The Wrangell Mountains are just to the northwest of the Saint Elias Mountains and northeast of the Chugach Mountains, which are along the coast of the Gulf of Alaska. These ranges have the combined effect of blocking the inland areas from warmer moist air over the Pacific Ocean. The inland areas to the north of the Wrangell Mountains are therefore among the coldest areas of North America during the winter.
Major peaks
The Wrangell Mountains include 12 of the 40+ Alaskan peaks over 13,000 feet (4,000 m) (see fourteeners and thirteeners):
Mount Blackburn, 16,390 feet (4,996 m), and East Summit, 16,286 ft (4,964 m)
Mount Sanford, 16,237 feet (4,949 m), and South Peak, 13,654 ft (4,162 m)
Mount Wrangell, 14,163 feet (4,317 m), and West Summit, 14,013 ft (4,271 m)