Glennalen Township

The tiny village of Glennalen is located west of the Wrangel and St Elijah National Park and Reserve, 189 km east of Anchorage. The climate here is harsh, with cold long winters and short but comparatively warm summers. Temperature differences range from +27 degrees in summer to -46 degrees in winter.

In ancient times, the owners of these places were the indigenous people of Alaska - the Athabascan Indians, who called themselves the "Ice People", settled here many centuries ago. They were engaged in fishing and hunting wild animals, because the forests were rich and abundant. Today, representatives of the Athabascan tribe live compactly in several communities.

In 1899, soldiers of the United States Army laid a trail for summer communication between several forts located in Alaska. In the 1920s, the military trail was expanded to become the Richardson Highway, which became an important artery connecting military bases with the airfield from which military supplies were delivered to the Soviet Far East during World War II.