Yukon–Charley Rivers National Preserve
park, Alaska
Yukon–Charley Rivers National Preserve, protected river-basin region in east-central Alaska, U.S. Proclaimed a national monument in 1978, the area underwent boundary and name changes in 1980, when it became a national preserve. The total area of the preserve is 3,948 square miles (10,225 square km). Headquarters are in Eagle, on the Yukon River.
The preserve extends westward from the border with Yukon territory, northwestern Canada, to encompass some 130 miles (210 km) of the Yukon River and adjoining lands and the entire drainage basin of the 108-mile (174-km) Charley River, which flows into the Yukon from the south. The area contains numerous cabins and other relics of the 1890s Klondike gold rush as well as paleontological and archaeological sites. Plant life consists mainly of tundra vegetation, with willows and some conifers and other trees found along rivers and streams. Wildlife includes peregrine falcons and other raptorial birds, caribou, moose, Dall sheep, brown (grizzly) bears, and wolves.
The preserve is open year-round, but most visitors go there during the warmer months (June–August). Access is most common by small boat from Eagle or by light planes capable of landing at unimproved landing strips in the interior. Many visitors take float trips down the Yukon River or fly to the headwaters of the Charley River for white-water rafting.
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