Bering Land Bridge National Preserve: Geologic resources inventory report
Lanik A, Swanson DK, Karpilo RD. 2019. Bering Land Bridge National Preserve: Geologic resources inventory report. Natural Resource Report. NPS/NRSS/GRD/NRR—2019/2024. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
This report synthesizes discussions from a scoping meeting held in 2008 and a follow-up report writing meeting in 2017 (see Appendix B). This GRI report was written for resource managers to support science-informed decision making. It may also be useful for interpretation. Chapters of this report discuss the geologic setting, highlight distinctive geologic features and processes, describe the geologic history leading to the present-day landscape, address geologic issues facing resource managers, and provide information about the previously completed GRI map data. A poster (in pocket) illustrates these data. Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (referred to as the “preserve” throughout this report) protects a landscape that once lay in the heart of a landmass known as “Beringia.” Beringia stretched from the Mackenzie River in Canada to the Lena River in Russia and was up to 1,000-km (620-mi) wide. The Bering Land Bridge formed the center of Beringia, uniting eastern (North America) and western (Russia) Beringia during the glacial periods of the Pleistocene Epoch (2.58 million–11,700 years ago). Animals such as mammoths, bison, muskoxen, and even early humans used the Bering Land Bridge to travel from Asia to North America. As climate warmed at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch, the Bering Land Bridge was flooded, severing the terrestrial connection between North America and Asia. The geologic and paleontological resources in Bering Land Bridge National Preserve contain a record of Beringia. The protection, study, and interpretation of this record is one of the main reasons the preserve was established. In addition to containing a geologic record of Beringia, the preserve encompasses a much longer history in its bedrock, which dates back to the late Proterozoic Eon (1.0 billion–541 million years ago). Geologic features tell the story of the preserve’s evolution since that time. This story includes long-distance tectonic translation, the building and collapse of the Brooks Range, and relatively recent volcanism. Ongoing geologic processes such as erosion, deposition, volcanism, and slope movements continue to shape the preserve’s landscape today. The preserve’s geologic features and processes are important natural resources, significant interpretive opportunities, and factors vital in addressing visitor safety and resource management.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Lanik, Amanda; Swanson, David; Karpilo, Ronald
- Date of Issue
- 2019-10
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- AKR , ARCN , BELA , GRD , GRI , NRSS
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Geomorphology | Glacial Features and Processes , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Geomorphology | Hillslope Features and Processes , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Geomorphology | Coastal/Oceanographic Features and Processes , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Geomorphology | Stream/River Channel Characteristics , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Geomorphology | Lake Features and Processes , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Subsurface Geologic Processes | Geothermal Features and Processes , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Subsurface Geologic Processes | Cave/Karst Features and Processes , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Subsurface Geologic Processes | Volcanic Features and Processes , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Subsurface Geologic Processes | Seismic Activity , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Soil Quality | Soil Function and Dynamics , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Paleontology | Paleontology