Denali National Park and Preserve in Denali Borough, Alaska — Northwest (North America)
Mountains in Motion
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Hot Rocks
Photographed by Byron Hooks, September 3, 2013
1. Mountains in Motion / Hot Rocks Marker
Mountains in Motion
Though the visible glaciers appear remote - gleaming between distant peaks - the valley below is strewn with signs of masses glaciation: stranded boulders, gouged-out ponds, and gravel outwash plains. The last big glacial advance plowed through this valley about 10,000 years ago. To a geologists eye, the landscape is still active with glaciers. Denalis wandering meltwater rivers, cloudy with glacial silt and rock fragments, are evidence of ongoing glaciation and mountain carving.
Hot Rocks
The many-colored (polychrome) rocks are hardened lava, from a period of mountain building 100 million years ago. That timeframe seems unimaginably distant - yet this area is experiencing continued seismic activity. Earthquake tremors are frequent. As the crustal plates along the Denali fault keep grinding together, mountains of the Alaskan range may still be rising.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Natural Features.
Location. 63° 32.135′ N, 149° 49.72′ W. Marker is in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, in Denali Borough.
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Regionally, this marker is in the Alaska Railroad Corridor, in the Athabascan Region, and in Interior Alaska. It is also on the American Pacific Coast. Globally, it is in North America, the Pacific Rim, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Russian Empire.
Also see . . . Denali Nation Park. “Denali is six million acres of wild land, bisected by one ribbon of road. Travelers along it see the relatively low-elevation taiga forest give way to high alpine tundra and snowy mountains, culminating in North America's tallest peak, 20,320' Mount McKinley.
Photographed by Byron Hooks, September 3, 2013
2. Close up of "Hot Rocks" section of the marker
Photographed by Byron Hooks, September 3, 2013
3. General view of the area
Photographed by Byron Hooks, September 3, 2013
4. General view of the area
Credits. This page was last revised on January 2, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 27, 2013, by Byron Hooks of Sandy Springs, Georgia. This page has been viewed 951 times since then and 13 times this year. Last updated on January 19, 2014, by Byron Hooks of Sandy Springs, Georgia. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 27, 2013, by Byron Hooks of Sandy Springs, Georgia. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.
