Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes Road Historic District: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Katmai National Park and Preserve

Region 11 Park Cultural Landscapes Program

Inventory Unit Description: Located in the remote Katmai National Park and Preserve on the northern Alaska Peninsula, the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes Road (also referred to in this document as the "Valley Road") extends 22.3 miles from the Brooks River area southeasterly to the Three Forks Overlook at the northwestern corner of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes was created in 1912 by the Novarupta Eruption, the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. The unique valley, filled with smoking fumaroles in the years after its creation, was a central feature prompting the designation of Katmai National Monument in 1918. Tourist activity did not occur in Katmai until 1950 when Northern Consolidated Airlines developed fishing camps within the monument. The concessionaire pressured the National Park Service to build a road to provide access to the famous Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes that had been featured in the September 1921 National Geographic Magazine. In 1961, the road was surveyed from Brooks Camp fishing lodge to the edge of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. The road project was funded by Mission 66, a ten-year one billion dollar development program to improve tourist infrastructure within the National Park System. The road faced opposition in the early winter of 1962 from conservationists who sought to protect the remote natural area from development. In the summer of 1962, however, the one-lane gravel road was constructed. In 1963, the concessionaire began to provide daily tours throughout the summer to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. The period of significance extends from 1961 to the present day because the land use has been retained. Bus tours continue to be its primary form of traffic and use of the road is limited. The Valley Of Ten Thousand Smokes Road cultural landscape includes the road prism, the historic gravel pits that were developed to provide material for the road, and the adjacent landscape. The Valley Road is an aesthetically designed road. Following a tradition of National Park Service road design, it was constructed to highlight the unique natural landscape of the Katmai region for tourists. The footprint was minimized and the road followed the natural topography. The road is unconnected to the larger road system and only used by park, concessionaire, and contractor vehicles. Brooks Camp, the developed area adjacent to the beginning of the road, continues to be accessible only by plane or boat. The linear corridor is eligible under Criterion A for its association with Mission 66. The landscape is also eligible under Criterion C as a unique example of National Park Service aesthetic road design. It is significant at the state level, because the road construction was promoted by Alaska Senator Gruening and objected to by the Sierra Club nationally. The road construction project was also featured in a 1963 article of National Geographic Magazine by Senator Gruening. The one lane road maintains a rustic character and is maintained to a primitive standard. Limited pressure to expand the road contributes to the retention of the route’s historic integrity.

Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes Road Historic District: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Katmai National Park and Preserve

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