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FAMILY TRAVEL DESTINATION:
A L A S K A
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The 49th state admitted to the United States of America (in 1959), Alaska has always been full of surprises, treasures and magnificence. Chances are that will never change. Originally the bridge between Asia and the Americas, this was the original highway for animals, plants and humans to enter vast new lands. In more recent years, Seward's Folly has provided a gold rush in the 1880s and an oil rush that began in 1968 and resulted in the Alaska Pipeline. The human pipeline into Alaska tends to be the Alcan Highway. Here's a review of the land before you start planning your trip.
Alaska is one-fifth the size of the Continental U.S. Not only is Alaska the largest state, if it were divided in half, it would still rank one and two, with Texas coming in number 3. From its farthest point east to its farthest west, Alaska covers almost 2,400 miles, a distance greater than that from San Francisco to New York, and spans four time zones. The north-to-south distance is nearly 1400 miles. The land area of Alaska is 586,000 square miles; that's over 375 million acres.
Over half of Alaska's land area is seismically active. Ten percent of the earth's earthquakes occur here. The earth's crust is further subjected to glaciation and permafrost.
Alaskan geography is widely varied, from sand dunes above the Arctic Circle, to dense, incredibly lush forests, backed by 1000-foot-high sheer cliffs in Tracy Arm.
Three mountain systems delineate Alaska's land mass: the Coast Range, which includes the Kenai, Chugach, Kodiak and St. Elias Ranges; the Alaska/Aleutian Range; and the Brooks Range. There are 19 mountains higher than 14,000 feet, topping out with Mt. McKinley at 20,320 feet. From that height to the offshore Aleutian Trench, 25,000 feet below sea level, is a vertical variation of more than 45,000 feet!
The tidal shoreline of Alaska is almost 45,000 square miles. The tidal variation in Kachemak Bay of almost 30 feet is among the world's greatest. Alaska's coastline, 33,000 miles, is longer than that of all the lower 48 states combined. The Aleutian island chain extends over 1,000 miles. Little Diomede Island, U.S.A., and Big Diomede, Siberia, are only 2-1/2 miles apart.
Alaska has three million lakes which are over two acres in size each. This fantastic quantity of fresh water, much of it shallow, helps to explain the superabundance of mosquitos. Lake Illiamna is Alaska's largest, covering an area of about 1,000 square miles.
The Yukon River, third longest in the U.S., flows 1,800 miles. 1,400 of those are in Alaska, the remainder in the Canada's Yukon.
Fort Yukon, Alaska recorded Alaska's highest temperature, 100 degrees fahrenheit, and also the lowest, minus 80 degrees fahrenheit (and we're not talking wind chill factor). Rainfall ranges from 2 inches annually in parts of the arctic to 300 inches annually in certain areas of the southeast.
Alaska's state tree is the Sitka spruce. The largest forest in the U.S. is Tongass National Forest near Ketchikan, with 16 million acres.
Alaska's state bird is the ptarmigan. 397 species of birds visit Alaska. 197 species are year-round residents.
In the Matanuska Valley near Anchorage, a combination of rich soil and long sunlight produces 4-foot-long cucumbers and cabbages weighing over 25 pounds.
The 780-mile-long pipeline from the North Slope oilfield to the port of Valdez was the most expensive construction project ever undertaken by private industry.
More than half the world's glaciers are in Alaska - there are over 5,000 of them. The Malaspina Glacier, Alaska's largest, is bigger than the state of Rhode Island. Alaska's glaciers, covering 30,000 square miles, were formed 10,000 years ago, in the Pleistocene Age, when much of Alaska was covered with ice. Valley glaciers, often described as rivers of ice, are the most prevalent type in Alaska; however, there are also rare tidewater glaciers which terminate in the ocean. The Yukon's Kluane National Park has the largest non-polar ice field in the world. Glaciers are formed and grow because, in higher elevations, tremendous amounts of snow are deposited all year, the snow builds up and compresses into ice. A glacier's compressed ice has few air bubbles and absorbs all except blue light. The brilliant blue coloration appears most vividly on cloudy days.
Yes, ice worms are real. They live between ice crystals on the surface of some glaciers. On summer evenings they come to the surface to feed on red algae and pollen grains. "Ice Worm Safaris" are conducted by forest service people on summer evenings at Portage Glacier.
By the way, Alaska has no snakes.
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INFORMATION SOURCES
For information about marine or railroad travel in Alaska: Alaska Marine Highway System
Alaska Railroad
For information about State Parks: Alaska State Parks
For information about Alaska National Forests: U.S. Forest Service
Chugach National Forest
For information about Fish and Wildlife Refuges: Alaska Fish & Wildlife Service
For information about hunting and fishing regulations: AlaskaDept. of Fish & Game
For tourist information: AlaskaTourism, Visitor Questions: GoNorth@dced.state.ak.us
Department of Community and Economic Development
For information about lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management: Bureau of Land Management
U.S. Geological Survey, Purchase maps from: Earth Science Information Center, 4230 University Drive, Anchorage, Alaska 99508-4664,(907)786-7011 email: gdurocher@usgs.gov
For information about Native and/or Indian Affairs: Bureau of Indian Affairs, P.O. Box 3-8000, Juneau, AK 99802; Bureau of Indian Affairs, Anchorage Agency, P.O. Box 120, Anchorage, AK 99510. Bed and Breakfast Inns |
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