Alaska's Natural Wonders: Pick #6 Yukon River

Place your vote (right) for the top 7 Alaska Natural Wonders. This is my sixth pick out of seven, more to follow.

The 2,300 mile Yukon River, interior, Alaska

The mighty Yukon River with with its headwaters in British Columbia, Canada is 2,300 miles long. It transects interior Alaska and has been the subject of literature and lore. More notably, it served as the great river highway for indigenous Alaskans and explorers, and is still used today as an access route in both summer and winter. Many of Alaska's rivers eventually drain into the Yukon, which empties into the Bering Sea at the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta.

Alalska's Natural Wonders: Pick #5 Volcano Eruption

Place your vote (right) for the top 7 Alaska Natural Wonders. This is my fifth pick out of seven, more to follow.

Mt. Augustine, volcanic island off the coast of the Alaska Peninsula. Incandescence lava flows on the North and North east flank.

Alaska contains over 130 volcanoes and is home to over three-quarters of the U.S. volcanoes that have erupted in the last 200 years, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory. They are predominantly situated along the Aleutian Arc, part of the northern portion of the Pacific "ring of fire". The picture above was taken from about 75 miles away, looking west across the Cook Inlet.

Alalska's Natural Wonders: Pick #4 Salmon migration

Place your vote (right) for the top 7 Alaska Natural Wonders. This is my fourth pick out of seven, more to follow.

Copper River Red Salmon (Sockeye)

Alaska has five species of Salmon, and they all are harvested for commercial, personal, or subsistence use. The King and the Red salmon however, are the most favored and their epic migration still remains a mystery in many ways. One may argue that salmon migration is not isolated to Alaska, and therefore weakens its worthiness for a position in Alaska's top 7 natural wonders. I might be partly jaded in my opinion, since I consume a lot of salmon. I've been documenting the Copper River red salmon for a few seasons and it is a beautiful and amazing creature. It gets my vote.

Alaska's Natural Wonders: Pick #3 Mt. McKinley (Denali)

Place your vote (right) for the top 7 Alaska Natural Wonders. This is my third pick out of seven, more to follow.

North face of Mt. McKinley (Denali), and Wonder lake, Denali National Park, Alaska.

North America's highest peak is Mount McKinley (20,320+ ft), situated in the Alaska range which arcs across Alaska's interior. The north face, as viewed here, shifts in a multitude of colors as the changing light makes it one of the greatest visual theaters I know of. It dominates the landscape, creates its own weather, and lures millions of visitors a year who hope to see its summit. It surely gets my vote for one of Alaska's most prominent natural wonders.

Alaska's Natural Wonders: Pick #2 Calving Galicer

Place your vote (right) for the top 7 Alaska Natural Wonders. This is my second pick out of 7, more to follow.

Meares glacier, Prince William Sound

The ancient mass of a glacier, particularly a tidewater glacier, that crashes into the sea is both a visual and audio phenomenon. Those who have witnessed it, won't soon forget its sense of power and immensity. There are many glaciers in Alaska, and I think some of the most spectacular ones are in Prince William Sound, in many ways, because of the surrounding beauty of the landscape. This frame was taken at Meares glacier, in northern Prince William Sound.

Alaska's Natural Wonders: Pick #1 Northern Lights

Place your vote (right) for the top 7 Alaska Natural Wonders. This is my first pick out of 7, more to follow.

Northern Lights over the Brooks range, Alaska.

Even though I've seen and photographed the northern lights many, many times, they never cease to amaze me. It is one subject listed under the 7 Natural wonders of the world. And it gets my vote here as well. Alaska, with its northern latitude, is well situated for viewing this phenomenon throughout the dark winter months.

Pick Alaska's 7 Natural Wonders

In a conversation with friends the subject of travel arose, and with that, a discussion about the 7 wonders of the world. There are many categorical variations of this, i.e., The 7 wonders of the natural world, the Ancient world, the medevial world, and more. I wondered what the 7 natural wonders of Alaska might be. So, I thought I'd give that a stab, and you can make your picks as well through the survey on the right. I'll add my picks along with a photo, with each successive post.

Red Salmon, Brooks Falls

Red Salmon, Brooks River, Katmai National Park, Alaska
Canon 1Ds Mark III, 500mm f4L IS, 1/640 sec @f/8, ISO 1000

In reviewing some files from a trip to Katmai, I came across this image, which is the only one I kept out of many taken. It's a much more difficult acquisition than it may appear. This is so for many reasons. One never knows for sure where the fish will jump, and they jump so quickly that it is almost impossible to use autofocus. Instead I pre-focused on a spot and waited. As you will notice, the salmon is red, which indicates it is later in the year than the strong runs in July and fewer fish jump by this time. So, lots and lots of waiting, then waiting for the fish to be in the correct position, the correct color, and in your plane of focus... and, you press the shutter at the right time. Staring at moving water through a 500mm lens makes your eyes wacky real fast. I used ISO 1000 to enable me to maximize the shutter speed and the f-stop. As it is, I could have used a faster shutter speed, but it was a trade off in depth of field.

Zastrugi

Zastrugi: wind blown snow patterns, Barter Island, Alaska

Canon 1Ds Mark III, 24-105 f4L IS, (45mm), 1/60 @ f/20, ISO 400

Zastrugi or "sastrugi" is a term used to describe patterns in the snow that coincide with the direction of the wind. In ground blizzards, snow patterns can actually serve as a compass if one knows the prevailing wind direction. They are also fantastic shapes to photograph. This was taken on Barter Island on Alaska's northern coast, looking off into the Beaufort Sea.

Tamaracks in snow

Tamarack trees, Fairbanks, Alaska
Canon 1Ds Mark III, 500mm f4.0L IS, 1/160 sec @ f8, ISO 800

Alaska's boreal forest is dominated by just a few species of trees, the birch, aspen and spruce. There is one conifer however that loses its needles during winter, unlike the other evergreen species of black and white spruce trees. The tamarack needles turn a yellow gold and drop as the first snows fall. I've been trying to capture this scene for years, but I'm often out of town at the proper time. This year however, I was able to grab this shot one day before leaving on a 10 day trip. I'm still hoping to get the scene while fresh snow is falling. The colors are vibrant and it is a tell-tale sign of winter's unfolding. I used a telephoto lens to isolate a few trees, including some at various stages of needle color.