Facts About Alaska

The last American frontier, Alaska is the largest of the states in size and the second smallest in population. Nearly everything about this 49th state is big. Its Mount McKinley is higher than any other peak in North America. Its Yukon River is one of the longest navigable waterways in the world. Huge animals still thrive in its open spaces Kodiak, grizzly, black, and polar bears; moose, caribou, musk-oxen, wolves; otter, walrus, seals, humpback and killer whales.

Alaska is a land of spectacular contrasts smoking volcanoes and frozen tundra, hot springs and ice floes, creeping glaciers and virgin forests. This vast, raw, and rugged land thrusts a chain of volcanic islands more than a thousand miles southwest into the Bering Sea. Reaching beyond the international date line, the land area originally spanned four time zones. It juts northward far into the Arctic Circle, and to the south its Panhandle extends for miles between the Pacific Ocean and the Canadian Rockies. Blessed with natural wonders, Alaska gloves the superlatives hurled at it with deserving grace, igniting the imagination of visitors and inhabitants alike. The expansive grandeur of the state will help you put the size of your snowshoes in perspective as you marvel at the sight of a brown bear at full amble, or kayak through the dreamy blue wonder of a deep fiord. Despite a reputation for high prices, it's possible to see Alaska on an oil baron's small change - as the hordes flocking to amenable towns and prime wilderness areas every summer have already discovered.

From north to south, the four main natural regions of Alaska are the Arctic Slope; the Rocky Mountain System; the Interior Plateau, basin of the great Yukon River; and the Pacific Mountain System. The long, narrow region that borders the Pacific includes three very different sections: the Panhandle, the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands chain, and south-central Alaska.

• Juneau: Alaska's capital city, Juneau is located in Southeast Alaska. The Tongass Rainforest climate provides Juneau with lush terrain and vibrant wildflowers. Juneau flightseeing excursions feature spectacular scenery. Incredible wildlife inhabits areas in and around Juneau.
• Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve: With its 12 active tidewater glaciers, Glacier Bay is an awesome monument to a retreating ice age. Mt. Fair-weather, the highest peak in the Fair-weather Range (15,320 ft.) looms above the glaciers, and in John Hopkins Inlet, several peaks rise to a height of 7,000 ft. within four miles of the shore. As the coastal waters undermine the glacial ice fronts, great blocks of ice, some as high as 200 ft., break off and crash into the sea, creating huge waves and filling the narrow inlets with massive icebergs.
• Alaska SeaLife Center: Located 125 miles south of Anchorage in Seward, the Alaska SeaLife Center offers a variety of Alaska marine wildlife for viewing. Visit Woody, the center's resident Steller sea lion, along with harbor seals, birds and other intertidal and deep-water species.
• Alaska Zoo: Located in Anchorage, this 25-acre park offers the visitor an opportunity to view a variety of native and exotic animals in a unique Alaska setting.
• Denali National Park: Situated on the northern and southern flanks of the Alaska Range, 237mi (382km) from Anchorage, Denali is the nation's premier subarctic national park, encompassing 6 million acres (2,400,000ha). Making its presence felt here at a towering 20,320ft (6096m) is Mt Kinley, undoubtedly the main attraction of the park and something to behold on a clear day. The park offers camping, hiking, backpacking, mountain biking and white-water rafting.
• Kenai Peninsula: The Kenai Peninsula to the south of Anchorage is the most popular recreational area in the state. The peninsula is a conglomeration of mountains, fjords, icefields and glaciers serviced by a range of hiking trails, numerous campgrounds and beautiful paddling areas. Kenai Fjords National Park covers 587,000ac (234,800ha) with an abundance of marine wildlife and glaciers, including Harding Icefield, measuring 50mi (80km) long and 30mi (48km) wide.
• Gates of the Arctic: Most of the park is vegetated with shrubs or is tundra, and is inhabited by grizzly bears, wolves, dall sheep, moose, caribou and wolverines. The terrain is only intermittently good for hiking, so walking across boggy ground and tussocks is inevitable.

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