Angelica at Western Arctic National Parklands

Angelica is a beautiful plant, but it hides both great medicinal qualities and a deadly secret.

• You are standing next to the wooden edge of the garden. The Angelica stands several feet tall, making it eye level with the average person. It has a stem that is about as thick as a thumb with ridges running up it. There are leaves coming off the side that are wide, flat, and pointed on the ends. At the top of the plant is a flat cone-shaped cluster of flowers.

Battle Rock at Cape Krusenstern

Battle Rock has an oral history stretching back thousands of years.

• The mostly flat, beachy coastline of Cape Krusenstern suddenly lifts into rocky cliffs. At the base of the cliff is the edge of the water and a thin beach. The cliff then rises, consisting of sharp drops and rough ground. On top of the cliff is a mostly bare space with tundra plants starting sporadically and then increasing in thickness, spreading out as the hill slopes slowly back into the tundra. During the summer months, the plants around Battle Rock gives the area a greener color. In the Fall, Winter, and Spring, the area is often covered in a blanket of ice and snow, blending it into the water surrounding it.

Cape Krusenstern National Historic Landmark

Cape Krusenstern Archaeological District is one of the oldest continuously occupied areas in Alaska. Sites like these along the northwestern and northern coast, are where whales, seals, walrus, and caribou have made it possible for people to live in the arctic.

Feltleaf Willow at Western Arctic National Parklands

Willows exist in many forms. The Feltleaf Willow is one of the more popular version of this plant. Like its relatives, this plant has great medicinal properties!

• You are standing along the wooden edge of the garden. The Feltleaf willow grows tall, making it about the height of the average man. It has long, skinny stems and grows oval shaped leaves that end in a point.

Fireweed Wayside at Western Arctic National Parklands

The purple/pink flowers of blooming Fireweed is one of the most recognizable sights in Alaska. But what makes this plant so important to medicinal traditions?

• In front of you is the corner of a short, wooden wall of the Heritage Center's garden. Beyond the garden is a road and a row of short houses and buildings. In the distance is the Kotzebue Sound. In this corner of the garden is a cluster of bright pink/purple flowers on tall, thin green plants. The small, four-petaled flowers start halfway up the stalk and continue to the tip of the plant. The leaves at the base of the plant are long and narrow.

Lingonberry at Western Arctic National Parklands

Lingonberries are known by many names, but no matter the name you call it, there's no denying this beautiful plant has beautiful flowers, delicious berries, and powerful medicinal properties.

• Here you are standing along the wooden edge of the garden. The lingonberry bush is directly in front of you. This bush is circular in shape and low to the ground with small, shiny, oval leaves. In the spring and summer are bring flowers and in the fall are red berries. Growing off the side of this plant is the Tundra tea plant which has long, brown stems. On the stems are narrow, thick green leaves with a cluster of white flowers at the top.

Sealing Point Tower

This spot, named Napaaksaq by the Iñupiaq, was used historically by subsistance hunters. The tower that stands there today is at least the third of its kind in the same spot. 

• The tower stands three stories high and is made out of wooden beams. Each level is consists of wooden flooring with an indent for the wooden ladders to pass through. The tower is perched on a small hill along the coast of Cape Krusenstern. Looking toward the ocean, viewers can see about 5 miles on a clear day. Away from the ocean, viewers can see the lower flats of the beach ridge complex. There are many tundra plants surrounding the area.

Sisualik

Sisualik is an Alaskan Native settlement that still thrives to this day.

• This land is very close to sea level. The ocean beach line encircles three sides of the land. There are many various sized ponds, lakes, and lagoons. The marshy ground is covered in tundra plants. There are white walled tents all along the coast that make up camps where people still work to this day for subsistence foods. Many of the tents include fish racks to dry out fish. Many of the tents also keep ATVs parked along their sides to make it easier to move supplies from boats to the tents.

Sourdock at Western Arctic National Parklands

Related to Rhubarb, Sourdock is a medicinal plant with many uses!

• In front of you is the short, wooden wall of the Heritage Center's garden. Beyond the garden is a road and a row of short houses and buildings. In the distance is the Kotzebue Sound. From this standing point, the Sourdock is about ten feet in front of you with the tall leaves of the Siberian Iris between you and it. Sourdock's leaves are low to the ground but wide spread. These leaves are elongated ovals with pointy ends. The entire leaf is green except from its ends which range from a light orange to bright red. For a short time in the summer, there is a two to three foot tall thin stalk in the center of the leaves. This stalk has the small buds for the plant and dies off quickly.

Stinkweed at Western Arctic National Parklands

Stinkweed isn't a pleasant name, but this plant is one of the most beloved medicinal plants in the Arctic. The number of uses seems to be endless!

• Stinkweed stands about 2-3 feet tall when fully mature. It has a thin, tall, green stem with leaves coming off in multiple directions. The leaves are narrow and oval shaped, ending in a point. Toward the top of the stem are small buds, ranging from green, to brown, to a faint red color.

Northwest Arctic Heritage Center

• Northwest Arctic Heritage Center
• Large, half-dome shaped, blue and grey building with just over 11,000 square feet of space. The museum space is just over 1,800 square feet and contains animal displays, soundscapes, tactile exhibits and more. The Heritage Center also contains a bookstore, restroom, art gallery, and sitting area. The Northwest Arctic Heritage Center serves as the visitor centers for the Western Arctic National Parklands: Kobuk Valley National Park, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, and Noatak National Preserve.

• Visit the Northwest Arctic Heritage Center
• Trying to figure out where to go and what to do in Northwest Alaska? The Northwest Arctic Heritage Center is a great place to meet rangers and acquire information on Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Kobuk Valley National Park, and Noatak National Preserve.

• Birdwatching at Krusenstern Lagoon
• Amazing birding opportunities await the adventurers that visit Cape Krusenstern.

• Flying to Radio Hill
• Landscape view of vast tundra and rolling Igichuk Hills.

Medicinal Garden Tour

Explore the Northwest Arctic Heritage Center's medicinal garden and learn about local plant life, their medicinal uses, and more!