by mail, send check or money order (no cash, please) to:

National Park Service
1100 Ohio Drive, SW
Room 138
Washington, DC 20242
Attention: Golden Eagle Passport

Where entry is by private vehicle, the Golden Eagle Passport will admit the passholder as well as any passengers. Where entry by private vehicle is not possible, the pass will admit the passholder, spouse, children and parents.

The Golden Eagle Passport will not reduce use fees, such as those for camping, swimming, parking, boat launching, or cave tours. It covers entrance fees only.

Golden Age Passport

The Golden Age Passport is a lifetime entrance pass for those United States residents 62 years or older. These may be purchased at any National Park Service entrance fee area for a one-time processing fee of $10. The Golden Age Passport cannot be purchased by mail or telephone. Proof of age and citizenship or permanent residence must be shown at the time of purchase.

The Golden Age Passport will admit the passholder and any passengers in a private vehicle. When entrance is not via private vehicle, the pass will admit the passholder as well as children, spouse, and parents.

The Golden Age Pass grants a 50 percent discount to the holder on any federal use fees charged for things such as camping, swimming, parking, boat launching, or tours. It does not, however, reduce the price of special recreation permit fees or fees for concessions.

Golden Access Passport

The Golden Access Passport is a free entrance pass to any National Park, monument, historic site, recreation area, and national wildlife refuge for those who are blind or permanently disabled. The Golden Access passport may be obtained at any National Park Service entrance fee area. Proof of a medically determined disability and eligibility for receiving benefits under federal law is necessary at purchase.

The Golden Access Passport will admit the passholder and any passengers in a private vehicle. Where entrance is not by vehicle, the pass will admit the passholder, spouse, children and parents.

The Golden Access Passport also provides a 50 percent discount on any federal use fees charged for services and facilities. It does not cover special recreation permit fees or fees charged for concessions.

All passes described above are non-transferable.

Facilities & Opportunities

Visitor Center & Exhibits

King Salmon Visitor Center is located next to the airport terminal in King Salmon. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service operate it, with a partnership with the National Park Service, Bristol Bay Borough, and Lake and Pen Borough. The visitor center has exhibits of the local area as well as interpreters that will provide information on the entire Katmai region. Bear resistant canisters are available at the King Salmon Visitor Center for those planning to use the backcountry.

Brooks Camp Visitor Center is open early June to mid-September. All visitors must attend the Brooks Camp Bear Orientation to learn safe and appropriate behavior around bears. Books, cards, and posters are sold at the Visitor Center. Bear resistant canisters are available at the Brooks Camp visitor center for those planning to use the backcountry.

Trails & Roads

There is no road access to Katmai National Park except from King Salmon. The dirt road from King Salmon goes to Lake Camp at the edge of the park. Lake Camp provides access to boats for Naknek Lake and Brooks Camp.

The only other road in Katmai is the road from Brooks Camp to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. It is a 23-mile dirt road that makes three river crossings before reaching Three Forks cabin offering a view of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. Visitors can take advantage of the daily bus tour offered by the concession from Brooks Camp.

Katmai offers unlimited backcountry opportunities for those that are experienced and come prepared.

Programs & Activities

A variety of interpretive programs are available at Brooks Camp throughout the summer. Interpretive rangers present evening slide programs nightly. Ranger-led cultural walks to an archeological site are conducted each afternoon. Other walks and programs may be offered during August.

Lodging & Camping Facilities

A concessionaire, Katmailand, provides accommodations and food service at Kulik Lodge, Grosvenor Lodge and at Brooks Camp from about June 1 to mid-September. Reservations are necessary.

Food & Supplies

Meals are served at Brooks Lodge and are available for all visitors to Brooks Camp. Brooks Lodge Trading Post sells white gas, fishing gear, some snack foods, souvenirs, and other limited supplies.

Other Concession & NPS-Managed Visitor Facilities & Opportunities

Brooks Lodge offers a daily bus tour to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. The trip starts at Brooks Camp and includes a day hike to Ukak Falls. Reservations are recommended and available from Katmailand.

Recommended Activities & Park Use

The focus of visitor use is at the Brooks River, where brown bears congregate to feed on sockeye salmon as they pass upstream, although increasing visitor use is occurring along the outer coast and elsewhere in the park interior. Two bear viewing platforms are located along the Brooks River. The park also offers world-class sport fishing for salmon and trout. The Katmai coast attracts visitors for sport fishing, coastal tours, and bear viewing. Access to the coast is mainly available by boat tours and charter air taxis from Kodiak, Homer, and Anchorage.

Basic Visit Recommendations

Bear viewing at Brooks Camp is best in July and September. There are few bears in August, though they still are seen occasionally. July and September are crowded, expect waits and time limits when going to the Brooks Falls Platform in July. Weather and bears are always a factor at Katmai so plan extra time to work around delays.

Visitor Impacts

People may not intentionally approach or remain within 50 yards of a bear or any large mammal, except when on one of the two park viewing platforms.

Capsicum bear spray is not allowed on commercial airlines. Bear spray should not be taken within the cabins of air taxis. Let your pilot know if you are carrying bear spray so it can be placed in the floats of the plane.

Back To Top

History

Katmai National Park and Preserve is located at the head of the Alaska Peninsula approximately 290 air miles southwest of Anchorage. It includes over 4 million acres of land and water and is roughly bound by Shelikof Strait to the east, the Lake Iliamna watershed to the north, the Bristol Bay coastal plain to the west, and the Becharof Lake watershed to the south. The area was originally established as a National Monument in 1918 preserving geological features related to the June 6, 1912 eruptions of Mt. Katmai and Novarupta. The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 added land to and redesignated the area as a National Park and Preserve. The implementing language stated that the area was "to be managed for the following purposes, among others: to protect habitats for populations of, fish and wildlife, including, but not limited to, high concentrations of brown/grizzly bears and their denning areas; to maintain unimpaired the water habitat for significant salmon populations; and to protect scenic, geological, cultural and recreational features."

The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes

The June 1912 eruption of Novarupta Volcano altered the Katmai area dramatically. Severe earthquakes rocked the area for a week before Novarupta exploded with cataclysmic force. Enormous quantities of hot, glowing pumice and ash were ejected from Novarupta and nearby fissures. This material flowed over the terrain, destroying all life in its path. The trees on upper slopes were snapped off and carbonized by the blasts of hot wind and gas. For several days, ash, pumice, and gas were ejected, and a haze darkened the sky over most of the Northern Hemisphere.

When it was over, more than 65 square kilometers (40 square miles) of lush green land lay buried beneath volcanic deposits as much as 200 meters (700 feet) deep. At nearby Kodiak, for two days a person could not see a lantern held at arm's length. Acid rain caused clothes to disintegrate on clotheslines in distant Vancouver, Canada. The eruption was 10 times more forceful than the 1980 eruption of Mount St Helens. Eventually, Novarupta became dormant. In the valleys of Knife Creek and the Ukak River, innumerable small holes and cracks developed in the volcanic ash deposits, permitting gas and steam from the heated ground water to escape.

It was an apparently unnamed valley when the 20th century's most dramatic volcanic episode took place. Robert Griggs, exploring the volcano's aftermath for the National Geographic Society in 1916, stared awe struck off Katmai Pass, across the valley's roaring landscape riddled by thousands of steam vents. Griggs named it The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. "The whole valley as far as the eye could reach was full of hundreds, no thousands -- literally, tens of thousands -- of smokes curling up from its fissured floor," Griggs would write. One thousand steam vents reached 150 meters (500 feet) in the air, some more than 300 meters (1,000 feet). Such marvels inspired explorers on the next year's expedition.

The expedition's surveyor did not concur with such glowing assessments of natural wonders that seriously reduced visibility: "The smokes did not impress me with their grandeur.... Their ability to make surveying next to impossible did ... A wool comfort placed on the ground which is 110¡F ... will steam beautifully. It is a natural phenomenon, but it is not a good bed." Nature can't please everyone.

Only one eruption in historic times -- Greece's Santorini in 1,500 BC -- displaced more volcanic matter than Novarupta. The terrible 1883 eruption of Indonesia's Krakatoa belched out little more than half as much, yet killed 35,000 people. Vastly isolated Novarupta killed no one. If the eruption occurred on Manhattan Island in New York City, Robert Griggs calculated, residents of Chicago would hear it plainly. The fumes would tarnish brass in Denver. Acid raindrops would burn your skin in Toronto. Manhattan would have no survivors.

Today you can take the trip from Brooks Camp out to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, where the turbulent Ukak River and its tributaries cut deep gorges in the accumulated ash. The landscape slowly recovers. In nature, every destruction is a new creation somewhere.

Coastal Unit

On April 24, 1931, President Hoover added coastline lands northward to Douglas River to the monument to protect "features of historical and scientific interest, for the protection of brown bear, moose and other wildlife." Later, on August 4, 1942, President Roosevelt added islands in the Shelikof Strait, which lie within 5 miles of the shoreline to protect marine mammals and deter poaching. These actions created the second largest marine park in the nation, with a coastline of 480 miles and about 1 million acres of coastal watersheds contained between the Aleutian Range and the Shelikof Strait. In 1980, the coast and most of Katmai National Park was designated as wilderness.

Historically, natives with origins and associations to the Kodiak Archipelago settled the Katmai coast. Currently, there are no persons living year-round on the coast, but during and shortly after the turn of the century, coastal villages and canneries had numerous occupants. Presently, most commercial fishing and many tourism operations on the Katmai coast also call the Kodiak Archipelago their homeport. The weather is typically Alaskan, requiring preparation and experience to insure a safe and enjoyable trip. The marine waters are notorious for unpredictability and periodic rough conditions from wind, waves and tides. A true wilderness experience waits on the Katmai coast.

People

People have been visiting the place we call Katmai for thousands of years. Some found a good life in the heart of the park near the present-day Brooks River. Others made their existence along the islands and shores of the rugged Shelikof Strait. The rich natural resources of the Alaska Peninsula brought these people to this land of fierce storms, high seas and steaming volcanoes.

Streams filled with salmon, tundra plains covered with migrating caribou and ocean shores teeming with abundant life were the attraction. Some came to stay, building partially underground homes to protect them from the howling winds and frigid winter temperatures. Others came to take advantage of rich summer salmon runs, constructing summer shelters but retreating from the mountains during the winter. Many traveled through the park crossing from the east side of the peninsula to Bristol Bay. The trail over Katmai Pass was a link between peoples, a route that provided access to a greater variety of food sources and a sharing of story and culture.

For more than 6,000 years people have called Katmai home. The prehistoric resources left from earlier days are included in three archeological districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the Savonoski River, Takli Island and the Brooks River districts. The archeology of Katmai National Park has contributed significantly to an understanding of prehistoric cultural developments in southwestern Alaska.

Today the natural resources of Katmai National Preserve provide critical food supplies for descendants of those earliest inhabitants. Native Alaskans living a subsistence lifestyle harvest fish and game, intimately linking their lives with the life of this land.

Land Ownership

Katmai National Park and Preserve encompasses 4,093,000 acres. Of that acreage, 423,720 acres are in the preserve. Within the park and preserve there are 3,473,000 acres in designated wilderness. The boundaries encompass about 100,000 acres in non-federal ownership and about 29,000 acres that are under application by state and local groups. Major landholders include the Bristol Bay Native Corporation, Katmailand, State of Alaska, Igiugig Native Corporation, Alaska Peninsula Corporation, Paug-Vik Inc., the U.S. Air Force, and the Russian Orthodox Church in America. There are several thousand acres of native allotments (approved or applied for), and other small tracts. Adjacent lands are owned/managed by the State of Alaska, Native Corporations, private landholders, BLM, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. All of these groups would appear to be interested in cooperative inventory and research programs with Katmai National Park and Preserve.

Environment

The past and present of Katmai is notable for its diversity. Most significantly, the park and preserve is divided into very different environments east and west of the Aleutian Range. Ten thousand years ago, the glaciers covering large portions of the Alaska Peninsula receded, and the region's main landforms and drainage systems were established. There were long-term fluctuations in sea and lake levels during this time period. Other than minor oscillations in temperature and humidity, the regional climate has remained essentially the same since the end of the Pleistocene. Vegetation patterns have changed slowly, culminating in an influx of spruce forests during the last several centuries. Both the abundance and diversity of fish and wildlife populations have likely remained relatively constant, although fluctuations in salmon and caribou populations have taken place over time. Volcanism and tectonic events have remained a continuing process that undoubtedly has had effects on human inhabitants of the area for the last 8,000 years.

Archeological Resources

The region that Katmai National Park and Preserve is located in contains perhaps the richest prehistoric and protohistoric cultural resources in the greatest concentrations known in Alaska. The abundant and varied natural resources that existed in the region at the end of the Pleistocene and during the Holocene resulted in the development along the pacific mainland and island coasts of the largest prehistoric populations in Alaska. A second ecological zone, the lake and riverine settings on the Bristol Bay side of the Peninsula provided prehistoric peoples with a wealth of resources that included anadramous fish and terrestrial mammals. In the park, the Brooks River Archeological District and the Takli Island Archeological District, both on the National Register of Historic Places, are only two examples of the richness of the two zones.

Currently, the park Cultural Sites Inventory lists 106 known or suspected archeological sites in the park and preserve. Of the 99 known sites, twenty-five have been recognized as nationally significant and have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Many of these sites are located within one of the three Archeological Districts that are in the park and preserve. The remaining sites have not been evaluated as yet. Archeological survey has been confined to the Pacific Coast and the Brooks River/Naknek areas of the park and preserve. The majority of Katmai has not been inventoried - somewhat less than 5% has been examined. A bias in the types of known sites undoubtedly exists due to this non-representative approach. Potential contact, conflict, diffusion, intermixing, and population replacement between the Bering Sea (Bristol Bay) and Shelikof Strait (Pacific Coast) are themes that underlie most of Katmai prehistory. In later times, movement and interaction along the Peninsula, as well as across it, both from the mainland and the Aleutians is apparent. Understanding these relationships and shifts is key to any comprehension of the human history in Katmai.

However, as a result of the archeological research carried out in Katmai National Park and Preserve since 1954, we have a good basic understanding of the sequence of prehistoric occupations in the region. The cultural sequence for the park and preserve includes representatives of all the major cultural traditions that have been identified for the Alaskan arctic environment. The two ecological zones formed by the Aleutian Range have somewhat different prehistoric cultural chronologies - reflecting Bering Sea influence on one side and Pacific coast cultural influence on the other.

The Paleoarctic tradition dates from around 9000-8000 B.P. (before present) on the Peninsula. It has been found at a site at the mouth of the Kvichak River and at Ugashik Lake, just outside the park boundaries. Because of its widespread distribution in Alaska and on the Peninsula, it can be expected that sites belonging to the tradition exist both in the Bristol Bay region and the Pacific Coast region.

The Northern Archaic tradition appeared in the region around 5000 B.P. The earliest such assemblage in the area has been found at a site at the mouth of the Kvichak River and is found in central Katmai. Bifacial projectile points with side notches and unifacial scrapers characterize it. The assemblage has many similarities with Archai cultures of the boreal forests to the south and east of the Arctic, and does not appear to have been immediately derived from Asian cultures. During this same time period, a separate cultural tradition existed along the Pacific Coast of the Peninsula but reached inland as far as Brooks River in the Bristol Bay region. Dumond has referred to this phase as the Brooks River Strand phase of the Kodiak tradition. Elsewhere, it is labeled the Ocean Bay I tradition. It marks the first appearance of ground slate in any quantity in assemblages in this region.

In the Bristol Bay region, the Arctic Small Tool tradition (ASTt) appears around 3800 B.P. and lasts until about 3100 B.P. This cultural tradition, which has northeast Asian roots, appears fully-developed in Alaska and spreads from the Bering Strait area eastward to Hudson's Bay and Greenland, as well as southward to interior Alaska and the north Pacific coast. It appears that bearers of this cultural tradition immigrated to the Katmai region. Some researchers have labeled these people as "Paleoeskimo" or ancestral to modern Eskimo populations, based on the persistence of certain types of lithic tool types and adaptive strategies. Others see Inupiaq and Yupik roots in later immigrants from Asia. At the same time period, on the Pacific Coast of the Peninsula, along Shelikof Strait, an Ocean Bay II-like cultural tradition known as the Takli Birch phase was thriving. Polished or ground slate artifacts appeared in coastal Katmai for the first time along with large coastal middens. The intrusive ASTt occupation of Brooks River represents a unique phase in the interior prehistory of Katmai because it is a 700-year period when Brooks River assemblages do not reflect the influence of Shelikof Strait culture. Whether catastrophic volcanic activity or cultural barriers caused this is not known. Presently we don't have enough information to solve this puzzle.

Following a gap or blank in the archeological record in the Katmai area, Norton tradition people arrived at the Brooks River area about 2300 B.P. and were resident until around 1000 B.P. (in three distinct phases). They were the first in the area to use pottery and ground slate was more commonly used than flaked lithic tools. Numerous sites and components of sites within Katmai contain evidence of Norton occupations. While related to the Arctic Small Tool tradition culture, to some researchers Norton appears to be a distinct development, marked by a shift to an economy based on coastal resources. At the same time, from around 2000 B.P. to 1000 B.P., the Takli Beach and Takli Cottonwood cultures flourished on the Shelikof Strait, actively pursuing land and sea mammals and taking fish and shellfish. Once again there appear striking similarities in the cultural remains of Bristol Bay and Pacific Coast, indicating increased contact between them. Cottonwood and Beach culture were part of the widespread Kodiak tradition (called Kachemak tradition by some researchers) - centered on that island but reaching as far as the Kenai Peninsula. This important tradition is represented in the park by the Kukak Village site (XMK-006), located at the entrance of Kukak Bay. Only partially excavated, the work has contributed significantly to formulation of the cultural chronology of Shelikof Strait, especially the Kodiak and Koniag traditions.

The last major influx from the Bering Sea area into the Katmai region prior to European contact was the Thule tradition. The Thule, or "Neoeskimo," people appear to have been the direct antecedents of the historic Eskimo people. According to Harritt, "developing cultural traditions of the Bering Sea region around A.D. 600 gave rise to the Eskimo culture that was first encountered in southern Alaska by Russian explorers around the middle of the 18th century." On the Pacific Coast, at the Kukak Village site, the Mound phase represents the Koniag tradition, the historic inhabitants of Kodiak and the Shelikof Strait region. Both groups show a strong emphasis on maritime resources, but the technology of the Thule people was equally useful for hunting and gathering on land. Gravel-tempered pottery and certain characteristic tool types appeared on the Pacific Coast, on the Bristol Bay coast, and at inland sites at this time, indicating communication across the Peninsula. Many scholars hypothesize that Thule culture arrived on the Peninsula as a wave of diffusion or immigration, influencing the shift of Kodiak/Kachemak culture at the same time. Others feel that indigenous development, albeit with some influence from the north, led to the flowering of Koniag culture. In the study of the ebb and flow of different cultures and adaptations over the centuries in this area, the possible crucial role of volcanic eruptions and ash falls - as directly destructive and also as environmentally disruptive as they can be, must be part of any extended research program.

Historical Aspects

The 1912 eruption of Mt. Katmai led to the establishment of Katmai National Park and Preserve and had major effects on the inhabitants of that area. However, European contact, with its disruptions, had occurred much earlier. As early as 1750, Russian hunters and missionaries were using the Katmai trail. This prominent native trail joined Katmai Village, located on Katmai River near the seacoast, with the villages of Savonoski, located near Lake Naknek, and Naknek, on the shore of Bristol Bay. The same trail was a popular route for American explorers and prospectors until the 1912 eruption covered much of the trail.

By 1784 Russian fur traders, seeking the valuable sea otter, established themselves on both Kodiak and the Katmai Shelikof Strait coastal areas. They virtually enslaved the Koniag and other Pacific Eskimos in the fur trading operations, making them dependent upon the traders for their food, clothing, and other essentials. The Aglegmiut, who lived in the interior of the Peninsula area of Katmai, were not subjugated but were part of the trading network of the Russians. Katmai Village was the main trading post of the monopolistic Russian American Company from 1799 to 1867, and the trail over Katmai Pass inland from the coast was used for trading and missionary activity. By the time of the American purchase of Alaska in 1867, much of Pacific Eskimo culture had been destroyed and the natives had become "Russianized."

After the purchase, the Alaska Commercial Company bought most of the Russian American Company holdings in the region, but was never able to establish the monopoly and hegemony of the Russians. By 1890, most of the sea otter population had been decimated and the fur trade virtually ended. Soon after the turn to the century, the trading posts were closed and the local population returned to subsistence living. Soon, though, salmon canneries were established in the area and wage labor became available. Trappers and prospectors had explored much of the Peninsula and a few had built cabins there. The establishment of the monument in 1918 closed much of the Katmai area to resettlement, hunting, fishing and gathering. Scientific exploration and tourism became major activities within the park. As Katmai was expanded in 1931, 1932, and 1980, inholdings, mineral claims, subsistence and settlements became management issues. For instance, in the Bay of Islands, Naknek Lake, is Fure's Cabin. This log cabin, on the National Register of Historic Places and the List of Classified Structures, was built around 1914 by a trapper/prospector who married an Aleut and settled in the region. Overall, very little historical archeology has been done in Katmai, although the potential is there. Main research themes would be frontier development, communication and transportation.

Ethnographic Aspects

In late prehistoric and protohistoric times, the area that is now Katmai was occupied by various groups of people, all part of the Pacific Eskimo group. It seems that Koniag people occupied the entire pacific slope of the park and preserve. The center of this culture was on Kodiak Island and the mainland directly across from it. Another Pacific Eskimo group, the Peninsular Eskimo, of which very little is known, apparently lived in the Katmai area west of the Aleutian Range until just before the arrival of the Russians. At that time, a group of Eskimos from the Bristol Bay area, the Aglegmiut, were pushing into the Nushagak area and the shores of Bristol Bay, displacing the former inhabitants. Under Russian hegemony this movement continued and was completed. The former occupants, the Peninsular Eskimo, probably spoke Yupik, but their dialect remains unknown at present. As recently as 1953, natives who prior to the 1912 eruption had lived at Savonoski, a village on the upper Naknek drainage still maintained that they were a different people from the Aglegmiut who resided at the mouth of the river on Bristol Bay. There is some indication that a small group of Aleuts were located in a small enclave at the mouth of the Ugashik River. In addition, the Athabaskan people were pushing down the Alaska Peninsula from the Lake Clark area.

The questions and problems of the movement and diffusion of cultures up and down the Peninsula would be a prime research question for ethnographic and archeological investigation. In fact, very little archeological research has been done on numerous late prehistoric and protohistoric sites in the park. If combined with ethnographic and oral history work, this is potentially one of the richest of the parks in cultural resources.

Back To Top

Reservation Information

Reservations are taken for Brooks Campground and Brooks Camp Day Use Permits. Day Use permits are required for all visitors that come to Brooks Camp.

Backcountry permits are not required but are available, and backcountry permits are recommended for coastal users. They are helpful in providing the park with information on visitor use as well as being helpful in case of emergencies. Backcountry permits are available in King Salmon and at Brooks Camp.

For campground reservations and day use permits, contact Biospherics, Inc. at (800) 365-CAMP (2267).

Back To Top

Return to National Parks Directory

This content is provided courtesy of Maptech¨.

Perfect for the active explorer, the Maptech National Park Digital Guide is available for sale now.
Click here for more information and online ordering.