Collections

This bone harpoon and seal ear bone are more than
6,000 years old. Fragile items like these must be
carefully conserved.

 

The Katmai National Park and Preserve museum collection consists of more than 400,000 objects—from an paleontological samples to 9,000-year-old artifacts. Collections staff also care for historic photographs, tapes and transcripts of oral history interviews, park archives, park administrative records, preserved small mammals, and other items reflecting the cultural and natural history of this unique place.

As of 2006, Katmai's archives and museum collection holds 419,313 items including

• 330,606 archeological artifacts,
• 64 ethnographic items,
• 3,181 historical photos, artifacts, and documents,
• 82,795 documents in the park archives,
• 2,050 biological specimens,
• 133 paleontological specimens, and
• 484 geological samples.

Many of these items are fragile and require special conservation. The museum specialists at Katmai National Park and Preserve ensure that these irreplaceable pieces of the past will be available to future generations.

 

Online Library Catalog

The National Park Service Library Program maintains an online catalog of park library collections, which includes Katmai National Park and Preserve. The online catalog can be accessed via the internet.

National Park Service History E-Library

The National Park Service History E-Library is an electronic collection of National Park Service publications organized by park. Katmai National Park and Preserve has several publications represented in this collection.