What is the largest unit managed by the U.S. National Park Service?

Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve is the largest unit managed by the U.S. National Park Service.

The Alaska unit covers about 13.2 million acres, including both national park and national preserve lands. It is larger than nine U.S. states and occupies more than 16 percent of the entire National Park System by area.

Congress established the park and preserve in 1980 through the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. President Jimmy Carter had first proclaimed the area Wrangell–St. Elias National Monument in 1978, using authority under the Antiquities Act.

The landscape contains the Wrangell and Saint Elias mountain ranges, enormous glaciers, active volcanoes, and the historic Kennecott copper-mining district. Mount Saint Elias rises to 18,008 feet. A useful distinction is that the largest NPS unit is not the same as the largest unit carrying only the national park designation; the preserve portion is included in the NPS-managed total.