Cove of Spires in Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska

© Sekar B/Shutterstoc

Protecting Alaska

On this day in 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which converted massive tracts of Alaskan wilderness into protected land. That single act 40 years ago doubled the size of the entire National Park System. Alaska's eight national parks cover more than 54 million acres. The Cove of Spires, shown here, is just one of the dramatic glacial landscapes that you can experience in Kenai Fjords National Park. Located near Seward, the park is home to 38 glaciers, which cover over half the park's area in ice—though climate change has reduced them drastically over the last decades.