Elias and Glacier Bay National Parks in Alaska and the Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park in British Columbia form the largest international protected area in the world. The St. Elias Mountains, Canada's highest and most massive mountains, have two ranges separated by a narrow trough, the Duke Depression. Although many of the highest mountains are not visible from any point along the highway, some of the higher peaks can be spotted in the distance from viewpoints near Kathleen Lake, Donjek River or Marshall Creek. Amid these ranges is a legacy of the last Ice Age - the world's largest nonpolar icefields. Massive quantities of snow continue to accumulate as moist Pacific air moves over the St. Elias Mountains.
Glacial movements are often immense and spectacular.
In the past, surges of the Lowell Glacier have blocked the Alsek River near Goatherd Mountain with a dam of ice. The resulting glacial lakes extended well back to and over the present site of Haines Junction. The most recent Lake Alsek is said to have drained around 1850 in two days after the ice dam broke, with a flow rate comparable to that of the Amazon River. Along the Alaska Highway and the Haines Road there are service stations, restaurants and motels, some of which are open year-round. Visitor Centers Haines Junction is the primary staging area for activities in Kluane and it is the site of the main park visitor reception center which offers a myriad of displays, information and the well known 'Kluane' slide show.