Surface Water Characteristics. Several glacially-carved lakes are at the northern and southern peripheries. Most streams and rivers flow through narrow ravines with steep headwalls and together form a broad dendritic pattern. All soils, except for a few south-facing slopes, are underlain by permafrost. Wetlands occupy at least 20 percent of the area.
Wildfire is a fairly common disturbance event.
The area is largely undisturbed by humans, except for occasional subsistence use during summer months. Inupiaq Eskimos reside in the west and the Kutchin Athabaskan Mountains in the east. Compiled by Alaska Region.