The Bering Land Bridge National Preserve is one of the most remote

Protected areas of the United States The protected areas of the United States are managed by an array of different federal, state, tribal and local level authorities and receive widely varying levels of protection. Some areas are managed as wilderness, while others are operated wi ...

, located on the

Seward Peninsula The Seward Peninsula is a large peninsula on the western coast of the U.S. state of Alaska whose westernmost point is Cape Prince of Wales. The peninsula projects about into the Bering Sea between Norton Sound, the Bering Strait, the Chukchi S ...

. The

National Preserve There are 21 protected areas of the United States designated as national preserves. They were established by an act of Congress to protect areas that have resources often associated with national parks but where certain natural resource-extracti ...

protects a remnant of the

Bering Land Bridge Beringia is defined today as the land and maritime area bounded on the west by the Lena River in Russia; on the east by the Mackenzie River in Canada; on the north by 72 degrees north latitude in the Chukchi Sea; and on the south by the tip of ...

that connected

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

with

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

more than 13,000 years ago during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

. The majority of this land bridge now lies beneath the waters of the Chukchi and

Bering Sea The Bering Sea (, ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and The Ameri ...

s. During the glacial epoch this bridge was a migration route for people, animals, and plants whenever ocean levels fell enough to expose the land bridge. Archeologists disagree whether it was across this Bering Land Bridge, also called

Beringia Beringia is defined today as the land and maritime area bounded on the west by the Lena River in Russia; on the east by the Mackenzie River in Canada; on the north by 72 degrees north latitude in the Chukchi Sea; and on the south by the tip ...

, that humans first migrated from Asia to populate the Americas, or whether it was via a coastal route. Bering Land Bridge National Monument was established in 1978 by Presidential proclamation under the authority of the

Antiquities Act The Antiquities Act of 1906 (, , ), is an act that was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906. This law gives the President of the United States the authority to, by presidential procla ...

. The designation was modified in 1980 to a

national preserve There are 21 protected areas of the United States designated as national preserves. They were established by an act of Congress to protect areas that have resources often associated with national parks but where certain natural resource-extracti ...

with the passage of the

Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) is a United States federal law signed by President Jimmy Carter on December 2, 1980. ANILCA provided varying degrees of special protection to over of land, including national parks, na ...

(ANILCA), which would allow both subsistence hunting by local residents and sport hunting. The preserve includes significant archaeological sites and a variety of geological features. The preserve has seen recent volcanic activity, with lava flows and lake-filled

maar A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption (an explosion which occurs when groundwater comes into contact with hot lava or magma). A maar characteristically fills with water to form a relatively shallow ...

s. Hot springs are a popular destination for tourists.

Geography

The preserve lies on the northern side of the

, with . The preserve extends along the coast from a point to the west of Deering along Goodhope Bay to

Cape Espenberg Cape Espenberg is a cape located on the Seward Peninsula in Alaska, on the Chukchi Sea coast. Cape Espenberg points northwards, 42 mi NW of Deering, Kotzebue-Kobuk Low. On its southeastern side there is the small Goodhope Bay, an inlet of ...

, then westward along the shore of the

Chukchi Sea Chukchi Sea ( rus, Чуко́тское мо́ре, r=Chukotskoye more, p=tɕʊˈkotskəjə ˈmorʲɪ), sometimes referred to as the Chuuk Sea, Chukotsk Sea or the Sea of Chukotsk, is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west b ...

. The boundary moves inland to avoid the village of

Shishmaref Shishmaref ( ; ik, Qigiqtaq, ; rus, Шишмарёв, p=ʂɨʂmɐˈrʲɵf) is a City (Alaska), city in the Nome Census Area, Alaska, Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States. It is located on Sarichef Island in the Chukchi Sea, just north of ...

and the Shishmaref Inlet, then rejoins the coast to include Ikpek Lagoon. A narrow corridor connects the Ikpek Lagoon section to the main preserve. The interior portions extend to and across the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

as far as the

Bendeleben Mountains The Bendeleben (/ˈbɛn.dəˌleɪ.bɨn/) Mountains are a mountain range on the heart of the Seward Peninsula in Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States. This range forms a major divide between drainage basins draining into the Pacific Ocean and ...

. The region around the continental divide includes volcanic areas such as

Serpentine Hot Springs The Bering Land Bridge National Preserve is one of the most remote Protected areas of the United States, located on the Seward Peninsula. The National Preserve protects a remnant of the Bering Land Bridge that connected Asia with North Americ ...

and lava fields between the

Noxapaga River Noxapaga River (alternates: Kugrukruk and Kugirukuk) is a tributary of the Kuzitrin River on the Seward Peninsula in the U.S. state of Alaska. Heading in the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, it flows northwest for , then west for , then sout ...

and the

Kuzitrin River The Kuzitrin River (''Kurritqiun'' in Inupiaq) is a stream, long, on the Seward Peninsula in the U.S. state of Alaska. It begins at Kuzitrin Lake in the central region of the peninsula and flows west into the Imuruk Basin. The basin drains via ...

. The preserve's high point is Mount Boyan on the south border. There are no roads into the preserve. Access to the preserve is by

bush plane A bush airplane is a general aviation aircraft used to provide both scheduled and unscheduled passenger and flight services to remote, undeveloped areas, such as the Canadian north or bush, Alaskan tundra, the African bush, or savanna, Amazon ra ...

s or boats during summer months and by ski planes,

snowmobiles A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

dog sled A dog sled or dog sleigh is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing. Traditionally in Greenland and the e ...

s during the winter. Bering Land Bridge National Preserve contains several sites of geological and prehistorical significance. Serpentine Hot Springs is the preserve's most visited location. Other notable locations in the preserve include the Trail Creek Caves,

Devil Mountain Lakes Devil Mountain Lakes ( Inupiaq: ''Qitiqłiik'') is a maar (a form of crater lake) in the western part of Alaska. The lake is considered to be the largest maar in the worldLost Jim Lava Flow. File:Dorothy Falls (9514154024).jpg, Dorothy Falls File:Copper Canyon (9514352488).jpg, Copper Canyon File:Early Fall Colors at Cottonwood (9511252941).jpg, Cottonwood File:Kuzitrin Lake Rainbow (9514205138).jpg, Kuzitrin Lake

Volcanism and geology

The Seward Peninsula is a remnant of the

subcontinent that linked Alaska and Siberia during periods of low sea levels during

s. The region was mostly untouched by glaciers during the ice age. The preserve lands can be described by five physiographic zones: the northern coastal plan, the rolling stream-dissected uplands, the Imuruk lava plateau, the Kuzitrin flats, and the Bendeleben Mountains. The Seward Peninsula is primarily composed of metamorphic

blueschist Blueschist (), also called glaucophane schist, is a metavolcanic rock that forms by the metamorphism of basalt and rocks with similar composition at high pressures and low temperatures (), approximately corresponding to a depth of . The blue co ...

, with deposits of sand, gravel, silt,

loess Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits. Loess is a periglacial or aeolian ...

and a few glacier-deposited

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...

s. The area around Cape Espenberg includes a series of relict beach ridges like those found farther north at

Cape Krusenstern Cape Krusenstern is a cape on the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, located near the village of Kivalina at . It is bounded by Kotzebue Sound to the south and the Chukchi Sea to the west, and consists of a series of beach ridges a ...

. These deposits are found mainly in the coastal plain, where they form a system of lagoons and barrier bars or spits. The rolling uplands lie inland and to the south of the coastal plain. The Serpentine Hot Springs and Trail Creek Caves are in this region of limestone, marble and other minerals. Bering Land Bridge NPr Serpentine Hot Springs

Bering Land Bridge NPr Serpentine Hot Springs

Volcanic activity in the interior has left areas of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

on the Imuruk lava plateau. The volcanic activity has been recent — the Lost Jim lava flow is estimated to be only 1,000 to 2,000 years old, produced from around 75 vents. The largest vent is the Lost Jim Cone, about high. One remnant of volcanism is the presence of hot springs. The Serpentine Hot Springs produce water at a temperature of to , and have been used for millennia by local people. Granite

tors Tors may refer to: * Tor (rock formation), rock outcrops * Ivan Tors (1916–1983), playwright, screenwriter and film and television producer * TransOral Robotic Surgery, a surgical technique See also * Tor (disambiguation) * Ten Tors * Tors Cov ...

are another volcanic remnant, formed underground and exposed by erosion. Bering Land Bridge has the four largest and northernmost

lakes in the world at Espenberg, formed by

phreatomagmatic eruption Phreatomagmatic eruptions are volcanic eruptions resulting from interaction between magma and water. They differ from exclusively magmatic eruptions and phreatic eruptions. Unlike phreatic eruptions, the products of phreatomagmatic eruptions conta ...

s leaving round craters. The ages of the lakes range from 100,000–200,000 years at Whitefish Maar, to 50,000 years at North Killeak Maar, 40,000 years at South Killeak Maar, and 17,500 years at Devil Mountain Maar. The action of ice and

permafrost Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...

produces features such as polygonal

ice wedge An ice wedge is a crack in the ground formed by a narrow or thin piece of ice that measures up to 3–4 meters in length at ground level and extends downwards into the ground up to several meters. During the winter months, the water in the gr ...

s and

pingo Pingos are intrapermafrost ice-cored hills, high and in diameter. They are typically conical in shape and grow and persist only in permafrost environments, such as the Arctic and subarctic. A pingo is a periglacial landform, which is defin ...

Serpentine Hot Springs

Serpentine Hot Springs, ( Inupiaq: ''Iyat'' or ''Uunaatuq''), previously known as Arctic Hot Springs, is located in the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve. The springs are also referred to as ''Iyat,'' the Inupiaq word for cooking pot. Serpentine Hot Springs is on the northern part of the Seward Peninsula at 65°51′N, 164°43′W. The springs are situated on the right bank of Hot Springs Creek which flows to the Serpentine River, 47 miles NW of

Imuruk Lake Imuruk Lake is the largest body of fresh water in Seward Peninsula in the U.S. state of Alaska. It measures and has a drainage basin of , It lies on top of a lava plateau at an elevation of . The drainage basin is relatively flat, as the maxim ...

. File:Serpentine rocks (9922868266).jpg, Serpentine rocks File:Serpentine Nature (Tors) Photo1 resize (16085999268).jpg, Serpentine Tors File:Tor landscape (7692291618).jpg, Serpentine Tors File:Serpentine fall (9922893356).jpg, Serpentine Falls

History

Serpentine Hot Springs was originally described by Arthur J. Collier in U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin (1902). Collier noted that Charles McLennan, who with a dog team and Inupiat assistants, was probably the first white man to reach the hot springs in May, 1900. McLennan may have staked a mining claim nearby but left the country by September, 1901. Another miner, John Sirene, built a cabin and maintained a garden at the springs. Miners used the area intermittently until around 1915, when prospectors built a cabin, bathhouse, and a bathing pool that was 10 to 12 feet in diameter nearby. A runway may have been constructed in 1923 and a bunkhouse was dragged in by Alaska Road Commission workers in 1949. In 1953, the nearby village of Shishmaref received $53,000 in state funds to construct a public bath house. It is possible that the springs were used traditionally by Inupiat residents for cooking, for healing and spiritual purposes. Anthropologists who studied the Inupiat in the area reported local beliefs that the healing influences at the hot springs site was very strong.

Ecology

Most of the land in the preserve is

tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...

, underlain by permafrost. The tundra supports a variety of low and slow-growing plants. The landscape is dominated by grasses and sedges, such as

cottongrass ''Eriophorum'' (cottongrass, cotton-grass or cottonsedge) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cyperaceae, the sedge family. They are found throughout the arctic, subarctic, and temperate portions of the Northern Hemisphere in acid bog h ...

. Large trees cannot survive on the tundra. Tree species are limited to dwarf species like

Arctic willow ''Salix arctica'', the Arctic willow, is a tiny creeping willow (family Salicaceae). It is adapted to survive in Arctic conditions, specifically tundras. Description ''S. arctica'' is typically a low shrub growing to only in height, rarely to ...

Alaska willow ''Salix alaxensis'' is a species of flowering plant in the willow family known by the common names Alaska willow and feltleaf willow. It is native to northern North America, where it occurs throughout Alaska and northwestern Canada.Uchytil, Rona ...

and

dwarf birch ''Betula nana'', the dwarf birch, is a species of birch in the family Betulaceae, found mainly in the tundra of the Arctic region. Description It is a monoecious, deciduous shrub growing up to high. The bark is non-peeling and shiny red-coppe ...

. Berry-bearing plants in the preserve include bog blueberry,

crowberry ''Empetrum nigrum'', crowberry, black crowberry, or, in western Alaska, blackberry, is a flowering plant species in the heather family Ericaceae with a near circumboreal distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. It is usually dioecious, but there ...

, low-bush cranberry and cloudberry or salmonberry. Lichens are found in rocky areas, including ''

Cetraria ''Cetraria'' is a genus of fruticose lichens that associate with green algae as photobionts. Most species are found at high latitudes, occurring on sand or heath. Species have a characteristic "strap-like" form, with spiny lobe edges. '' Cetra ...

'', ''

Cladina ''Cladonia'' is a genus of moss-like lichens in the family Cladoniaceae. They are the primary food source for reindeer/caribou. ''Cladonia'' species are of economic importance to reindeer-herders, such as the Sami in Scandinavia or the Nenets i ...

'', ''

Cladonia ''Cladonia'' is a genus of moss-like lichens in the family Cladoniaceae. They are the primary food source for reindeer/caribou. ''Cladonia'' species are of economic importance to reindeer-herders, such as the Sami in Scandinavia or the Nenets ...

'', ''

Xanthoria ''Xanthoria'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. Common names include orange lichen,Umbilicaria Rock tripe is the List of common names of lichen genera, common name for various lichens of the genus ''Umbilicaria'' that grow on rocks. They are widely distributed, including on bare rock in Antarctica, and throughout northern parts of North Am ...

'' genera. Mosses and liverworts in the preserve include ''

Sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...

'' peat mosses, '' Aulacomnium'' bog mosses, ''

Dicranum ''Dicranum'' is a genus of mosses, also called wind-blown mosses or fork mosses. These mosses form in densely packed clumps. Stems may fork, but do not branch. In general, upright stems will be single but packed together. ''Dicranum'' is distrib ...

'' forked mosses, ''

Polytrichum ''Polytrichum'' is a genus of mosses — commonly called haircap moss or hair moss — which contains approximately 70 species that cover a cosmopolitan distribution. The genus ''Polytrichum'' has a number of closely related sporophytic character ...

'' haircap mosses and ''

Rhizomnium ''Rhizomnium'' is a genus of mosses in the family Mniaceae commonly referred to as leafy mosses. They grow nearly worldwide, mostly in the northern hemisphere. Species * '' Rhizomnium andrewsianum'' * '' Rhizomnium appalachianum'' * '' Rhizomni ...

''. In spring the preserve features a variety of wildflowers, including Alpine Arnica,

fireweed ''Chamaenerion angustifolium'' is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the willowherb family Onagraceae. It is known in North America as fireweed, in some parts of Canada as great willowherb, in Britain and Ireland as rosebay willowherb. In ...

, Kamchatka rhododendron,

Labrador tea Labrador tea is a common name for three closely related plant species in the genus ''Rhododendron'' as well as an herbal tea made from their leaves. All three species are primarily wetland plants in the heath family. The herbal tea has been a ...

monkshood ''Aconitum'' (), also known as aconite, monkshood, wolf's-bane, leopard's bane, mousebane, women's bane, devil's helmet, queen of poisons, or blue rocket, is a genus of over 250 species of flowering plants belonging to the family Ranunculaceae. ...

, one-flowered cinquefoil,

harebell ''Campanula rotundifolia'', the harebell, Scottish bluebell, or bluebell of Scotland, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This herbaceous perennial is found throughout the temperate regions of the northern hemi ...

and alpine forget-me-not. File:Bearberry and lichen (7977125277).jpg,

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi ''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi'' is a plant species of the genus ''Arctostaphylos'' widely distributed across Circumboreal Region, circumboreal regions of the subarctic Northern Hemisphere. Kinnikinnick (First Nations in Canada, First Nations for "smo ...

File:Potentilla uniflora (8029755823).jpg, '' Potentilla uniflora'' File:Eriophorum angustifolium (5858098416).jpg, '' Eriophorum angustifolium '' File:Eritrichium nanum (5822403162).jpg, ''

Eritrichium nanum ''Eritrichium nanum'', the arctic alpine forget-me-not or king-of-the-Alps, is a circumpolar alpine cushion plant which occurs in the North American Rocky mountains as well as the European Alps. It grows at elevations of 10,000 feet in an environ ...

'' File:Vaccinium oxycoccos (7497509706).jpg, ''

Vaccinium oxycoccos ''Vaccinium oxycoccos'' is a species of flowering plant in the heath family. It is known as small cranberry, marshberry, bog cranberry, swamp cranberry, or, particularly in Britain, just cranberry. It is widespread throughout the cool temperate ...

'' File:Kalmia procumbens (7497592758).jpg, ''

Kalmia procumbens ''Kalmia procumbens'', commonly known as alpine azalea or trailing azalea, is a dwarf shrub of high mountain regions of the Northern Hemisphere that usually grows no more than tall. Originally named by Linnaeus as ''Azalea procumbens'', it is al ...

Caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

are survivors of the ice age environment in the preserve, together with reintroduced

muskox The muskox (''Ovibos moschatus'', in Latin "musky sheep-ox"), also spelled musk ox and musk-ox, plural muskoxen or musk oxen (in iu, ᐅᒥᖕᒪᒃ, umingmak; in Woods Cree: ), is a hoofed mammal of the family Bovidae. Native to the Arctic, i ...

en. The muskoxen were reintroduced to the area in 1970, after being wiped out in the early 20th century. In addition to the native caribou, Siberian tundra reindeer (''Rangifer tarandus sibiricus'') were introduced in 1894, reaching a peak population of 600,000 animals in the 1930s. The herd has since been reduced to about 4,000. The Reindeer Act of 1937 prohibited ownership by non-Native Americans, and the reduced herds were managed by natives from that time onward. Other mammals in the preserve are

walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped, flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in ...

es,

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

es,

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...

Arctic fox The Arctic fox (''Vulpes lagopus''), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. It is well adapted to living in co ...

es,

ribbon seal The ribbon seal (''Histriophoca fasciata'') is a medium-sized pinniped from the true seal family (Phocidae). A seasonally ice-bound species, it is found in the Arctic and Subarctic regions of the North Pacific Ocean, notably in the Bering Sea and ...

wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...

s and

beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...

s. Significant nesting bird species include

sandhill crane The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on t ...

s and

yellow-billed loon The yellow-billed loon (''Gavia adamsii''), also known as the white-billed diver, is the largest member of the loon or diver family. Breeding adults have a black head, white underparts and chequered black-and-white mantle. Non-breeding plumage ...

s. File:Muskox Family.jpg,

Muskox The muskox (''Ovibos moschatus'', in Latin "musky sheep-ox"), also spelled musk ox and musk-ox, plural muskoxen or musk oxen (in iu, ᐅᒥᖕᒪᒃ, umingmak; in Woods Cree: ), is a hoofed mammal of the family Bovidae. Native to the Arctic, i ...

family File:Caribou (16272522662).jpg,

File:Arctic Tern (8028148944).jpg,

Arctic Tern The Arctic tern (''Sterna paradisaea'') is a tern in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe (as far south as Brittany), Asia, and North America (as far south a ...

File:Red Fox (3682444110).jpg,

Red Fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

File:Moose (9514270204).jpg,

Moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...

File:Willow Ptarmigan- George C. Wood resize (16273373035).jpg,

Willow ptarmigan The willow ptarmigan () (''Lagopus lagopus'') is a bird in the grouse subfamily Tetraoninae of the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is also known as the willow grouse and in Ireland and Britain, where the subspecies '' L. l. scotica'' was prev ...

The Seward Peninsula's rivers and streams are habitat for freshwater fish and for

anadromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousan ...

salmon species. The principal salmon species are chinook,

coho The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientific species name is ...

sockeye The sockeye salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also called red salmon, kokanee salmon, blueback salmon, or simply sockeye, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. This species is a P ...

, chum and

pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

salmon. Other salmonids such as

Dolly Varden trout The Dolly Varden trout (''Salvelinus malma'') is a species of salmonid fish native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. It belongs to the genus ''Salvelinus'', or true chars, which includes 51 recognized spec ...

and

Arctic grayling The Arctic grayling (''Thymallus arcticus'') is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family Salmonidae. ''T. arcticus'' is widespread throughout the Arctic and Pacific drainages in Canada, Alaska, and Siberia, as well as the upper Misso ...

remain in freshwater throughout their life cycle. The preserve also harbors

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...

and other fish. File:Bowhead-1 Kate Stafford edit (16272151841).jpg,

Bowhead whale The bowhead whale (''Balaena mysticetus'') is a species of baleen whale belonging to the family Balaenidae and the only living representative of the genus ''Balaena''. They are the only baleen whale endemic to the Arctic and subarctic waters, ...

breaching File:Ribbon-seal-male Josh London NOAAedit (16086029928) (cropped).jpg,

Ribbon Seal The ribbon seal (''Histriophoca fasciata'') is a medium-sized pinniped from the true seal family (Phocidae). A seasonally ice-bound species, it is found in the Arctic and Subarctic regions of the North Pacific Ocean, notably in the Bering Sea and ...

File:Walrus- U.S. F&W Service edit (16085870988).jpg,

Walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped, flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in ...

File:Dolly-Varden- Morgan Bond, U of Washington edit (15651417154).jpg,

The preserve has weather typical of northwestern Alaska, with long cold winters. Weather is moderated by the coastal location, but temperatures can reach in winter and typical low temperatures in winter are to . Summer temperatures average about . The average annual temperature is .

Muskoxen mass death in 2011

An entire herd of 55 muskoxen died in a storm surge in the National Reserve in February 2011. The herd had been crossing a bay in the

Kotzebue Sound Kotzebue Sound (russian: Залив Коцебу) is an arm of the Chukchi Sea in the western region of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is on the north side of the Seward Peninsula and bounded on the east by the Baldwin Peninsula. It is long and w ...

, when it was surprised by a combination of a tidal surge and flooding in connection with a winter storm. When the tidal surge reached the herd, it broke the ice underneath it and the herd plunged into the icy water. The temperature was below –30 °C, and the whole herd was killed and frozen in the ice. Four of the animals had been fitted with radio collars, and they were found by researchers looking for their signals. In addition to their reintroduction to this national preserve, the remaining population of muskoxen are currently in

Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve is an American national park that protects portions of the Brooks Range in northern Alaska. The park is the northernmost national park in the United States, situated entirely north of the Arctic Circ ...

as well as a local farm in

Palmer Palmer may refer to: People and fictional characters * Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land * Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Palmer (surname), including a list of people and ...

which has been existing since the mid-1950s.https://www.muskoxfarm.org

History

The Seward Peninsula, as part of Beringia, was a path for the migration of Asian peoples into the Americas. The earliest artifacts found in the area are modified animal bones dating to about 13,000 BC. These are not considered definitive, and the earliest undisputed evidence of human occupation are relics of the PaleoArctic tradition found in the Trail Creek Caves and dating to between 10,000 and 7,000 BC. Archaeological evidence suggests a gap in human occupation on the peninsula until about 4200 BC. Materials from the period 4000 to about 2000 BC, known as the Denbigh culture of the

Arctic small tool tradition The Arctic Small Tool tradition (ASTt) was a broad cultural entity that developed along the Alaska Peninsula, around Bristol Bay, and on the eastern shores of the Bering Strait around 2500 BC. ASTt groups were the first human occupants of Arctic ...

, have been found at Cape Espenberg, the Trail Creek Caves, Kuzitrin Lake and Agulaak Island. The Denbigh culture was followed by the Choris culture, which brought pottery and ground stone tools. Cape Espenberg, the Trail Creek Caves and the region around Lopp Lagoon were occupied during this time. This was followed by the Ipuitak culture from about 1900 BC to 1000 BC, at many of the same locations. The Northern Maritime tradition followed, comprising the Birnirk, Western Thule and Kotzebue Period cultures. This series of cultures spanned the period from 600 AD to the early 1800s, when traditional lifestyles were disrupted by the arrival of Europeans in the area. The fur trade, whaling and missionary activities changed the local economy, which was further altered in the late 19th century by the arrival of prospectors looking for gold on the southern side of the Seward Peninsula. Prospectors spread out across the peninsula, with

hydraulic mining Hydraulic mining is a form of mining that uses high-pressure jets of water to dislodge rock material or move sediment.Paul W. Thrush, ''A Dictionary of Mining, Mineral, and Related Terms'', US Bureau of Mines, 1968, p.560. In the placer mining of ...

undertaken in the Pinnel River in the preserve. The Seward Peninsula saw a further influx of outsiders during World War II, since Alaska was an important theater of the Pacific war. Bering Land Bridge Preserve 95

Administration and designations

Bering Land Bridge National Monument was established 1 December 1978, by President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

using his authority under the

. Carter took the action after the

(ANILCA) was held up in Congress. In 1980 ANILCA was passed, and was signed into law by Carter on 2 December 1980, converting the monument into a

. The preserve's headquarters are in the Sitnasuak Building in Nome.

References

External links

Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
National Park Service site

at the National Park Service Alaska Regional Office {{authority control National Preserves in Alaska Protected areas of Nome Census Area, Alaska Protected areas of Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska Protected areas established in 1978 Western Arctic National Parklands ANILCA establishments Hot springs of Alaska Bering Strait