Powerful geologic forces driving the collision of crustal plates created the dramatic landscape of this park. These powerful forces continue to be countered by the eroding power of flowing rivers and massive glaciers...literally, rivers of ice.

The geological history of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve began over 200 million years ago. Much of the geological evidence lies undiscovered, buried under thick ice fields or blankets of volcanic ash. Rivers here have both exposed and carried away clues to the region's ancient history.