Editing Alaska Range (section)

==Description==
[[File:Mt. Hayes and the eastern Alaska Range mountains.jpg|thumb|left|Mount Hayes and the eastern Alaska Range mountains]]
[[File:Alaska range.jpg|thumb|right|alt=View of Alaska Range from Denali State Park| View from Denali State Park]]
The range forms a generally east–west arc with its northernmost part in the center, and from there trending southwest towards the [[Alaska Peninsula]] and the [[Aleutian Islands]], and trending southeast into [[British Columbia]] and the [[Pacific Coast Ranges]]. The mountains act as a high barrier to the flow of moist air from the [[Gulf of Alaska]] northwards, and thus have some of the harshest weather in the world. The heavy snowfall also contributes to a number of large [[glacier]]s, including the [[Cantwell Glacier|Cantwell]], [[Castner Glacier|Castner]], Black Rapids, [[Susitna Glacier|Susitna]], [[Yanert]], [[Muldrow Glacier|Muldrow]], [[Eldridge Glacier|Eldridge]], [[Ruth Glacier|Ruth]], [[Tokositna Glacier|Tokositna]], and [[Kahiltna Glacier|Kahiltna]] Glaciers. Four major rivers cross the Alaska Range, including the [[Delta River|Delta]] and [[Nenana River]]s in the center of the range and the [[Nabesna River|Nabesna]] and [[Chisana River]]s to the east.

[[File:Alaska Range Glacier.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|Alaska Range Glacier]]
The range is part of the [[Pacific Ring of Fire]], and the [[Denali Fault]] that runs along its southern edge is responsible for many major [[earthquake]]s. [[Mount Spurr]] is a [[stratovolcano]] located at the northeastern end of the [[Aleutian Arc|Aleutian Volcanic Arc]] which has two vents, the summit and nearby Crater Peak.

Parts of the Alaska Range are protected within [[Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve]], [[Denali National Park and Preserve]], and [[Lake Clark National Park and Preserve]]. Several highways cross through the passes of the range: the [[George Parks Highway]] from [[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]] to [[Fairbanks, Alaska|Fairbanks]] via Windy Pass, the [[Richardson Highway]] from [[Valdez, Alaska|Valdez]] to Fairbanks via [[Isabel Pass]], and the [[Tok Cut-Off]] from Gulkana Junction to [[Tok, Alaska]] via [[Mentasta Pass]]. The [[Alaska Pipeline]] parallels the [[Richardson Highway]]. A part of the [[Alaska Highway]] is situated on the northern slopes of the eastern section of the range.