10 Facts About Noatak Wilderness

Noatak Wilderness National Preserve borders Kobuk Valley National Park on the south and Gates of the Arctic National Park on the east.

The Noatak Wilderness Basin is a transition zone for plants and animals between Arctic and subarctic environments.

The lower portion of the Noatak Wilderness valley has areas of boreal forest, but most vegetation is low-growing tundra species.

Wildlife of the Noatak Wilderness tundra includes Alaskan moose, grizzly bears, black bears, wolf packs, Arctic foxes, lemmings, Dall's sheep, vast herds of caribou numbering more than 230,000 individuals, and a variety of birds.

Central feature of the preserve is the Noatak Wilderness River, and is a breeding ground for a variety of commercially important fish.

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Since Noatak Wilderness is a national preserve, both subsistence hunting by local residents and sport hunting by outsiders are permitted in the preserve.

However, most trips on the Noatak Wilderness River take place high on the river in Gates of the Arctic National Park, typically from Twelve Mile Creek to Lake Matcherak.

The lower valley of the Noatak Wilderness is not part of the preserve, separating the preserve from Cape Krusenstern National Monument on the coast.

Archaeological investigations of the Noatak Wilderness Valley have found artifacts at sites mostly outside of the preserve.

The lower Noatak Wilderness was first explored in 1850 by men from the British survey ship HMS Plover.