Saint Elias Mountains

The Saint Elias Mountains are a subgroup of the Pacific Coast Ranges, located in southeastern Alaska in the United States, southwestern Yukon and the very far northwestern part of British Columbia in Canada. The range spans Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in the USA and Kluane National Park and Reserve in Canada and includes all of Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska. In Alaska, the range includes parts of the city/borough of Yakutat and the Hoonah-Angoon and Valdez-Cordova census areas.

This mountain range was named after Mount Saint Elias which had been named in 1741 by the Danish explorer Vitus Bering.

Geology

Although most of the range is non-volcanic, portions at the western end near the Wrangell Mountains are volcanic. This region includes two major stratovolcanoes, Mount Churchill and Mount Bona, the latter being the highest volcano in the United States. West of the Saint Elias Mountains is the still-active Fairweather Fault, which is the northward extension of the Queen Charlotte Fault. The St. Elias range is a result of 10 million years of the North American tectonic plate pushing material up as it overrides the Pacific plate, then the material being worn down by glaciers.

Ranges

The mountains are divided by the Duke Depression, with the shorter, more rounded Kluane Ranges to the east, and the higher Icefield Ranges to the west. Sub-ranges of the Saint Elias include the Alsek Ranges, the Fairweather Range, and the Centennial Range.

Highest mountains

The highest mountains of the range include:

Notes

References

• Richter, Donald H.; Preller, Cindi C.; Labay, Keith A.; Shew, Nora B. (2006). Geologic Map of the Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. USGS Scientific Investigations Map 2877. 
• Winkler, Gary R. (2000). A Geologic Guide to Wrangellâ€"Saint Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska: A Tectonic Collage of Northbound Terranes. USGS Professional Paper 1616. ISBN 0-607-92676-7. 
• Wood, Charles A.; Kienle, Jürgen, eds. (1990). Volcanoes of North America. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43811-X.