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This is the text-only version of Bering Land Bridge National Preserve’s official print brochure. Side one of the brochure shows a large artist's illustration of a summer day at the Serpentine Hot Springs area 12,000-13,000 years ago with an overview of Beringia during the last ice age to present. Modern inset photos along the top show different places in the preserve today, and a map on the side shows the sea level 21,000 years ago and present-day. Side two shows a large map of the Seward Peninsula with Bering Land Bridge National Preserve highlighted. In the preserve, Maar Lakes, Coastal Lagoons, Serpentine Hot Springs, and Imuruk Lava Fields are called out and shown in photos with captions. Trip planning details and Inupiaq Place Names are included at the bottom of the page. Side OneKamanaaniqshraq: Vast, Vital, Vibrant
An artistic representation of Bering Land Bridge's landscape, with hikers and other humans visible in one area; fossils in the foreground; herds of animals including muskoxen, caribou, steppe bison, and arctic horses; and many types of birds. Labels include: Tundra swan, Common raven, Snow goose, Steppe bison, Arctic ground squirrel, Woolly mammoth skull, Ptarmigan, Arctic horse, Gray wolf, Muskox, Caribou, Giant short-faced bear, Kamchatka rhododendron, Arctic poppy, Mountain avens, Pacific golden plover, and Northern wheatear.
Below: Imagine a summer day at Serpentine Hot Springs 12,000-13,000 years ago. It might have looked like this illustration, with herds of large grazing animals like horses, bison, and mammoths. NPS/Beth Zaiken. All images-NPS unless otherwise credited.
Beringia was not just a land bridge between two continents. It was a permanent part of the world for plants, animals, and people. It was not just a stop during migrations; it was a place to call home.
At the peak of the last ice age, about 21,000 years ago, much of Earth's water was locked in massive ice sheets. Sea levels dropped more than 300 feet, revealing a landmass that connected Asia and North America. Beringia, as it became known, had an extremely dry, windy climate. It kept snow from accumulating in the piles needed to form ice sheets. The ice-free landmass became home to a great diversity of life. As global temperatures rose and ice sheets melted, Beringia was slowly submerged. The mammoth steppe slowly transitioned to tundra. Some species—the woolly mammoth and steppe bison—went extinct. Others, like the caribou and muskox, adapted to a warming world. By about 10,000 years ago, Beringia no longer connected the two continents. The Inupiat have lived in Beringia for thousands of years. Their culture is deeply connected to the land, animals, and plants. Communities like Wales, Shishmaref, and Deering continue to thrive by passing traditional knowledge down through generations. These lands are the homeland of Inupiaq communities and support an ongoing subsistence way of life. Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, in Beringia's heart, covers 2.7 million acres of wildlands. People can hunt, fish, and gather plants and berries, as they have for generations. Its ecosystems are vital for migratory birds and Arctic animals. It is a place of extraordinary beauty, history, and culture. Kamchatka rhododendron and granite tors at Serpentine Hot Springs
Short, pink flowers growing on a tundra hillside in a landscape without trees, with tall granite tors in the background. The image is overlapped by a cut-out image of bright blueberries with green foliage. The label reads, Left: Blueberry. Inupiaq: Suġaq.
Coast at the preserve's northeast edge, south of Cape Espenberg
Aerial view of a coastal landscape filled with streams, lakes, and ponds.
An Inupiaq hunter navigates ice in the Chukchi Sea.
An Alaska Native using a pole to navigate a boat through icy water. Copyright Gilles Mingasson.
Imuruk Lake is lined with lava rocks.
Boggy landscape littered with dark gray and brown volcanic rocks, dotted with yellow flowers, without trees. The image is overlapped by a cut-out image of bright orange salmonberries with green foliage. The label reads, Salmonberry. Inupiaq: Akpiq.
Approaching Serpentine Hot Springs by snowmachine
A person riding a snowmobile through a snow-covered wilderness.
Side TwoPlan Your Visit
Map of the Seward Peninsula, which is roughly 180 miles east to west by 90 miles north to south, and shaped roughly like a fish head, with a lagoon and make creating a mouth-like appearance to the peninsula's western side. Bering Land Bridge National Preserve sits at the top of the "fish head" peninsula, including a fin-like protrusion to the north of the peninsula which is heavily dotted with lakes and ponds.
The park is roughly 60 miles by 45 miles, with a long, narrow corridor of park land extending to the west to include a small amount of the northwestern coastal areas of the Seward Peninsula. The park is devoid of human-made infrastructure, with just seven points marking where public use cabins exist; only one of the points, Serpentine Hot Springs, has a label attached to it. In the southern portion of the preserve, which is roughly the middle of the Seward Peninsula, a large area marked "lava fields" extends across a 30 mile by 5 mile area.
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve in northwest Alaska is a vast landscape—among the most remote areas in the National Park System. No roads connect this region with others.
Visiting the Heritage CenterJets from Anchorage serve Nome and Kotzebue daily. The Heritage Center, open seasonally, is located in the Sitnasuak Building at 214 Front Street, Nome. Check the preserve website for hours. Stop in for a visit and check out the exhibits, park film, and bookstore.From Nome or Kotzebue, travel to the preserve is by snowmachine, fixed-wing aircraft, boat, and, occasionally, foot. A list of approved air taxis is available on the website. Inside the PreserveSnowmachines are allowed with adequate snow cover. Hiking on the tundra's uneven ground can be challenging. Be prepared for changing weather, high winds, rain, snow, cold temperatures, and animal encounters. Carry enough food to cover a delay. Tell someone about your plans. You may see people engaged in subsistence hunting, fishing, trapping, and gathering. Do not interfere with camps, traps, nets, or other equipment. Many areas in the preserve are privately owned. Do not enter private land without the landowner's permission. Federal laws protect all natural and cultural features. For hunting, fishing, and trapping regulations; safety information; and firearms and other regulations, check the website.Emergencies call 911. Bering Land Bridge National Preserve is one of over 430 parks in the National Park System. To learn more, visit www.nps.gov. More InformationBering Land Bridge National PreservePO Box 220 Nome, AK 99762 907-759-8020 www.nps.gov/bela Use the official NPS App to guide your visit. Download the park to use offline. Follow us on social media. National Park FoundationJoin the park community. www.nationalparks.org.Do not use this map for hiking or navigation. Use only US Geological Survey or other approved maps as needed. Areas of private lands exist within the preserve boundary. Respect owners' rights and property. Contact park for details on private lands. Maar Lakes
The shoreline of a lake with bright green tundra.
Formed by massive eruptions when magma and permafrost met underground, the preserve's four maar lakes are the largest in the world. Devil Mountain Maar Lake, created about 17,000 years ago, is the largest and youngest lake.
Coastal Lagoons
A bright green thin shoreline with a calm blue body of water on one side and crashing waves and beach on the other.
Lagoons are vital nurseries for birds, fish, marine mammals, and other species. Lagoons are also hubs where people fish, hunt, and berry-pick.
Serpentine Hot Springs
A wooden structure with a wooden fence leading to it next to a steaming body of water, mud, and algae.
The hot springs (Iyat) and the surrounding valley are a gathering place for travelers as well as local people. They have sought respite and healing here for millennia.
Imuruk Lava Fields
A landscape filled with volcanic rock and small pink flowers.
The lava fields, formed over millions of years, cover more than 100,000 acres. They were shaped by flows from over 75 now-dormant vents. The last eruption was 1,500 years ago.
Selected Inupiaq Place Names
Walrus (Inupiaq: aiviq) calf and cow
A cut-out image of a brown walrus with long ivory-colored tusks next to a small walrus calf sitting on a block of icy water.
Muskox (Inupiaq: umiŋmak)
A cut-out image of a brown muskox with long hair and culry horns standing next to a small muskox calf with shorter hair and no horns standing on a grassy patch of land.
Bluethroat
A small brown bird with a colorful beard of blue, red, and orange perched on an orange pole.
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Last updated: May 10, 2026