Underlying the seashells and old beach sand is the ancient bedrock of the arctic shelf. A Summary of Existing Knowledge," Brooks pointed out misconceptions about Alaska that endure.
0000051015 00000 n 0000128043 00000 n dl"�>�׀������Ic��� #,� � Figure 4.Schematic cross section illustrating the structural styles of the western Brooks Range. "Alaskan surveys and explorations have never been and never will be easy," Brooks wrote. The Brooks Range is a mountain range in far northern North America stretching some 700 miles from west to east across northern Alaska into Canada's Yukon Territory. Reaching a peak elevation of 8,976 feet on Mount Isto, the range is believed to be approximately 126 million years old. Before we discuss the processes that created today’s Alaska Range, let’s review some basics about rocks and their origins.When rocks are squeezed and baked beneath Earth’s surface or by contact with lava at the surface, the minerals may recrystallize and change form. <<1B80A9B92550D1488C16B1B9B3C15536>]>> "The journey was made with horses, with only five out of the original 15 reaching the Yukon," Brooks wrote. 0000033430 00000 n During the winter the average high is −22 °C (−8 °F) while the average low is −30 °C (−22 °F).In certain areas of the Brooks Range, year round snow cover or "perennial snowfields", can be found. trailer In Brooks' day, about 60,000 people lived in Alaska. Figure 3.Regional chronostratigraphy of the western Brooks Range. 0000037591 00000 n Erosion carries these pieces away by water, wind, glaciers, and gravity, often transporting the pieces for long distances. While today's scientists sometimes use satellites and other remote-sensing tools to gain information about Alaska without leaving their offices, Brooks and his contemporaries at the U.S. Geological Survey spent entire summers on traverses of Alaska. 0000005083 00000 n In his 1906 government report "Geography and Geology of Alaska. 0000005004 00000 n %PDF-1.6 %���� The geology of Alaska includes ... North of the Brooks Range, a polar desert developed with windblown sand dunes. In the past, most of the snow and ice remained behind; very little melting occurred.
In the United States, these mountains are considered an extension of the While the range is mostly uninhabited, the Various historical records also referred to the range as the Arctic Mountains, Hooper Mountains, Meade Mountains and Meade River Mountains. These limestone and shale layers were both pushed upward and sometimes overridden by the drifting tectonic plate to make up the present core of the Brooks Range. x��V}Le�zmi�G?�CF����n�� ,Dz�&���0���tenZɂ����B`k���A����H�� C����)���2�ĸ:�� `�ۻ+'�?�����{������}/� �� ��1���%>�� �����_6�(uP}��-m��x�ř�8O�[��O~���G�Md�)���]Qb�B��n�
Thus it is not uncommon to find sea shells today at 3-5000 feet elevation in the Brooks. The Canadian portion of the range is officially called the The Brooks Range forms the northernmost drainage As one of the most remote and least-disturbed wildernesses of North America, the mountains are home to Because the rocks of the range were formed in an ancient seabed, the Brooks Range contains While other Alaskan ranges to the south and closer to the coast can receive 250 inches (640 cm) to 500 inches (1,300 cm) of snow, the average snow precipitation on the Brooks Range is reported at 30 inches (76 cm)As measured at the Anaktuvuk Pass weather station (elevation 770 metres (2,530 ft)), the average summer temperatures are 16 °C (61 °F) as a high and 3 °C (37 °F) as a low. 0000085077 00000 n 0000001136 00000 n
The Alaska Range and Denali: Geology and Orogeny. The map encompasses all of the Baird The Alaska Range is a 600-mile long arc of mountains that stretches from the Alaska-Canada border all the way to the Alaska Peninsula. 1302 0 obj <> endobj and his >30 years of research serves as a foundation to my understanding of Brooks Range geology.
0000006852 00000 n Typical metamorphic rocks around Denali include schist, slate, quartzite, and marble.Even as the uplift of the Alaska Range continues, weathering and erosion are constantly working to tear it down.