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What
is Bering Land Bridge
National Preserve?
As
vast ice bodies locked up large portions of Earth’s water during
the ice ages, sea levels dropped by as much as 350 feet in the Bering
Straits region. At such times a land bridge across the Bering Sea
was exposed, connecting the two continents and providing a migratory
corridor for both plants and animals.
Bering Land Bridge National
Preserve, located on the northern Seward Peninsula, lies at the
heart of this continental crossroads that has profoundly influenced
the distribution of life in the northern hemisphere. While much
of the bridge itself is now overlain by the Bering and Chukchi Seas,
the 2.7 million acre Preserve provides an opportunity for research
and interpretation of the intermittent, 1,000 mile-wide land link
that existed as recently as 10,000 years ago.
Approximately 500 miles
northwest of Anchorage, the Preserve occupies about one-third of
the Seward Peninsula. The northern most point, Cape Espenberg, extends
just north of the Arctic Circle. The westernmost point, near Cape
Prince of Wales, lies only 70 miles from Eastern Asia.
The landscape is a treeless
expanse of tundra, mountains and serpentine streams. It is sprinkled
with lakes, bare rocky ridges and low growing willow and shrub.
The land is home to a variety of arctic and subarctic wildlife including
moose, bear, muskox, and caribou. Many species of mammals that lived
here during the ice ages are now extinct. Others have simply left
the area. Still others have moved into the region from other parts
of North America.
The Preserve is still
a place where the interchange of animals and plants between Asia
and North America can be seen. Birds from every continent on earth
travel here to nest. The bristle-thighed curlew migrates from Tahiti.
Wheateaters come from the north coast of Africa. Mammals, including
polar bear, walrus, Gray and bowhead whales, travel to and from
the region, oblivious to international or political boundaries.
Inupiaq Eskimo.residents
of local villages continue to depend upon the land, just as their
ancestors had done thousands of years ago. Subsistence hunting,
fishing and gathering comprises much of the human activity occurring
in the Preserve today. These activities provide for both the nutritional
needs and the cultural continuity of peoples whose ties to the region
go back generations.
Bering Land Bridge National
Preserve provides an opportunity to seek a better understanding
of the migration of humans and other life forms between Asia and
North America. Research continues to uncover the significance of
the land bridge, particularly as it relates to cultural, geographic
and climatic history, along with the biological evolution of northern
North America. The establishment of the Preserve ensures that a
portion of the ancient land link between continents remains much
like the land that accommodated travelers-human, plant and animal-on
their way to and from the old and new worlds.
Becoming a Preserve
Bering Land Bridge National
Preserve was established by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation
Act (ANILCA) in 1980. The purpose of this act is to preserve certain
lands and waters in the State of Alaska that contain nationally
significant natural scenic, historic,- archeological; geological,
scientific, wilderness, cultural, recreational and wildlife values,
for the benefit, use, education, and inspiration of present and
future generations.
The primary purpose of
the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve is to preserve and protect
for research and interpretation the 1,000-mile wide land link that
connected Asia and North America 10,000-25,000 years ago. These
lands contain important information about the migration of people,
plants and animals across the land bridge. The Preserve also contains
significant arctic plant communities, geological formations, and
critical habitat for wildlife and populations of migratory birds.
Nome, Shishmaref, Deering,
and Wales are all present day settlements that border the Preserve.
The residents of these and other surrounding villages use the Preserve
to continue their subsistence lifestyles. Reindeer herding and grazing
is also permitted in the Preserve.
Points of Interest: Towns and Landmarks
There are many significant
places and landmarks in Bering Land Bridge National Preserve. There
are also four main settlements outside of the Preserve. The residents
of Nome, Shishmaref, Deering, and Wales and other villages on the
Seward Peninsula are the primary users of the Preserve's resources.
Below are descriptions of significant places in or around the Preserve.
Serpentine Hot Springs
is one of the main use areas in the Preserve. It serves as a traditional
healing place and subsistence use area for local residents. Serpentine
Hot Springs has a bunkhouse and bathhouse for public use.
Trail Creek Caves
contain bison bones dated to 15,000 years ago. The bones are possibly
linked to early hunters, perhaps travelers of the land bridge. The
bones were broken as if someone might have cut them for harvesting.
Archaeologists have shown that the caves were used by humans 9,500
years ago.'
The Maar Lakes
are the largest maar lakes in the world. They were formed by a volcanic
explosion that left craters that filled with water. They are rimless
and surrounded by volcanic ash. The names of these lakes are: Devil
Mountain Lakes, Killiak Lakes and White Fish Lake.
Cape Espenberg
is an area that was traditionally used for sea mammal hunting and
later a summer reindeer herding area. There are many archaeological
sites at Cape Espenberg. It is located just south of the Arctic
Circle.
Lost Jim Lava Flow
is a 1,000-2,000 year old lava flow. It covers an area 88 square
miles. It is located in the southeastern portion of the Preserve.
Nome is located on the
southern part of the Seward Peninsula. It is the most populated
area near the Preserve. The Preserve's headquarters are located
in Nome.
Shishmaref is
a village located on Sarichef lsland. It is bordered by the Preserve's
boundary on all three sides. It is the largest village near the
Preserve. On a clear day, one may be able to see mainland Russia
from Shishmaref.
Deering is located
on the south side of Kotzebue Sound at the mouth of the Inmachuk
River.
Wales is located
at Cape Prince of Wales and is the western most point on the North
American continent.
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