Arrigetch Peaks

Geobox|Protected area
name = Arrigetch Peaks National Natural Landmark
category = National Natural Landmark
category_iucn = III


caption =
country = United States
country_

state = Alaska
state_

state_type = State
region =
region_type = County
city_type =
city =
lat_d = 67
lat_m = 25
lat_s = 0
lat_NS = N
long_d = 154
long_m = 11
long_s = 0
long_EW = W
area = 103.42
map_locator = Alaska


governing_body =
website = The Arrigetch Peaks are a cluster of rugged granite spires in the central Brooks Range of northern Alaska. The name "Arrigetch" means 'fingers of the outstreched hand' in the Inupiat language. The peaks ring the glacial cirques at the head of the Kobuk River and 2 tributaries of the Alatna River: Arrigetch Creek and Aiyagomahala Creek (Creek 4662). They are located at latitude 67 degrees 24' N and longitude 154 degrees 10' W. All of the summits of the peaks are around 6,000 ft, 1825 m elevation.

The earliest recorded visit was in 1911 by Philip Smith, a geologist. The renowned conservationist Robert Marshall traveled through the area in the 1930s. These trips were described in his 1933 book "Arctic Wilderness", and posthumonous "Alaska Wilderness: Exploring the Central Brooks Range". The first successful rocking climbing expedition to the peaks was in 1964. The peaks have been visited by a number of rock climbing expeditions since then.

Further reading

* Marshall, Robert. Alaska Wilderness: Exploring the Central Brooks Range. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1956. ISBN 0-520-01711-0
* Marshall, Robert. Arctic Wilderness. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1933.
* Wood, Michael and Colby Coombs. Alaska: A Climbing Guide. Seattle: The Mountaineers. 2001. ISBN 0-89886-724-X
* List of rock climbing routes in the Arrigetch Peaks [http://www.stanford.edu/~clint/arrig/index.htm] Retrieved on 2008-3-1