Category:Brooks Range

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).[1]

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. In the far west, near the Wulik River in the De Long Mountains is the Red Dog Mine, Alaska, largest zinc mine in the world. As one of the most remote and least-disturbed wildernesses of North America, the mountains still have wild populations of Dall sheep, grizzly bears, and caribou.

The best way to explore the Brooks Range is by paddling a wild river by canoe or raft, or backpacking.