he Lower Copper Valley, roughly defined, contains the communities of Copper Center, Kenny Lake and Chitina. These towns are located along the Richardson Highway as it tracks the Copper River south on its way to Cordova. Across the Copper River from the Richardson Highway is the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, the largest National Park in the United States, and home to Alaska's largest volcano, Mt. Wrangell. If you are interested in Gold Rush history, you have come to the right place, for the Lower Copper River region was the site of an 1898 Gold Rush. And the remnants of a booming railroad community are evident in Chitina, one of Alaska's many ghost towns.