Denali : Alaska's Frontier

Denali National Park is a place full with exotic nature, rare views, and is home to North America's tallest mountain, Mt. McKinley, or as the natives call it, Denali which means "high one". Denali National Park is very large. In fact, the park itself is bigger than the state Massachusetts! This park is divided into three sections. They are the taiga, tundra and alpines. 

Denali is well known for its diversity of wildlife. Most of the 

exotic animals thrive in the lowest region- The Taiga. You can meet moose, beavers, lynx, wood-frog, opus beetle here. The wood-frog is the only amphibian found in the park. The tundra is the next. Trees cannot grow in this region because part of the soil is frozen and turns into permafrost. so only the plants with short roots can take hold in thin layer of soil. The wildlife here includes arctic ground squirrels, caribou, collared pika. Tundra is also sanctuary for dall sheep, only white sheep found in the world. That's the reason, Denali is the national park. The tundra predators are gray wolves and grizzly bears!

The alpines covers half of the park , is at highest altitude and extremely dry. In Denali, crevasses can be a hundred feet deep and wrong step can be last. Only one creature lives here, ice worm. They are adopted to live in cold temperature,if temperature rises above 40F, Ice worms starts to melt ! The higher up in the alpines, temperatures drops even further. The only one creature can withstand this- the humans. 

Almost 1,100 people try to scale Mt. McKinley every year. Though, only half make it to the top !

The outer limit of Denali is the highlight of all. Well above the wilderness and in to the thermosphere an aurora borealis occurs. The Denali is the perfect spot to view this dazzling display of light.

  

In the lower level of the Denali Visitor Center is a place where you can express what Denali means to you. Here is my most favorite thought shared by past visitors,

"Denali means new adventures, experiences, sensations, sights and knowledge. My job as I leave this beauty is to let it change me and my treatment of the world."  

And that's what true Denali is... !