Brooks Range

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Brooks Range is a mountain range that stretches from west to east across northern Alaska and into Canada's Yukon Territory, a total distance of about 1100 km (700 mi). The mountains are not especially high, topping out at over 2,700 m (9,000 ft). This mountain range forms the northern-most drainage divide in North America, separating streams flowing into the Arctic Ocean and the North Pacific. The range roughly delineates the summer position of the arctic front. It represents the northern extent of tree-line, with no trees (apart from some isolated Balsam Poplar stands) occurring north of the continental drainage divide. Mount Chamberlin, 9020 ft (2,749 m), is the highest peak in the range. Other notable peaks include Mount Isto, 8,975 ft (2,736 m) and Mount Michelson, 8,855 ft (2,699 m).<ref name="highest">Some sources (including the USGS 1:250,000 scale map) quote Mount Isto's height as 9,050 ft, which would make it the highest point in the range. Also, some sources quote Mount Michelson's height as 9,239 ft, which would make it the highest point; however this is far above the 8,855 foot figure given on both USGS topographic maps, so it is unlikely to be correct.</ref>

The range is mostly uninhabited, but the Dalton Highway and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System run through the Atigun Pass (1,415 m, 4,643 ft) on their way to the North Slope and the oil fields at Prudhoe Bay. The Alaska Native villages of Anaktuvuk and Arctic Village, as well as the very small communities of Coldfoot, Wiseman, Bettles, and Chandalar Lake are the only settlements in the 700-mile Brooks Range.

As one of the remotest and least-disturbed wildernesses of North America, the mountains are teeming with wildlife, including Dall sheep, grizzly bears, and caribou.

The range was named by the USGS in 1925 after Alfred Hulse Brooks, who was the chief USGS geologist for Alaska from 1903 to 1924.

Various historical records also referred to the range as the Arctic Mountains, Hooper Mountains, Meade Mountains and Meade River Mountains; the Canadian portion is still often referred to as the British Mountains. The British Mountains are part of Ivvavik National Park.