Kennicott

In 1900 miners 'Tarantula Jack' Smith and Clarence Warner reconnoitered Kennicott Glacier's east side until they arrived at a creek and found traces of copper. They named the creek Bonanza, and was it ever - the entire mountainside turned out to hold some of the richest copper deposits ever uncovered. In the Lower 48, mines were digging up ore that contained 2% copper. Here, the veins would average almost 13%, while some contained as much as 70%.

Eventually, a group of investors bought the existing stakes and formed the Kennecott Copper Corporation, named when a clerical worker misspelled Kennicott (which is why, nowadays, the town is spelled with an 'e' while the river, glacier, and other natural features get an 'i'). First the syndicate built its railroad: 196 miles of track through the wilderness, including the leg that's now McCarthy Rd and Cordova's famous Million Dollar Bridge. The line cost around US$23 million before it even reached the mines in 1911.

By 1938 most of the rich ore had been exhausted, and in November that year the mine closed permanently. With the exception of a steam turbine and two large diesel engines, everything was left behind, and Kennecott became a perfectly preserved slice of US mining history.

In 1998 the NPS purchased the mill, power plant and many of the buildings from private owners as the first step to restoring them. The project of saving this unique piece of Alaskan history will undoubtedly take years. Until then, you will have to be content with strolling through the center of town and admiring the mining history by peeping through the windows. Keep in mind that many of the buildings are still privately owned, and it is illegal to enter them. For more information, stop in at the small National Park Service Visitor Center on Kennecott's main drag, where rangers give regular talks on the area, show films and lead nature walks.

You can reach Kennecott from McCarthy on foot by walking or cycling up the main road (the old railroad grade), a 4½-mile trek. There's also a van service in McCarthy, or you can hitch a ride in summer when a trickle of traffic runs between the two towns.