Katmai National Park and Preserve

Katmai National Park and Preserve is a protected area of about 4.09 million acres in southwest Alaska, famous for the 1912 eruption of Novarupta, the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and one of the largest protected populations of brown bears in the world. It began as a national monument in 1918 and became a national park and preserve in 1980. Each summer, bears gather at Brooks Falls to catch salmon, and the park’s online bear cameras and annual Fat Bear Week have made it widely known [1].

Overview

Katmai National Park and Preserve was established on December 2, 1980 under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). It began as a national monument in 1918 and was expanded several times. The area covers about 4,093,077 acres, most of which is designated wilderness. The preserve portion, about 418,548 acres, allows sport and subsistence hunting, while the park does not [1].

The 1912 Eruption

In June 1912 Mount Katmai and Novarupta erupted together in one of the largest volcanic eruptions of the twentieth century. A pyroclastic flow from Novarupta buried a nearby valley in ash up to 300 feet thick, and the summit of Katmai collapsed into a caldera. Novarupta was not identified as the primary eruption center until 1954 [1]. The resulting deposits became the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, named for the steam vents that once rose across it. The steam has since subsided, and streams have cut into the deposits [1].

Volcanoes

The park contains as many as 18 volcanoes, including six classed as active: Katmai, Novarupta, Trident, Mageik, Martin and Fourpeaked. The highest peak is Mount Denison at 7,605 feet [1]. The park lies on the Alaska Peninsula, part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Brown Bears

Katmai protects about 2,200 brown bears, which the park describes as the largest protected population of brown bears in the world [1]. At Brooks Falls, bears gather on the falls viewing platform during the salmon spawning run, and between 43 and 70 individual bears have been documented there. July and September are the best months for viewing. The bears are unusually tolerant of people, and National Park Service webcams stream their activity online [1].

Fat Bear Week, held every year since 2014, celebrates the bears as they gain weight before hibernation, and it raises awareness of conservation, with more than a million votes cast each year [1].

Rivers and Lakes

Naknek Lake is the main route to the park’s interior, which is reached by boat. The Naknek River begins in the park and flows into Bristol Bay [1]. Salmon runs in these waters sustain the bears and other wildlife.

Archaeology and Human History

Artifacts near the old Katmai village date back about 6,000 years, and the Brooks Camp site, about 4,500 years old, is a National Historic Landmark. The Amalik Bay district contains evidence of human activity more than 7,000 years old [1]. The long record shows that people have relied on the area’s salmon and other resources for thousands of years.

Access and Visiting

The park headquarters is in King Salmon, about 290 miles southwest of Anchorage. The Alaska Peninsula Highway links King Salmon to Naknek Lake, but the road is not connected to the rest of Alaska’s road system. Brooks Camp is the main developed area, and a road runs from there to Three Forks, overlooking the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. Lodging is available at Brooks Camp, Grosvenor Lodge and other lodges on private inholdings [1].

Geology of the Park

Katmai lies along the Alaska Peninsula, where the Pacific Plate descends beneath North America and feeds a chain of volcanoes. The 1912 eruption reshaped the landscape, emptying the magma chamber beneath Novarupta and causing Mount Katmai to collapse into a caldera. Later erosion by streams has cut canyons into the ash deposits of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes [1].

Bear Viewing and Safety

Brooks Camp is the principal place for bear viewing. The bears are tolerant of people, but the park manages visitors carefully, with viewing platforms, rules on distance and designated routes so that people and bears do not compete for the same space. The best months for viewing are July, when salmon move up the falls, and September, when bears feed heavily before winter [1].

Salmon and the Ecosystem

Salmon runs in the Naknek drainage, which flows into Bristol Bay, are the foundation of the park’s food web. The fish feed bears, birds and other animals, and nutrients from carcasses return to the land. This link between ocean and forest is one reason Katmai is valued for conservation as well as recreation [1].

A Landscape of Preserve and Wilderness

Most of the park is designated wilderness, so there are few roads or developed facilities. The preserve portion allows hunting, while the national park does not, an arrangement common to the areas created by ANILCA in 1980 [1]. Because road links are limited, most visitors arrive by small aircraft from King Salmon and reach the interior by boat on Naknek Lake [1].

Why Katmai Matters

Katmai combines three features that are rarely found together: a recent, well-documented volcanic landscape, a large intact salmon ecosystem, and a human history stretching back thousands of years. The Brooks Camp archaeological district, a National Historic Landmark, sits within the same area where visitors now watch bears, so natural and cultural history are closely connected [1].

FAQs

Where is Katmai National Park? It is on the Alaska Peninsula in southwest Alaska, with headquarters in King Salmon about 290 miles southwest of Anchorage.

What happened in 1912 at Katmai? Mount Katmai and Novarupta erupted together in June 1912, burying a valley in ash up to 300 feet thick and creating the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.

How many bears live in Katmai? About 2,200 brown bears, which the park describes as the world’s largest protected brown bear population.

What is Fat Bear Week? An annual online event, held since 2014, that celebrates bears fattening up before hibernation.

When was Katmai established as a national park? It became a national park and preserve on December 2, 1980, after beginning as a monument in 1918.

Sources

1. Wikipedia: Katmai National Park and Preserve

Editorially reviewed by Specialty Digest Editorial TeamLast reviewed November 11, 2026Researched and drafted with AI assistanceReport an issue