The Denali Repeat Photography project has assembled more than 200 photo pairs taken across a large cross-section of Denali from the low-lying black spruce forests to ice fields high in the Alaska Range. What unites these disparate images is that they show repeated views of a single location at different moments in time. The interval separating the pairs of photos varies greatly – from just a few years to longer than a century!
Some of the images reflect major changes that have occurred in the physical landscape such as shrinking of huge glaciers or changes in the size of lakes or ponds. Other photo pairs show changing patterns of vegetation such as the establishment of spruce trees in formerly treeless areas or shrubs invading wetlands, and some show changes humans have made by building structures and roads. Still other photos show no apparent change at all over long spans of time.
This website serves as a clearinghouse of visual information about the wonderful and dynamic Denali landscape. The photographs have come to us from many different people and sources – from historical collections, longtime Denali researchers, and students visiting the area for the first time. We thank everyone who has contributed images to our project, and hope you enjoy the results of their careful observations.