Iliamna 's 40 square miles are home to more than 2,100 brown bears . `` I got to the point where I could recognize the bears , '' says Wood , producer of `` Katmai : Alaska 's Wild Peninsula , '' which will debut July 5 on PBS . Always maintain a 50-yard distance from bears and never separate a mother from her cub . The the 20th century Novarupta volcano eruption was the largest of 1912 . The eruption created the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes , 4 million acres of volcanic ash .
Iliamna 's 40 square miles are home to more than 2,100 brown bears . Always maintain a 50-yard distance from bears and never separate a mother from her cub . The the 20th century Novarupta volcano eruption was the largest of 1912 . The eruption created the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes , 4 million acres of volcanic ash .