Kobuk Valley National Park, National park and nature reserve in northwestern Alaska, United States
Kobuk Valley National Park is a protected area in northern Alaska that includes three sand dune fields, wetlands, and a major river between two mountain ranges. The Kobuk flows through the entire length of the valley and forms riverside zones with willows and spruce trees, while the dunes rise along its southern edge.
Kobuk Valley National Park was established on 2 December 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, protecting the Kobuk Valley, the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes and caribou migration routes. The dunes are remnants of fields that covered up to 200,000 acres after Pleistocene glaciers retreated; about 20,500 acres remain active. The park is managed with Cape Krusenstern National Monument and Noatak National Preserve as the Western Arctic National Parklands.
The name's origin is not documented in the sources. The annual crossing of the Kobuk River by the 400,000 caribou of the Western Arctic herd is central to Inupiaq subsistence hunting, and the herd migrates between winter grounds south of the Waring Mountains and calving grounds north of the Baird Mountains.
Access is only by chartered small aircraft from Kotzebue, Nome, or Bettles, as no roads reach this remote Arctic region. Travelers should bring complete camping gear and provisions, as there are no facilities on site.
The large sand dunes in the Arctic tundra constantly shift with the wind and form shapes that scientists compare to Martian landscapes. Some dunes reach a height of 30 meters (100 feet) and offer an unusual sight in this polar environment.
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