2023 Map of McCarthy A-3 SE

About this map

The Chitina River serves as the central geographic artery for this portion of the Copper River Census Area, dividing the protected lands of the Wrangell-Saint Elias National Preserve to the north from the Wrangell-St. Elias Wilderness and Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park to the south. The landscape is defined by the sharp verticality of the Saint Elias Mountains and the Granite Range, where numerous glacial-fed waterways including Iron Creek, Lime Creek, and Granite Creek descend toward the river valley. The confluence of the Short River and the Chitina River illustrates the dynamic hydrography of this subarctic environment, where shifting channels and broad gravel bars characterize the drainage patterns within these federally managed wilderness boundaries.