Kluane / Wrangell-St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek

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Transboundary Natural Legacy: Kluane, Wrangell-St. Elias, Glacier Bay, and Tatshenshini-Alsek

The transboundary Kluane/Wrangell-St. Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek (KWGT) is a unique UNESCO World Heritage Site that spans across four distinct regions – Kluane National Park and Reserve in Yukon, Canada; Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska, USA; Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve also in Alaska, USA; and Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada. This expansive protected area, covering approximately 94,000 square kilometers, was inscribed onto the World Heritage List in 1979.

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UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

These parks comprise an impressive complex of glaciers and high peaks on both sides of the border between Canada (Yukon Territory and British Columbia) and the United States (Alaska). The spectacular natural landscapes are home to many grizzly bears, caribou and Dall's sheep. The site contains the largest non-polar icefield in the world.

UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site

Criterion (vii): The joint properties encompass the breadth of active tectonic, volcanic, glacial and fluvial natural processes from the ocean to some of the highest peaks in North America. Coastal and marine environments, snow-capped mountains, calving glaciers, deep river canyons, fjord-like inlets and abundant wildlife abound. It is an area of exceptional natural beauty.

Criterion (viii): These tectonically active joint properties feature continuous mountain building and contain outstanding examples of major ongoing geologic and glacial processes. Over 200 glaciers in the ice-covered central plateau combine to form some of the world’s largest and longest glaciers, several of which stretch to the sea. The site displays a broad range of glacial processes, including world-class depositional features and classic examples of moraines, hanging valleys, and other geomorphological features.

Criterion (ix): The influence of glaciation at a landscape level has led to a similarly broad range of stages in ecological succession related to the dynamic movements of glaciers. Subtly different glacial environments and landforms have been concentrated within the property by the sharp temperature and precipitation variation between the coast and interior basins. There is a rich variety of terrestrial and coastal/marine environments with complex and intricate mosaics of life at various successional stages from 500 m below sea level to 5000 m above.

Criterion (x): Wildlife species common to Alaska and Northwestern Canada are well represented, some in numbers exceeded nowhere else. The marine components support a great variety of fauna including marine mammals and anadromous fish, the spawning of which is a key ecological component linking the sea to the land through the large river systems. Populations of bears, wolves, caribou, salmon, Dall sheep and mountain goats that are endangered elsewhere are self-regulating here. This is one of the few places remaining in the world where ecological processes are governed by natural stresses and the evolutionary changes in a glacial and ecological continuum.

Encyclopedia Record: Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park

Tatshenshini-Alsek Park or Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Wilderness Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. The park is 9,580 km2 (3,700 sq mi) in size. It was established in 1993 after an intensive campaign by Canadian and American conservation organizations to halt mining exploration and development in the area, and protect the area for its strong natural heritage and biodiversity values.

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IUCN World Heritage Outlook

The 2025 Conservation Outlook on Kluane / Wrangell-St Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek reports the following assessment:

Source: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) · View assessment