Lake Iliamna photos
by Erin McKittrick
other Pebble Mine region photos

These photos are from the Lake Iliamna segment of my month-long, 450+ mile Trek through the Pebble Mine watersheds

The Pebble Mine project is a controversial proposal by Northern Dynasty Minerals to build one of the largest gold and copper mines in the world, in southwest Alaska, near Lake Iliamna. Northern Dynasty has not yet applied for permits, but their current proposal involves both a large open pit and an underground mine, as well as removal of the water from the headwaters of Upper Talarik Creek and the Koktuli River ( important fish habitats). The site sits at the headwaters of two major Bristol Bay drainages ( Nushagak and Kvichak), and potentially poses a large threat to the region's salmon. This proposal has become a major political issue in Alaska, pitting pro-mining forces against local native villages and commercial and sport fishermen.

Pictures and other files are provided free for download for non-profit use only. Please credit the photographer (Erin McKittrick). For commercial use, please contact me at mckittre at gmail dot com. My photographs of the Pebble Mine area have been published in Alaska and Fly Fisherman magazines, the Bristol Bay Times, as well as by the Renewable Resources Coalition, the Wilderness Society, the Alaska Conservation Foundation, and other environmental groupss.

Click here for Word file with captions, and jpg file showing picture locations.

2668 - Hig building a cook fire on the beach at Lake Iliamna.

2675 - Erin coming over the beach ridge at Lake Iliamna.

2677 - Lagoon on Lake Iliamna.

2682 - Hig and Tom making a ridiculously short crossing in the Alpacka raft.

2683 - Gravel beach stretching into the distance on a calm day on Lake Iliamna.

2684 - Pebbles underneath Lake Iliamna's crystal clear water.

2685 - Butterfly on rotting fish on the beach.

2686 - Looking north along the shore of Lake Iliamna.

2688 - Chocolate lily speckled with shadows.

2691 - Looking south along the shore of Lake Iliamna.

2705 - Sunset through the grass on Lake Iliamna.

2707 - Walking on the gravel beach of Lake Iliamna, under a morning overcast sky.

2711 - Walking on the gravel beach of Lake Iliamna, under a bright midday sun.

2718 - Tom fishing in the surf on Lake Iliamna.

2721 - Tom fishing in the surf on Lake Iliamna.

2722 - Tom fishing in the surf on Lake Iliamna.

2726 - Small lake behind the beach burm of Lake Iliamna.

2728 - Waves lapping the Lake Iliamna shore.

2730 - Flock of arctic terns wheeling in the sky above the beach.

2736 - Arctic terns flying over the beach on Lake Iliamna.

2732 - Arctic terns flying over the beach on Lake Iliamna.

2741 - Tom fishing on Lake Iliamna.

2745 - Seagulls fishing on Lake Iliamna.

2756 - Seagulls taking off from a beach burm on Lake Iliamna.

2757 - Seagulls taking off from a beach burm on Lake Iliamna.

2760 - Stripes of seagulls and ducks in Lake Iliamna.

2764 - Hig walking along the bluffs above Lake Iliamna.

2766 - Tom walking along the bluffs above Lake Iliamna.

2769 - Bluffs over Lake Iliamna.

2771 - Evening fishing on Lake Iliamna.

2776 - Cooking rainbow trout in the fire, from Lake Iliamna.

2777 - Hig sucking the last meat from a rainbow trout skeleton.

2783 - Sunset behind the brush along Lake Iliamna.

2786 - Our camp on the bluffs above Lake Iliamna.

2791 - Waves and rocks on the shore of Lake Iliamna.

2793 - Hig and Tom on the Lake Iliamna beach.

2794 - Bumblebee on beach peas on the shore of Lake Iliamna.

2795 - Beach pea flowers on the Lake Iliamna beach.

2796 - Beach pea flowers on the Lake Iliamna beach.

2797 - Shore plants along Lake Iliamna.

2798 - Jacob's ladder flowers on the Lake Iliamna shore.

2805 - River beauty flowers on the Lake Iliamna shore.

2806 - River beauty budding on the Lake Iliamna shore.

2812 - Arctic terns on a gravel spit on Lake Iliamna, near the mouth of Upper Talarik Creek.

2813 - Arctic terns on a gravel spit on Lake Iliamna, near the mouth of Upper Talarik Creek.