United States National Natural Sites (NNL) is a program that identifies and promotes the management, conservation and rehabilitation of natural history in the United States. The program identifies geological and biological features in private and public property. The main objective of the program is to encourage and support individual and organizational efforts to preserve sites which illustrate the ecological and geological history of the country. The program also aims to encourage the public to appreciate the natural heritage. There are 599 national natural sites in the country, distributed in the states of 48 and in the territories of the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam and American Samoa. Delaware and Louisiana are the only states without a national natural landmark. Federal, state, county or municipal governments manage approximately half of the historic sites. A third belongs to private interests, the rest being owned and managed by a public-private company. A site can be qualified as NNL because it contains the remains of a specific geological or ecological characteristic. There are 16 national natural sites in Alaska. The smallest is 170 acres while the largest is 1.8 million acres. All NNLs were designated between 1967 and 1976. A site can be qualified as NNL because it contains the remains of a specific geological or ecological characteristic. There are 16 national natural sites in Alaska. The smallest is 170 acres while the largest is 1.8 million acres. All NNLs were designated between 1967 and 1976. A site can be qualified as NNL because it contains the remains of a specific geological or ecological characteristic. There are 16 national natural sites in Alaska. The smallest is 170 acres while the largest is 1.8 million acres. All NNLs were designated between 1967 and 1976.
Alaska National Natural Sites
Redoute Volcano
The Redoute volcano, also known as Mont Redoubt, is the highest peak in the Aleutian chain at 10,197 ft. The volcano is located 110 southwest of Anchorage, in the Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. The volcano is classified as active, with eruptions in 1902, 1966, 1989 and 2009. The eruption of 1989 is particularly remarkable because it is the first volcanic eruption successfully predicted.
Aniakchak crater
The Aniakchak crater is located in the Aniakchak National Monument. It is six miles wide and 200 feet deep. Surprise Lake is in the creater. A hot spring feeds the lake, which serves as a spawning ground for the salmon. It was designated in 1967 as the first national natural site in Alaska. The last eruption occurred in 1931, but the 3,700 eruptions shaped the regional landscape and influenced the growth of plants and animal species.
Malaspina Glacier
The Malaspina Glacier is the largest piedmont glacier in the world. It is located at the tip of the Alaskan panhandle. It was named after Alessandro Malaspina, an Italian explorer serving in the Spanish navy. The glacier can reach 2,000 feet thick in some places and have a depth of up to 980 feet below sea level. West coast explorers and navigators have studied the body of ice for more than two centuries. It was designated and National Natural Landmark in 1968 and covers an area of approximately 1 million acres.
Mount Veniaminof
Mount Veniaminof contains the largest ice field in the United States. The ice field covers an area of approximately 25 square miles. The stratovolcano is the only volcanic mountain in North America with an active vent in the center. The last major eruption occurred in 1750 BCE, but several minor eruptions have been reported since the 1930s. The mountain is generally covered with fog and clouds and can only be seen one or two days a year. It was designated in 1967.
Ownership of monuments
The Iliamna volcano and the Redoubt volcano are the only landmarks designated in 1976. All the others were designated between 1967 and 1968. There are no fully privatized landmarks in Alaska, unlike other states where the individuals are allowed to own benchmarks. Four of the 16 benchmarks are owned by the partnership between federal and state governments and individuals.
Alaska’s 16 national natural sites
| Rank | first name | Dated | The possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aniakchak crater | 1967 | Federal |
| 2 | Arrigetch peaks | 1968 | Federal |
| 3 | Bogoslof Island | 1967 | Federal |
| 4 | Clarence Rhode National Wildlife Range | 1968 | Federal / State / Private |
| 5 | Iliamna volcano | 1976 | Federal |
| 6 | Lake george | 1967 | Federal / State / Private |
| 7 | Malaspina Glacier | 1968 | Federal / State / Private |
| 8 | McNeil River Hunting Sanctuary | 1968 | State |
| 9 | Mount Veniaminof | 1967 | Federal |
| 10 | Redoute Volcano | 1976 | Federal |
| 11 | Shishaldin volcano | 1967 | Federal |
| 12 | Siméonof national wildlife reserve | 1968 | Federal |
| 13 | Unga Island | 1968 | State / private |
| 14 | Walker Lake | 1968 | Federal / State / Private |
| 15 | Walrus islands | 1968 | State |
| 16 | Worthington Glacier | 1968 | State |