Autumn Flight
Denali National Park, Alaska
Mt. Denali is the pinnacle of the Alaska Range and stands 20,310 feet above sea level. Sandhill cranes arrive in Alaska in late spring and start their amazing journey back to the southern US in early September. The Denali tundra and rivers where the cranes spend their summer are only 2000-3000 feet in elevation, so Mt. Denali and the Alaska Range require ideal flight condition for the cranes to fly over. One of my favorite things about visiting Denali in the fall is hearing the familiar sound of the cranes as they take off from the river beds to circle and gain elevation as they start their southward migration. In this image, a small flock of cranes align themselves perfectly with a small peak on the West Buttress of Mt. Denali. Morning clouds are clearing to reveal the scale and beauty of this magnificent peak and an opportunity for the cranes to begin their journey south.
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