World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument preserves and interprets the stories of the Pacific War, including the events at Pearl Harbor, the internment of Japanese Americans, the battles in the Aleutians and the occupation of Japan. World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument encompassed nine sites in three states including the USS Arizona Memorial, the USS Utah Memorial, the USS Oklahoma Memorial, the Six Chief Petty Officer Bungalows on Ford Island and Mooring Quays F6, F7, and F8, which formed part of Battleship Row in Honolulu, Hawaii.
World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument also protects Battlefield remnants on Attu Island, Japanese occupation site on Kiska Island and crash site of B-24D Liberator Bomber on Atka Island in Alaska. In California, it protects the Tule Lake War Relocation Center.
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve
106.8 Richardson Hwy Copper Center, AK 99573
907-822-7250
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve form the largest area managed by the National Park Service in the U.S. The park contains the Chugach, Wrangell and St. Elias mountain ranges. History buffs can explore old copper-mine buildings, the former mining boomtown of McCarthy and the ghost town of Kennicott. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve offers endless opportunities to explore and discover. Activities such as backpacking, hiking, biking, kayaking, river trips, hunting and fishing are abundant. The biggest difference between park and preserve lands is that sport hunting is prohibited in the park and permitted in the preserve.
Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve
P.O. Box 167 Eagle, AK 99738
907-547-2233
Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve is located in interior Alaska and offers exploration in a largely untouched landscape. The preserve protects the undeveloped Charley River and a significant portion of the upper Yukon. The interior Alaskan region experiences extremes of weather, with temperatures that can vary from -50 °F in winter to 97 °F in summertime. During the summer, float trips are popular on the Yukon and Charley Rivers. In the winter, the preserve includes part of the route of the annual Yukon Quest dogsled race.
Arizona
Grand Canyon National Park (Thomas Crochetiere photo)
Canyon de Chelly National Monument
P.O. Box 588 Chinle, AZ 86503
928-674-5500
Canyon de Chelly National Monument preserves ruins of the early American Indian tribes that lived in the area, including the Ancient Puebloans and Navajo. For nearly 5,000-years, people have lived in these canyons. The monument encompasses the floors and rims of three major canyons. These canyons are the de Chelly, del Muerto and Monument. They were cut by streams with headwaters in the Chuska Mountains, to the east of the monument.
Canyon de Chelly National Monument is owned by the Navajo Nation and is the only NPS unit that is owned and cooperatively managed in this manner. Today, Navajo families make their homes, raise livestock, and farm the lands in these canyons. Travel to the canyon floor can only be accessed when accompanied by a park ranger or an authorized Navajo guide.
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
1100 W. Ruins Dr. Coolidge, AZ 85128
520-723-3172
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument preserves a group of Ancient Puebloan Peoples Hohokam structures of the Pueblo III and Pueblo IV Eras. “Casa Grande” is Spanish for “big house” and refers to the largest structure on the site. This site contains the remains of a four story structure that may have been abandoned by 1450. A superstructure was erected over the ruins to help protect the remaining ruins from accelerated decay. Whether the Casa Grande was a gathering place for the Desert People or simply a waypoint marker in an extensive system of canals and trading partners is but part of the mystique of the Ruins.
Chiricahua National Monument
12856 East Rhyolite Creek Rd. Willcox, AZ 85643
520-824-3560
Chiricahua National Monument is famous for its extensive vertical rock formations and also preserves the Faraway Ranch. Swedish immigrants Neil and Emma Erickson once owned this ranch and called this place home. The 8-mile paved scenic drive and 17-miles of hiking trails provide opportunities to discover the beauty, natural sounds, and inhabitants of this park.
Coronado National Memorial
4101 E. Montezuma Canyon Rd. Hereford, AZ 85615
520-366-5515
Coronado National Memorial commemorates the first organized expedition into the Southwest by conquistador Francisco Vasquez de Coronado. It was a journey of conquest, filled with exploration, wonder and cruelty. Hundreds of European soldiers and over a thousand Indian allies embarked on this journey through arid deserts and rugged mountains in their search for vast cities of gold. They brought rich traditions and new technology into the region, irrevocably changing the lives of native peoples and continuing to influence the area today.
Fort Bowie National Historic Site
3327 Old Fort Bowie Rd. Bowie, AZ 85605
520-847-2500
Fort Bowie National Historic Site protects the remaining buildings of a 19th century outpost of the United States Army located in southeastern Arizona. The fort was named in honor of Colonel George Washington Bowie commander of the 5th Regiment California Volunteer Infantry who first established the fort. Fort Bowie commemorates the bitter conflict between the Chiricahua Apaches and U.S. military. Fort Bowie National Historic Site provides insight into a "clash of cultures," a young nation in pursuit of "manifest destiny" and the American Indian society fighting to preserve its existence.
For more than 30-years, Fort Bowie was the focal point of military operations eventually culminating in the surrender of Geronimo in 1886 and the banishment of the Chiricahuas to Florida and Alabama. The fort was abandoned in 1894.
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
P.O. Box 1507 Page, AZ 86040
928-608-6200
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is a recreation and conservation unit that encompasses the area around Lake Powell and lower Cataract Canyon in Utah and Arizona, covering 1.2-million acres of mostly desert. The recreation area offers unparalleled opportunities for water-based and backcountry recreation.
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area stretches for hundreds of miles from Lees Ferry in Arizona to the Orange Cliffs of southern Utah, encompassing scenic vistas, geologic wonders, and a vast panorama of human history. The primary purpose of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is for preservation as well as recreation. As such, the area has been developed for access to Lake Powell via five marinas, four camping grounds, two small airports, and houseboat rental concessions.
Grand Canyon National Park
P.O. Box 129 Grand Canyon, AZ 86023
928-638-7888
Grand Canyon National Park is one of the most popular tourist spots in the U.S. The Grand Canyon's south rim stands 7,000-feet above sea level and overlooks the deep canyon. The park has unique combinations of geologic color and eroded forms that decorate the canyon. The canyon itself was created by the incision of the Colorado River which flows through the entire length of the park. The canyon is 277-miles long, up to 18-miles wide and a mile deep.
Grand Canyon