| Where: Katmai is on a peninsula
in Alaska. The nearest city is Anchorage.
Animals: Brown Bear, fish, Caribou,
150 kinds of Birds, Swans, Loons, Ducks, Baldeagles, Hawks, Falcons, Owls,
Moose, Red Fox, Wolves, River Otter, Mink, Weasels, Snow Shoe Hare, Red
Squirrel, Grebes, Sea Birds, 40 different kinds of song birds come in the
summer, lynx, Sea Lions, Sea Otters, Hail Seals, Porcupine, Salmon, Beluga
Killer and Gray Whales.
History: This National Park was made
because a volcano erupted in 1912 and the people wanted to save the land
that it flowed on. The volcano of 1912 was called Novarupta. Before the
volcano erupted there were severe earthquakes for a week long! The volcano
destroyed everything in its path. Clothes that were on a clothes lines
were disintegrated from the Alaskan peninsula to Vancouver, Canada. For
many days volcanic ash, pumice and gas were released into the environment.
For example a person holding a lantern in front of him couldn't even see
the lantern because of the thick haze from the volcano.
Who used to live there: The Native
Americans used to live there. They hunted for food both on land and on
the ocean.
Environment: Katmai is known for
its diverse environments. Glaciers covered large parts of the Alaska Peninsula.
When the glaciers melted the land was formed. There are nine volcanos which
had 10 ashfalls in the last 7500 years. There are severe storms in Katmai.
The natural wonders: The Valley of
Ten Thousand Smokes is a natural wonder that looks like all the steam boats
in the world coming together rising 500 feet on the air. It is a
place where thousands of vents of gas and steam from below ground come
through holes in the rock. The ground is very hot, 110 degrees F.
Plants: Willows trees, Water plants
and different kinds of grasses.
Park Rangers!
Who has a big responsibility? A park ranger!
Park rangers have many chores like caring for acres of land, giving out
maps for people to look at so they don't get lost along the way, telling
people rules they need to follow. For example the rule about not
feeding the animals and many other things. Another thing a park ranger
does is tell about the area that people are going to explore and answer
any questions they may have. He or she teaches them about the environment
and points out new plants or animals along the way on their hike.
Rangers explain the history of the park. Some might dress up to show
the famous history. This is why it is so hard to be a park ranger.
They have to know a lot of things about the park to be able to answer so
many questions. A park ranger has to be friendly and helpful.
If a visitor is missing it is a park ranger's job to go out and find the
person. Rangers have special equipment and vehicles to find the lost
person. Park rangers are in charge of mules and horses. They
learn how to take care of them and learn how to pack the animals.
In national parks some animals are becoming endangered because of people
not following the rules. When a park ranger sees a fire he or she
will have to know how to put that fire out and sometimes a park ranger
will have to light a fire because some plants need fire to grow.
That is why it is so, so hard to be a park ranger. You have to learn
everything there possibly is about your park to be park ranger. |
