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Signs of spruce beetle infestation amongst a stand of spruce forest - just visible on a mountain slope, have resulted in large scale mortality of such forests, both in the northern latitudes of North America and the high altitudes of the Rocky Mountains. Glacier Creek, Saint Elias Mountains.
The Arrigetch Peaks were formed by metamorphism of crystalline igneous rock and are characterised by high, rugged relief and an alpine environment. Central Brooks Range, Gates of the Arctic National Park.
Un-named peaks. Western tributary of the Itkillik River, Brooks Range.
Alpine bearberry in autumn. Denali National Park.
Vegetation between the Ptarmigan and Galconda Creek Drainages begin to change colour with the onset of autumn. Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Limestone folds. The folding and crumbling of hard and normally brittle rock is a measure of the immensity of techtonic forces within the earth. When deeply buried and confined by high pressure over a long time, rock responds by internal changes to its component mineral grains and plastic deformation rather than brittle fracture. Un-named tributary of the Itkillik River. Gates of the Arctic National Park.
Mt McKinley, as with other dominant peaks of the Alaska Range such as Mt Foraker and Mt Hunter are composed of resistant granites. These rocks are not easily worn away by erosion and weathering allowing elevations to remain relatively high compared with other mountains of similar ages. Denali National Park.
Autumn colours across the tundra. Denali National Park.
Caribou. Denali National Park.
View across the eastern boundary of the West Fork Glacier. Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Clearing storm over a braided river system viewed from Polychrome Pass. Braided rivers have unstable channels and are subject to seasonal flooding after ice thaw and rain storms. Denali National Park.
An outlet of the Tana Glacier feeding into a meltwater lake. Such glaciers often result in damming of a lake which can suddenly cause outburst floods onto floodplains or rivers. Wrangell St.Elias National Park.
Bull Moose silhouetted against an evening sky. Denali National Park.
Evening light across the Muldrow Glacier and the Alaska Range. Denali National Park.
Frederika Glacier, Wrangell St. Elias National park.
Confluence of the Rohn and Regal Glaciers (August 2011). Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Arrigetch Peaks. Endicott Mountains.
Yentna Glacier and its tributaries, Alaska Range.
Valley glacier and surrounding peaks. Meltwater from the surface of a glacier can reach its base lubricating it and influencing how fast the ice can flow. Chugach Mountains, Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Varicoloured medial moraines originating from different geological structures. Yentna Glacier, Alaska Range.
Brooks Range, Northern Alaska.
Dall sheep cranium and decomposing horns, Endicott Mountains, Gates of the Arctic National Park.
Un-named peaks, western tributary of the Itkillik River. Brooks Range.
Creek detail east of the West Fork Glacier. Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Meltwater stream directed towards the western boundary of the Frederika Glacier. Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Un-named valley north of the Bremner Glacier. Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Eastern Chugach Mountains. Wrangell St.Elias National Park.
Muldrow Glacier and the Alaska Range. Denali National Park.
Cottongrass opens up to a view of Mt Eielson. Denali National Park.
Saint Elias Mountains
Headwaters of the Itkillik River. Brooks Range.
Un-named valley glacier. Chugach Mountains, Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Hanging glacier detail, Twaharpies Range. Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Generating icefall of the West Fork Glacier originating from several small interconnected accumulation areas from the southern flanks of Mount Regal, depicting wave ogives and medial moraines, (August 2011). Wrangell Mountains.
Stranded ice following an outburst flood, or jokulhlaup, occurs when ice dammed water bodies drain suddenly, usually under the glaciers. These floods are commonly much larger than storm induced floods and consequently are more devastating in their downstream effects. Hidden Creek Lake, Kennicott Glacier, Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Scree cones formed primarily of rockfall and rock avalanche, Brooks Range, Gates of the Arctic National Park.
Alaska Range. Denali National Park.
Autumn colours in evening light. Denali National Park.
Headwaters of the Itkillik River. Gates of the Arctic National Park.
Stream detail. East of the Rohn Glacier. Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Horsetail thickets capture the rays of the midnight sun. Noatak National Preserve.
Vertical standing limestone folds. Un-named tributary of the Itkillik River, Endicott Mountains.
Lacuna Glacier, Alaska Range.
Noatak National Preserve
Meandering Alatna River, Brooks Range
Wrangell St. Elias National Park
Dawn over Mt McKinley. Denali National Park.
Mt McKinley dominates the surrounding landscape. Denali National Park.
Western margin of the Frederika Glacier. Wrangell St. Elias National Park
Wave ogives originating from flow down a steep, narrow icefall. Yentna Glacier, Alaska Range.
Upper reaches of a glacially fed stream featuring braided gravel bars due to fluctuations in flow. Glacier Creek, Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Limestone layering. Tributary of the Itkillik River, Brooks Range.
McCarthy Creek drainage. Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Scree slope and un-named peak. Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
The Maidens, detailing exfoliation of the granite wall. Endicott Mountains, Central Brooks Range.
Endicott Mountains, Gates of the Arctic National Park.
Un-named peaks west of Oolah Valley. Gates of the Arctic National Park.
Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Exposed en-glacial cave, created by ablation waters within the glacier. Bremner Glacier, Wrangell St.Elias National Park
Mountain scale layering. Un-named tributary of the Oolah Valley. Brooks Range.
Spruce and hemlock forest. Tongass National Forest.
Tributaries of the Kahiltna Glacier forming medial moraines composed predominantly of frost fractured rock. Alaska Range.
Root Glacier and wave ogives viewed from the western flanks of Bonanza Ridge. Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Twaharpies Glacier, Saint Elias Mountains
Cockedhat Mountain. Brooks Range.
Kanikula Glacier and moraine network, Alaska Range.
Scree cones resulting from rockfall and rock avalanche beneath the flanks of an un-named peak. Tributary of the Oolah Valley, Gates of the Arctic National Park.
Confluence of the Noatak and Ipnelivik River drainages, Gates of the Arctic National Park.
Dwarf birch leaves, Brooks Range
Varicoloured medial moraines originating from different geological structures. Yentna Glacier, Alaska Range.
Un-named valley, tributary of the Itkillik River. Gates of the Arctic National Park.
The Maidens. Gates of the Arctic National Park.
Evening light, Denali National Park.
Midnight sun illuminating the tundra landscape. Noatak National Preserve.
Dawn over Mt Brooks, elevation 3,628 m (11,903 ft), Alaska Range.
Ipnelivik River drainage. Southern Brooks Range, Gates of the Arctic National Park.
Chitistone Mountains, Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Hanging glacier revealing accumulation layering, Twaharpies Range. Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Iceberg concentration following calving off a branch of the Yahtse Glacier, (an outlet of the Bagley Icefield). Icy Bay, Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Confluence of the Rohn and Regal Glaciers. Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Cottongrass covers an area of the Arrigetch Creek floodplain, Albatross provides an imposing backdrop. Central Brooks Range.
Seracs on the Mendenhall Glacier. Tongass National Forest.
Frederika Mountain and Frederika Glacier with a clear high ice mark termed the 'trimline' along the eastern perimeter, (August 2011). Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
West Fork Glacier, Wrangell Mountains
Valley glacier. Chugach Mountains, Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Female Moose foraging. Denali National Park.
University Range, Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Lisburne limestone folds revealing vertical tilting. Un-named valley, tributary of the Itkillik River, Endicott Mountains.
Arrigetch Peaks. The strength and durability of the crystalline rock enable it to support nearly vertical slopes that protrude as much as 1000m (3,280 ft) above the more erodible limestone, shale and schist of the surrounding terrain. Central Brooks Range.
Hanging glacier viewed from the upper reaches of the Twaharpies Glacier, Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Chugach Mountains, Wrangell St. Elias National Park
Twaharpies Glacier. University Range, Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Creek detail. Eastern margin of the West Fork Glacier. Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Upper reaches of an un-named glacier, Western tributary of the Oolah Valley. Brooks Range.
Valley glacier. Many glaciers within the eastern Chugach Mountains are in a state of equilibrium or retreat. Some are steadily advancing and others are subject to periodic surges. Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Caribou antler. Denali National Park.
Arrigetch Peaks. Endicott Mountains, Gates of the Arctic National Park.
Rockflour flowing into a glacial outwash plane. Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Stranded ice along the western margin of the Kennicott Glacier following the release of impounded meltwater beneath the glacier. The resulting floods are commonly much larger than storm induced floods and consequently are more devastating in their downstream effects. Hidden Creek Lake, Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Iceberg concentration following calving off a branch of the Yahtse Glacier, (an outlet of the Bagley Icefield), Icy Bay, Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Arrigetch Creek Drainage, Gates of the Arctic National Park
Twaharpies Glacier, Saint Elias Mountains
Hanging glacier and bergschrund detail viewed from the Twaharpies Glacier. University Range. Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Rain clouds sweep across the Mendenhall Glacier. Tongass National Forest.
Central Brooks Range, Gates of the Arctic National Park.
Un-named tributary of the Oolah Valley, Endicott Mountains.
Stream and autumn colours. Denali National Park.
Chugach Mountains, Wrangell St.Elias National Park.
Un-named valley. Tributary of the Itkillik River, Gates of the Arctic National Park.
Noatak River gravel bar. Noatak National Preserve.
Un-named peaks. Chugach Mountains, Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Glacier and moraine network. Chugach Mountains, Wrangell St.Elias National Park.
Crevasse pattern and accumulation layering. At low pressures, ice is rigid whereas at high pressures its reaction is more like that of a fluid. The transition between the brittle and plastic zones within ice indicate that crevasses are only able to reach a maximum depth of approximately 60m. Bagley Icefield, Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
View across the eastern perimeter of the West Fork Glacier and surrounding mountains. Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Caribou antler. Gates of the Arctic National Park.
University Range. Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Un-named peaks. Chugach Mountains, Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Chugach Mountains, Wrangell St.Elias National Park.
Upper reaches of the Twaharpies Glacier detailing one of numerous meltwater streams. Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Lisburne limestone folds highlighting vertical tilting. Un-named tributary of the Itkillik River, Endicott Mountains.
University Range, Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Wolf track on river sediment. Noatak National Preserve.

All images Copyright © 2013 Michael Polychronopoulos Photography