EPISODES

Mount Wrangell
Mount Sanford
Mount Drum
Mount Jarvis
Mount Blackburn
Atna Peaks
Regal Mountain
Bona-Churchill Massif

The Wrangell Mountains form the volcanic heart of the park. Covering over 2,000 square miles, the Wrangell Volcanic Field is made up of thousands of lava flows and some of the highest peaks in North America, and includes Mount Wrangell, one of the largest (by volume) active volcanoes in the world.

The Wrangell volcanoes were formed over the last 5 million years by massive eruptions which were the result of tectonic collisions along the Pacific and North American crustal plates. Volcanism in this region started much earlier than that (as much as 26 million years ago), but all that remains of that early volcanism is the rocks themselves—the volcanic mountains from that time period have long since been eroded away. Although this activity has slowed for the past few thousand years, there is still heat at shallow depth, as evidenced by Mount Wrangell's occasional steam plumes, and by a series of active mud volcanoes east of Glennallen. The mountain range includes Mt Sanford, Mt Drum, Mt Wrangell, Mt Blackburn, Mt Churchill, Mt Jarvis and Mt Regal.

Source: Wrangell St. Elias National Park Service