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Chikuminuk Lake
Photograph by Michael Melford
The wilderness of Chikuminuk Lake and Wood-Tikchik State Park displays an untouched nature that has mostly vanished from the lower 48 states.
These images are from the new National Geographic book Hidden Alaska, which focuses on endangered Bristol Bay. The bay holds the world's greatest deposits of copper and gold—and its pristine waters are the world's biggest salmon spawning ground. Photographer Michael Melford and noted environmental storyteller David Atcheson take a look at the conflict.
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Brooks Falls
Photograph by Michael Melford
Although brown bears are normally solitary creatures, they congregate at places like Brooks Falls in the summer to catch and eat spawning salmon.
From the National Geographic book Hidden Alaska
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Bristol Bay Fishermen
Photograph by Michael Melford
Commercial fishermen pull in a drift gill net at dusk on Bristol Bay. In an average year more than 40 million salmon travel through the bay to their spawning grounds.
From the National Geographic book Hidden Alaska
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Iliamna Volcano
Photograph by Michael Melford
Clouds scrape by the snow-covered Iliamna Volcano, which last erupted before Europeans settled in the area.
From the National Geographic book Hidden Alaska
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Dillingham Salmon Catch
Photograph by Michael Melford
“We love our fish,” says Ina Bouker, a Yupik and teacher from Dillingham who opposes the mine. “The salmon always run. But if their habitat is destroyed, they will not come back.”
From the National Geographic book Hidden Alaska
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Threatened Lands
Photograph by Michael Melford
Corporate interests have proposed a massive mining operation to unearth the rich deposits of gold, copper, and molybdenum under the land around Bristol Bay.
From the National Geographic book Hidden Alaska
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Teklanika River
Photograph by Michael Melford
Teklanika River snakes through the raw wilds of Denali National Park. Alaska’s many parks and refuges are some of the last holdouts of pristine nature left in the U.S.
From the National Geographic book Hidden Alaska
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Salmon
Photograph by Michael Melford
A male salmon rests on his long voyage back to the waters of his birth. These migrating salmon die shortly after breeding.
From the National Geographic book Hidden Alaska
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Snow Chicken
Photograph by Michael Melford
This male ptarmigan, or snow chicken, shows off his summer plumage in Katmai National Park and Preserve.
From the National Geographic book Hidden Alaska
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Aurora Borealis
Photograph by Michael Melford
The eerily majestic northern lights, or aurora borealis, blaze above Twelvemile Summit on the Steese Highway.
From the National Geographic book Hidden Alaska
