1.
Denali
–
Denali is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of 20,310 feet above sea level. With a topographic prominence of 20,156 feet and an isolation of 4,629 miles, Denali is the third most prominent and third most isolated peak after Mount Everest. Located in the Alaska Range in the interior of the U. S. state of Alaska, Denali is the centerpiece of Denali National Park, the Koyukon people who inhabit the area around the mountain have referred to the peak as Denali for centuries. In August 2015, following the 1975 lead of the state of Alaska, prior to this, most Alaskans already referred to the mountain as Denali. In 1903, James Wickersham recorded the first attempt at climbing Denali, in 1906, Frederick Cook claimed the first ascent, which was later proven to be false. The first verifiable ascent to Denalis summit was achieved on June 7,1913, by climbers Hudson Stuck, Harry Karstens, Walter Harper, and Robert Tatum, who went by the South Summit. In 1951, Bradford Washburn pioneered the West Buttress route, considered to be the safest and easiest route, and therefore the most popular currently in use. On September 2,2015, the U. S. Geological Survey announced that the mountain is 20,310 feet high, not 20,320 feet, the forces that lifted Denali also cause many deep earthquakes in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. The Pacific Plate is seismically active beneath Denali, a region that is known as the McKinley cluster. Denali has an elevation of 20,310 feet above sea level, making it the highest peak in North America. Measured from base to peak at some 18,000 ft, Denali rises from a sloping plain with elevations from 1,000 to 3,000 ft, for a base-to-peak height of 17,000 to 19,000 ft. By comparison, Mount Everest rises from the Tibetan Plateau at a higher base elevation. Denali has two significant summits, the South Summit is the one, while the North Summit has an elevation of 19,470 ft. The North Summit is sometimes counted as a peak and sometimes not, it is rarely climbed. Five large glaciers flow off the slopes of the mountain, the Peters Glacier lies on the northwest side of the massif, while the Muldrow Glacier falls from its northeast slopes. Just to the east of the Muldrow, and abutting the eastern side of the massif, is the Traleika Glacier, the Ruth Glacier lies to the southeast of the mountain, and the Kahiltna Glacier leads up to the southwest side of the mountain. With a length of 44 mi, the Kahiltna Glacier is the longest glacier in the Alaska Range, the Koyukon Athabaskans who inhabit the area around the mountain have for centuries referred to the peak as Dinale or Denali. The name is based on a Koyukon word for high or tall, during the Russian ownership of Alaska, the common name for the mountain was Bolshaya Gora, which is the Russian translation of Denali
Denali
–
From the north, with Wonder Lake in the foreground
Denali
–
Hudson Stuck and
Harry Karstens, co-leaders of the first successful summit of Denali in 1913
Denali
–
The reverse side of the Denali National Park quarter
Denali
–
High camp (17,200 ft or 5,200 m) of the West Buttress Route pioneered by
Bradford Washburn, photographed in 2001
2.
Summit
–
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a maximum in elevation. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak, and zenith are synonymous, the UIAA definition is that a summit is independent if it has a prominence of 30 metres or more, it is a mountain if it has a prominence of at least 300 metres. This can be summarised as follows, A pyramidal peak is an exaggerated form produced by ice erosion of a mountain top, Summit may also refer to the highest point along a line, trail, or route. In many parts of the western United States, the term refers to the highest point along a road, highway. For example, the highest point along Interstate 80 in California is referred to as Donner Summit while the highest point on Interstate 5 is Siskiyou Mountain Summit, geoid Hill List of highest mountains Maxima and minima Nadir Summit accordance Peak finder
Summit
–
The highest elevation summit, Mount Everest, shown with a climber at the summit wearing an oxygen mask. The summit is 8850 m (29,035 ft) elevation. (While the cruising altitude of jetliners is roughly 10,000 m (32,808 feet), they are pressurized.)
Summit
–
View from the summit of Switzerland's highest,
Monte Rosa
Summit
–
The summit of
Mount Damavand,
Iran, in winter
Summit
–
Jeff Davis Peak, one of the highest peaks entirely within
Nevada
3.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
–
Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
4.
Mountain range
–
A mountain range is a geographic area containing numerous geologically related mountains. A mountain system or system of ranges, sometimes is used to combine several geological features that are geographically related. Mountain ranges are usually segmented by highlands or mountain passes and valleys, individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geologic structure or petrology. They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and terranes, for example thrust sheets, uplifted blocks, fold mountains, most geologically young mountain ranges on the Earths land surface are associated with either the Pacific Ring of Fire or the Alpide Belt. The Andes is 7,000 kilometres long and is considered the worlds longest mountain system. The Alpide belt includes Indonesia and southeast Asia, through the Himalaya, the belt also includes other European and Asian mountain ranges. The Himalayas contain the highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest, mountain ranges outside of these two systems include the Arctic Cordillera, the Urals, the Appalachians, the Scandinavian Mountains, the Altai Mountains and the Hijaz Mountains. If the definition of a range is stretched to include underwater mountains. The mountain systems of the earth are characterized by a tree structure, the sub-range relationship is often expressed as a parent-child relationship. For example, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Blue Ridge Mountains are sub-ranges of the Appalachian Mountains, equivalently, the Appalachians are the parent of the White Mountains and Blue Ridge Mountains, and the White Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains are children of the Appalachians. The position of mountains influences climate, such as rain or snow, when air masses move up and over mountains, the air cools producing orographic precipitation. As the air descends on the side, it warms again and is drier. Often, a shadow will affect the leeward side of a range. Mountain ranges are constantly subjected to forces which work to tear them down. Erosion is at work while the mountains are being uplifted and long after until the mountains are reduced to low hills, rivers are traditionally believed to be the principle erosive factor on mountain ranges, with their ability of bedrock incision and sediment transport. The rugged topography of a range is the product of erosion. The basins adjacent to a mountain range are filled with sediments which are buried and turned into sedimentary rock. The early Cenozoic uplift of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado provides an example and this mass of rock was removed as the range was actively undergoing uplift
Mountain range
–
The
Himalayas, the highest mountain range on Earth, seen from space
Mountain range
–
Mountain range of
High Tatras in
Slovakia in 1865
Mountain range
–
The
Andes, the world's longest mountain range on the surface of a continent, seen from the air
Mountain range
–
Hillary and Norgay Montes on Pluto (14 July 2015)
5.
Southcentral Alaska
–
Southcentral Alaska is the portion of the U. S. state of Alaska consisting of the shorelines and uplands of the central Gulf of Alaska. Most of the population of the lives in this region, concentrated in. The area includes Cook Inlet, the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, the Kenai Peninsula, Prince William Sound, tourism, fisheries, and petroleum production are important economic activities. Other towns include Palmer, Wasilla, Kenai, Soldotna, Homer, Seward, Valdez, the climate of Southcentral Alaska is subarctic. Temperatures range from a high of 65°F in July to an average low of 10°F in December. The hours of daylight per day varies from 24 hours in June and July to 6 hours in December, the coastal areas consist of temperate rainforests and alder shrublands. The interior areas are covered by boreal forests, the Wrangell Volcanoes are older, lie in the East, and include Mount Blackburn, Mount Bona, Mount Churchill, Mount Drum, Mount Gordon, Mount Jarvis, Mount Sanford, and Mount Wrangell. Most recently, Augustine and Fourpeaked erupted in 2006, and Mount Redoubt erupted in March 2009, Anchorage Metropolitan Area Matanuska-Susitna Valley Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Alaska
Southcentral Alaska
–
Bear Glacier Lake and Pacific Ocean in the
Kenai Fjords
Southcentral Alaska
–
Map of Southcentral Alaska
6.
U.S. state
–
A U. S. state is a constituent political entity of the United States of America. There are 50 states, which are together in a union with each other. Each state holds administrative jurisdiction over a geographic territory. Due to the shared sovereignty between each state and the government, Americans are citizens of both the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons covered by certain types of court orders. States range in population from just under 600,000 to over 39 million, four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names. States are divided into counties or county-equivalents, which may be assigned some local authority but are not sovereign. County or county-equivalent structure varies widely by state, State governments are allocated power by the people through their individual constitutions. All are grounded in principles, and each provides for a government. States possess a number of powers and rights under the United States Constitution, Constitution has been amended, and the interpretation and application of its provisions have changed. The general tendency has been toward centralization and incorporation, with the government playing a much larger role than it once did. There is a debate over states rights, which concerns the extent and nature of the states powers and sovereignty in relation to the federal government. States and their residents are represented in the federal Congress, a legislature consisting of the Senate. Each state is represented in the Senate by two senators, and is guaranteed at least one Representative in the House, members of the House are elected from single-member districts. Representatives are distributed among the states in proportion to the most recent constitutionally mandated decennial census, the Constitution grants to Congress the authority to admit new states into the Union. Since the establishment of the United States in 1776, the number of states has expanded from the original 13 to 50, alaska and Hawaii are the most recent states admitted, both in 1959. The Constitution is silent on the question of states have the power to secede from the Union. Shortly after the Civil War, the U. S. Supreme Court, in Texas v. White, as a result, while the governments of the various states share many similar features, they often vary greatly with regard to form and substance
U.S. state
–
U.S. states
7.
Alaska
–
Alaska is a U. S. state located in the northwest extremity of North America. To the north are the Chukchi and Beaufort seas–the southern parts of the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean lies to the south and southwest. Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area, the 3rd least populous, approximately half of Alaskas residents live within the Anchorage metropolitan area. Alaskas economy is dominated by the fishing, natural gas, military bases and tourism are also a significant part of the economy. The United States purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire on March 30,1867, the area went through several administrative changes before becoming organized as a territory on May 11,1912. It was admitted as the 49th state of the U. S. on January 3,1959, the name Alaska was introduced in the Russian colonial period when it was used to refer to the peninsula. It was derived from an Aleut, or Unangam idiom, which refers to the mainland of Alaska. Literally, it means object to which the action of the sea is directed, Alaska is the northernmost and westernmost state in the United States and has the most easterly longitude in the United States because the Aleutian Islands extend into the Eastern Hemisphere. Alaska is the only non-contiguous U. S. state on continental North America and it is technically part of the continental U. S. but is sometimes not included in colloquial use, Alaska is not part of the contiguous U. S. often called the Lower 48. The capital city, Juneau, is situated on the mainland of the North American continent but is not connected by road to the rest of the North American highway system. Alaskas territorial waters touch Russias territorial waters in the Bering Strait, as the Russian Big Diomede Island, Alaska has a longer coastline than all the other U. S. states combined. Alaska is the largest state in the United States by total area at 663,268 square miles, over twice the size of Texas, Alaska is larger than all but 18 sovereign countries. Counting territorial waters, Alaska is larger than the area of the next three largest states, Texas, California, and Montana. It is also larger than the area of the 22 smallest U. S. states. Also referred to as the Panhandle or Inside Passage, this is the region of Alaska closest to the rest of the United States, as such, this was where most of the initial non-indigenous settlement occurred in the years following the Alaska Purchase. The region is dominated by the Alexander Archipelago as well as the Tongass National Forest and it contains the state capital Juneau, the former capital Sitka, and Ketchikan, at one time Alaskas largest city. The Alaska Marine Highway provides a vital transportation link throughout the area. The Interior is the largest region of Alaska, much of it is uninhabited wilderness, Fairbanks is the only large city in the region
Alaska
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Denali is the highest peak in North America.
Alaska
–
Flag
Alaska
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Grizzly bear fishing for
salmon at
Brooks Falls, part of
Katmai National Park and Preserve.
Alaska
–
Augustine Volcano erupting on January 12, 2006
8.
Lake Clark
–
Lake Clark is a lake in southern Alaska. It drains through Six Mile Lake and the Newhalen River into Iliamna Lake, the lake is about 64 km long and about 8 km wide. The Denaina Athabascan name is Qizjeh Vena which means place where people gather lake, the lake is within Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
Lake Clark
–
Lake Clark
Lake Clark
–
A panoramic picture taken from the bank of Lake Clark.
9.
White River (Yukon)
–
The White River is a tributary, about 200 miles long, of the Yukon River in the U. S. state of Alaska and the Canadian territory of Yukon. The Alaska Highway crosses the White River near Beaver Creek, the White River is glacier-fed and contains large amounts of suspended sediment. It transports 19 million tons of sediment per year in the part of its basin. This dramatically changes the clarity of the Yukon River, which remains sediment laden from the confluence to its mouth, List of rivers of Alaska List of rivers of Yukon
White River (Yukon)
–
Location of the mouth of the White River in Yukon
10.
Yukon Territory
–
Yukon is the smallest and westernmost of Canadas three federal territories. The territory has the smallest population of any province or territory in Canada, Whitehorse is the territorial capital and Yukons only city. The territory was split from the Northwest Territories in 1898 and was named the Yukon Territory, though officially bilingual, the Yukon Government also recognizes First Nations languages. At 5,959 m, Yukons Mount Logan, in Kluane National Park and Reserve, is the highest mountain in Canada, most of Yukon has a subarctic climate, characterized by long cold winters and brief warm summers. The Arctic Ocean coast has a tundra climate, notable rivers include the Yukon River, after which the territory was named, as well as the Pelly, Stewart, Peel, White and Tatshenshini rivers. Long before the arrival of Europeans, central and southern Yukon was populated by First Nations people, sites of archeological significance in Yukon hold some of the earliest evidence of the presence of human occupation in North America. The sites safeguard the history of the first people and the earliest First Nations of the Yukon, the volcanic eruption of Mount Churchill in approximately 800 AD in what is now the U. S. Coastal and inland First Nations had extensive trading networks, European incursions into the area only began early in the 19th century with the fur trade, followed by missionaries. By the 1870s and 1880s gold miners began to arrive and this drove a population increase that justified the establishment of a police force, just in time for the start of the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897. The increased population coming with the gold led to the separation of the Yukon district from the Northwest Territories. Its northern coast is on the Beaufort Sea and its ragged eastern boundary mostly follows the divide between the Yukon Basin and the Mackenzie River drainage basin to the east in the Mackenzie mountains. Most of the territory is in the watershed of its namesake, the southern Yukon is dotted with a large number of large, long and narrow glacier-fed alpine lakes, most of which flow into the Yukon River system. The larger lakes include Teslin Lake, Atlin Lake, Tagish Lake, Marsh Lake, Lake Laberge, Kusawa Lake, bennett Lake on the Klondike Gold Rush trail is a lake flowing into Nares Lake, with the greater part of its area within Yukon. Canadas highest point, Mount Logan, is in the territorys southwest, Mount Logan and a large part of the Yukons southwest are in Kluane National Park and Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other national parks include Ivvavik National Park and Vuntut National Park in the north, other watersheds include the Mackenzie River, the Peel Watershed and the Alsek–Tatshenshini, and a number of rivers flowing directly into the Beaufort Sea. The two main Yukon rivers flowing into the Mackenzie in the Northwest Territories are the Liard River in the southeast, notable widespread tree species within Yukon are the black spruce and white spruce. Many trees are stunted because of the growing season and severe climate. The capital, Whitehorse, is also the largest city, with about three-quarters of the population, the second largest is Dawson City, which was the capital until 1952
Yukon Territory
–
Downtown
Whitehorse along the
Yukon River
Yukon Territory
–
Flag
Yukon Territory
–
Mount Logan from the southeast
Yukon Territory
–
Yukon welcome sign
11.
North America
–
North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers, about 16. 5% of the land area. North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 565 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7. 5% of the worlds population, North America was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period, via crossing the Bering land bridge. The so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago, the Classic stage spans roughly the 6th to 13th centuries. The Pre-Columbian era ended with the migrations and the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect different kind of interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples, African slaves and their descendants, European influences are strongest in the northern parts of the continent while indigenous and African influences are relatively stronger in the south. Because of the history of colonialism, most North Americans speak English, Spanish or French, the Americas are usually accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann. Vespucci, who explored South America between 1497 and 1502, was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a different landmass previously unknown by Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller produced a map, in which he placed the word America on the continent of South America. He explained the rationale for the name in the accompanying book Cosmographiae Introductio, for Waldseemüller, no one should object to the naming of the land after its discoverer. He used the Latinized version of Vespuccis name, but in its feminine form America, following the examples of Europa, Asia and Africa. Later, other mapmakers extended the name America to the continent, In 1538. Some argue that the convention is to use the surname for naming discoveries except in the case of royalty, a minutely explored belief that has been advanced is that America was named for a Spanish sailor bearing the ancient Visigothic name of Amairick. Another is that the name is rooted in a Native American language, the term North America maintains various definitions in accordance with location and context. In Canadian English, North America may be used to refer to the United States, alternatively, usage sometimes includes Greenland and Mexico, as well as offshore islands
North America
–
Map of North America, from 1621.
North America
–
North America
North America
–
The
El Castillo pyramid, at
Chichén Itzá, Mexico.
North America
–
Benjamin West 's
The Death of General Wolfe (1771) depicting the
Battle of the Plains of Abraham.
12.
American Cordillera
–
It is also the backbone of the volcanic arc that forms the eastern half of the Pacific Ring of Fire. From north to south, this sequence of overlapping and parallel ranges begins with the Alaska Range, the main belt of the Rocky Mountains along with the parallel Columbia Mountains and Coast Ranges of mountains and islands continue through British Columbia and Vancouver Island. In the United States, the Cordillera branches include the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Nevada, and the Cascades and coastal ranges of Washington, Oregon, and California. In Mexico, the Cordillera continues through the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental, the Cordillera continues on through the mountain ranges of Central America in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama, and becomes the Andes Mountains of South America. In addition, the range can possibly be followed through the curved South Georgia Ridge across the Southern Ocean to the mountains of Graham Land on the Antarctic Peninsula, lithotectonic terrane map of the North American Cordillera. U. S. Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey
American Cordillera
–
Alaska Range
American Cordillera
–
Coast Mountains of
British Columbia
American Cordillera
–
Cascade Range
American Cordillera
–
Sierra Nevada
13.
Andes
–
The Andes or Andean Mountains are the longest continental mountain range in the world. They are a range of highlands along the western edge of South America. This range is about 7,000 km long, about 200 to 700 km wide, the Andes extend from north to south through seven South American countries, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. Along their length, the Andes are split into several ranges, the Andes are the location of several high plateaus – some of which host major cities, such as Quito, Bogotá, Arequipa, Medellín, Sucre, Mérida and La Paz. The Altiplano plateau is the worlds second-highest after the Tibetan plateau and these ranges are in turn grouped into three major divisions based on climate, the Tropical Andes, the Dry Andes, and the Wet Andes. The Andes are the worlds highest mountain range outside of Asia, the highest mountain outside Asia, Mount Aconcagua, rises to an elevation of about 6,961 m above sea level. The peak of Chimborazo in the Ecuadorean Andes is farther from the Earths center than any other location on the Earths surface, the worlds highest volcanoes are in the Andes, including Ojos del Salado on the Chile-Argentina border, which rises to 6,893 m. The etymology of the word Andes has been debated, the majority consensus is that it derives from the Quechua word anti, which means east as in Antisuyu, one of the four regions of the Inca Empire. In the northern part of the Andes, the isolated Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta range is considered to be part of the Andes. The term cordillera comes from the Spanish word cordel, meaning rope, the Andes range is about 200 km wide throughout its length, except in the Bolivian flexure where it is about 640 kilometres wide. The Andes are the result of plate tectonics processes, caused by the subduction of oceanic crust beneath the South American plate. The main cause of the rise of the Andes is the compression of the rim of the South American Plate due to the subduction of the Nazca Plate. In the south, the Andes share a boundary with the former Patagonia Terrane. To the west, the Andes end at the Pacific Ocean, from a geographical approach, the Andes are considered to have their western boundaries marked by the appearance of coastal lowlands and a less rugged topography. The Andes Mountains also contain large quantities of iron ore located in mountains within the range. The Andean orogen has a series of bends or oroclines, the Bolivian Orocline is a seaward concave bending in the coast of South America and the Andes Mountains at about 18° S. At this point the orientation of the Andes turns from Northwest in Peru to South in Chile, the Andean segment north and south of the orocline have been rotated 15° to 20° counter clockwise and clockwise respectively. The Bolivian Orocline area overlaps with the area of maximum width of the Altiplano Plateau, the specific point at 18° S where the coastline bends is known as the Arica Elbow
Andes
–
Aerial photo of a portion of the Andes between
Argentina and
Chile
Andes
Andes
–
"
Cono de Arita " in the
Puna de Atacama,
Salta (
Argentina).
Andes
–
Aerial view of Aconcagua.
14.
Alaska Peninsula
–
The Alaska Peninsula is a peninsula extending about 800 km to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. The peninsula separates the Pacific Ocean from Bristol Bay, an arm of the Bering Sea, the Lake and Peninsula borough, the Alaskan equivalent of a county, is named after the peninsula. The Aleutian Range is an active volcanic mountain range which runs along the entire length of the Peninsula. The northern and southern shores are likewise quite different, the northern Bristol Bay coastal side is generally turbid and muddy, experiences tidal extremes, and is relatively shallow, the Pacific side has relatively small tidal activity and is deep and clear. All of the Peninsula is organized as a part of four adjacent boroughs, the Aleutians East Borough, Bristol Bay Borough, Kodiak Island Borough, the Lake and Peninsula Borough includes most of the peninsulas territory. Average annual precipitation ranges from 24 to 65 in, coastal areas are subject to intense storms, wind, and rain. Winter temperatures average between −11°C and 1°C, and in summer between 6°C and 15°, frosts can occur any day of the year at higher elevations. The climate can be compared to that of the Aleutian Islands, Iceland, the Alaska Peninsula is home to some of the largest populations of native and undisturbed wildlife in the United States. Besides the famous McNeil River and Katmai Alaskan brown bear populations, large herds of caribou, moose, wolves and these salmon, after returning from their short life at sea, swim into the lakes and their contributing streams to spawn. Their offspring, or fry, overwinter in the deep and food-abundant depths of these lakes until their migration to the sea in one or two years, exceptionally large seabird colonies exist along the coast. Besides the communities on the coast, the Alaska Peninsula also is home to several villages, Cold Bay, King Cove, Perryville, Chignik, Chignik Lake, Chignik Lagoon. Each is primarily inhabited by Alaska Natives and each, likewise, is dependent on the fishing industry for sustenance. The village of Sand Point should be included here, despite its location on Popof Island, ugashik Area website Lake & Peninsula Borough Lake and Peninsula School District Alaska Peninsula Trek Trawl survey of shrimp and forage fish in Alaskas Westward region,2006 / by David R. Jackson. Hosted by Alaska State Publications Program
Alaska Peninsula
–
Peulik Volcano and cottongrass meadow
Alaska Peninsula
–
Volcanoes on the Alaska Peninsula
15.
Aleutian Islands
–
The Aleutian Islands are a chain of 14 large volcanic islands and 55 smaller ones belonging to both the United States and Russia. Crossing longitude 180°, at which point east and west longitude end, the westernmost U. S. island in real terms, however, is Attu Island, west of which runs the International Date Line. The islands, with their 57 volcanoes, are in the part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Physiographically, they are a section of the larger Pacific Border province. These Islands are most known for the battles and skirmishes occurred there during the Aleutian Islands Campaign of World War II. It was one of two attacks on the United States during that war. The largest islands in the Aleutians are Attu, and Unalaska, Umnak, and Unimak in the Fox Islands. The largest of those is Unimak Island, with an area of 1,571.41 mi², followed by Unalaska Island, the axis of the archipelago near the mainland of Alaska has a southwest trend, but near 179° its direction changes to the northwest. This change of direction corresponds to a curve in the line of fissures that have contributed their products to the building of the islands. Such curved chains are repeated about the Pacific Ocean in the Kuril Islands, the Japanese chain, and in the Philippines. All these island arcs are at the edge of the Pacific Plate and experience much seismic activity, but are still habitable, the general elevation is greatest in the eastern islands and least in the western. The island chain is a continuation of the Aleutian Range on the mainland. The coasts are rocky and surf-worn, and the approaches are exceedingly dangerous and these volcanic islands reach heights of 6,200 feet. Makushin Volcano located on Unalaska Island, is not quite visible from within the town of Unalaska, though the steam rising from its cone is visible on a clear day. Residents of Unalaska need only to one of the smaller hills in the area, such as Pyramid Peak or Mt. Newhall. The volcanic Bogoslof and Fire Islands, which rose from the sea in 1796 and 1883 respectively, in 1906 a new volcanic cone rose between the islets of Bogoslof and Grewingk, near Unalaska, followed by another in 1907. These cones were demolished by an explosive eruption on September 1,1907. Newly found information in 2017, the volcanic cone erupted sending ash, the Aleutians seen from space The climate of the islands is oceanic, with moderate and fairly uniform temperatures and heavy rainfall
Aleutian Islands
–
Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Islands.
Aleutian Islands
–
Aleutian Islands
Aleutian Islands
–
The Aleutian Islands from 32,000 feet.
Aleutian Islands
–
Image of the islands taken by the
STS-56 crew.
16.
Pacific Coast Ranges
–
The Pacific Coast Ranges, are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico. The same term is used informally in Canada to refer to the Coast Mountains and adjoining inland ranges such as the Hazelton Mountains, the coastline is often dropping steeply into the sea with photogenic views. Along the British Columbia and Alaska coast, the mountains intermix with the sea in a maze of fjords. Off the Southern California coast the Channel Islands archipelago of the Santa Monica Mountains extends for 160 miles, on the West coast of North America, the coast ranges and the coastal plain form the margin. Most of the land is made of terranes that have accreted onto the margin. In the north, the belt is an accreted terrane. This belt extends from the Wrangellia Terrane in Alaska to the Chilliwack group of Canada, a rupture in Rodinia 750 million years ago formed a passive margin in the eastern Pacific Northwest. The breakup of Pangea 200 million years ago began the movement of the North American plate. As the continent drifted West, terranes were accreted onto the west coast, the timing of the accretion of the insular belt is uncertain, although the closure did not occur until at least 115 million years ago. Other Mesozoic terranes that accreted onto the continent include the Klamath Mountains, the Sierra Nevada,80 to 90 million years ago the subducting Farallon plate split and formed the Kula Plate to the North. This formed an area in what is now Northern California, where the plates converged forming a Mélange, North of this was the Columbia Embayment, where the continental margin was east of the surrounding areas. Many of the major batholiths date from the late Cretaceous, as the Laramide Orogeny ended around 48 million years ago, the accretion of the Siletzia terrane began in the Pacific Northwest. This began the activity in the Cascadia subduction zone, forming the modern Cascade Range. Events here may relate to the ignimbrite flare-up of the southern Basin, as extension in the Basin and Range Province slowed by a change in North American Plate movement circa 7 to 8 Million years ago, rifting began on the Gulf of California. Although many of the ranges do share a common history, the Pacific Coast Ranges province is not defined by geology. However, both are considered part of the Pacific Coast Ranges due to their proximity and similar economic, the Pacific Coast Ranges are home to the largest temperate-latitude icefields in the world. Formally unnamed icefields are not listed List of Pacific Coast Ranges topics Coast Range California Coast Ranges Coast Ranges United States physiographic regions
Pacific Coast Ranges
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Canadian Coast Range, Whistler, British Columbia
Pacific Coast Ranges
–
Malibu Canyon, Santa Monica Mountains
Pacific Coast Ranges
–
Kenai Mountains
Pacific Coast Ranges
–
Juneau Icefield
17.
Gulf of Alaska
–
The entire shoreline of the Gulf is a rugged combination of forest, mountain, and a number of tidewater glaciers. Alaskas largest glaciers, the Malaspina Glacier and Bering Glacier, spill out onto the line along the Gulf of Alaska. The coast is indented, with Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound the two largest connected bodies of water. It includes Yakutat Bay and Cross Sound, lituya Bay is the site of the largest recorded tsunami in history. It is customarily a popular sheltered anchorage for fishing boats, the Gulf of Alaska is considered a Class I, highly productive ecosystem based on SeaWiFS data. Many deep water corals can be found in the Gulf of Alaska, primnoa pacifica has contributed to the location being labeled as Habitat Areas of Particular Concern. P. pacifica is typically a deep water coral normally found between 150 metres and 900 metres here, the Gulf is a great generator of storms. Much of the rainfall and snowfall in the Pacific Northwest. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Gulf of Alaska as follows, a line drawn from Cape Spencer, the Northern limit of to Kabuch Point, the Southeast limit of, in such a way that all the adjacent islands are included in the Gulf of Alaska
Gulf of Alaska
–
Map showing the Gulf of Alaska.
18.
Glacier
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A glacier is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight, it forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. Glaciers slowly deform and flow due to stresses induced by their weight, creating crevasses, seracs and they also abrade rock and debris from their substrate to create landforms such as cirques and moraines. Glaciers form only on land and are distinct from the much thinner sea ice, between 35°N and 35°S, glaciers occur only in the Himalayas, Andes, Rocky Mountains, a few high mountains in East Africa, Mexico, New Guinea and on Zard Kuh in Iran. Glaciers cover about 10 percent of Earths land surface, continental glaciers cover nearly 13,000,000 km2 or about 98 percent of Antarcticas 13,200,000 km2, with an average thickness of 2,100 m. Greenland and Patagonia also have huge expanses of continental glaciers, Glacial ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth. Within high altitude and Antarctic environments, the temperature difference is often not sufficient to release meltwater. A large piece of compressed ice, or a glacier, appears blue as large quantities of water appear blue and this is because water molecules absorb other colors more efficiently than blue. The other reason for the color of glaciers is the lack of air bubbles. Air bubbles, which give a color to ice, are squeezed out by pressure increasing the density of the created ice. The word Glaceon is a loanword from French and goes back, via Franco-Provençal, to the Vulgar Latin glaciārium, derived from the Late Latin glacia, the processes and features caused by or related to glaciers are referred to as glacial. The process of establishment, growth and flow is called glaciation. The corresponding area of study is called glaciology, Glaciers are important components of the global cryosphere. Glaciers are categorized by their morphology, thermal characteristics, and behavior, cirque glaciers form on the crests and slopes of mountains. A glacier that fills a valley is called a valley glacier, a large body of glacial ice astride a mountain, mountain range, or volcano is termed an ice cap or ice field. Ice caps have a less than 50,000 km2 by definition. Glacial bodies larger than 50,000 km2 are called ice sheets or continental glaciers, several kilometers deep, they obscure the underlying topography. Only nunataks protrude from their surfaces, the only extant ice sheets are the two that cover most of Antarctica and Greenland. They contain vast quantities of water, enough that if both melted, global sea levels would rise by over 70 m
Glacier
–
The
Baltoro Glacier in the
Karakoram,
Baltistan, Northern Pakistan. At 62 kilometres (39 mi) in length, it is one of the longest alpine glaciers on earth.
Glacier
–
Ice calving from the
terminus of the
Perito Moreno Glacier in western
Patagonia, Argentina
Glacier
–
The
Aletsch Glacier, the largest glacier of the
Alps, in Switzerland
Glacier
–
The
Quelccaya Ice Cap is the largest glaciated area in the
tropics, in Peru
19.
Delta River
–
The Delta River is an 80-mile tributary of the Tanana River in the U. S. state of Alaska. Its name in the Ahtna language is Saas Na’, fed by the Tangle Lakes of the Alaska Range, the river flows north to meet the larger river near Big Delta. Of this,20 miles are designated wild,24 miles scenic, the upstream stretches include four lakes and their Class II connecting channels. About 2 miles downstream of the last lake, the river enters a canyon, a 0. 5-mile portage leads to a 2-mile stretch of Class III rapids. Below the Class III rapids, the river continues through 29 miles of Class I, here the difficulty is Class III rising to Class IV or V, followed by 30 miles of Class III and then 18 miles of Class I. Author Karen Jettmar warns of dangers including sweepers, canoe fragments wrapped around rocks, bears, cold and wet weather and she says that only experts should attempt to run Black Rapids below Mile 229 on Richardson Highway. The Tangle Lakes complex,24 miles long, that feeds the Delta River has some of the best road-accessible grayling fishing in Interior Alaska, in the deeper lakes of the system, lake trout are fairly abundant. Lakes and streams that are away from the highway and accessible only by canoe or trail are the least heavily fished, arctic grayling fishing is also considered excellent on the upper river down to its confluence with Eureka Creek. Delta River Canoe Trail List of rivers of Alaska The Delta National Wild and Scenic River – Bureau of Land Management
Delta River
–
Delta River
20.
Nenana River
–
The Nenana River is a tributary of the Tanana River, approximately 140 miles long, in central Alaska in the United States. It drains an area on the slope of the Alaska Range on the south edge of the Tanana Valley southwest of Fairbanks. It issues from the Nenana Glacier in the northern Alaska Range, southwest of Mount Deborah and it flows briefly southwest, then west, then north, forming the eastern boundary of Denali National Park and Preserve. It emerges from the mountains onto the broad marshy Tanana Valley, joining the Tanana River from the south at Nenana, Alaska, the Tanana River continues to its confluence with the Yukon River. The upper valley of the river furnishes approximately 100 mi of the route of both the Alaska Railroad and the Parks Highway connecting Fairbanks and Anchorage. Major archaeological sites located in the valley include Broken Mammoth and Swan Point, Lieutenant Henry Allen of the U. S. Army explored the river in 1887. He named it the Cantwell River after Lieutenant John C, Cantwell, of the Revenue Cutter Service, who had explored the Kobuk River region in 1884–85. In 1898, members of the United States Geological Survey reported that people living along the river called it Tutlut, however, the local Tanana name was spelled Nenana on a later map. A century later, linguist William Bright wrote that the name derived from the Lower Tanana word, neenano. The river is one of the most popular destinations for boating, thousands of users, some on commercial cruises and others on private trips, travel on the river each year. The proximity of the Denali Highway, which runs parallel to the river for about 15 miles, and the Parks Highway. The river begins as a Class I rafting stream on the International Scale of River Difficulty, jetboats and other craft ply the waters along the Denali Highway. Below this, however, the rate increases, and the Nenana becomes a Class I to II stream for the 38 miles between Windy Station and McKinley Village Lodge. The most difficult whitewater, for only, occurs over the next 23 miles. Below this, the river is Class I or II all the way to Nenana, dangers include extremely cold swift water, Class IV rapids in the gorge, overhanging trees along the upper river, and overhangs, logjams, and braids on the lower river. List of rivers of Alaska Nenana Wildwater Festival Fairbanks Paddlers
Nenana River
–
Rafters on the Nenana River, near
Denali National Park and Preserve
21.
Pacific Ring of Fire
–
The Ring of Fire is a major area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. In a 40,000 km horseshoe shape, it is associated with a continuous series of oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs. The Ring of Fire is sometimes called the circum-Pacific belt, about 90% of the worlds earthquakes and 81% of the worlds largest earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire. The next most seismically active region is the Alpide belt, which extends from Java to the northern Atlantic Ocean via the Himalayas, all but three of the worlds 25 largest volcanic eruptions of the last 11,700 years occurred at volcanoes in the Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire is a result of plate tectonics. The eastern section of the ring is the result of the Nazca Plate, the Cocos Plate is being subducted beneath the Caribbean Plate, in Central America. A portion of the Pacific Plate and the small Juan de Fuca Plate are being subducted beneath the North American Plate, along the northern portion, the northwestward-moving Pacific plate is being subducted beneath the Aleutian Islands arc. Farther west, the Pacific plate is being subducted along the Kamchatka Peninsula arcs on south past Japan. Indonesia lies between the Ring of Fire along the islands adjacent to and including New Guinea and the Alpide belt along the south and west from Sumatra, Java, Bali, Flores. The famous and very active San Andreas Fault zone of California is a fault which offsets a portion of the East Pacific Rise under southwestern United States. The motion of the fault generates numerous small earthquakes, at times a day. Bolivia hosts numerous active and extinct volcanoes across its territory, the active volcanoes are located in western Bolivia where they make up the Cordillera Occidental, the western limit of the Altiplano plateau. Many of the volcanoes are international mountains shared with Chile. The Central Volcanic Zone is a major upper Cenozoic volcanic province, apart from Andean volcanoes, the geology of Bolivia hosts the remnants of ancient volcanoes around the Precambrian Guaporé Shield in the eastern part of the country. The volcanoes in Chile are monitored by the National Geology and Mining Service Earthquake activity in Chile is related to subduction of the Nazca Plate to the east, Chile notably holds the record for the largest earthquake ever recorded, the 1960 Valdivia earthquake. Villarrica, one of Chiles most active volcanoes, rises above Villarrica Lake and it is the westernmost of three large stratovolcanoes that trend perpendicular to the Andean chain. A 6-km-wide caldera formed during the late Pleistocene, more than 0.9 million years ago, a 2-km-wide postglacial caldera is located at the base of the presently active, dominantly basaltic-to-andesitic cone at the northwest margin of the Pleistocene caldera. About 25 scoria cones dot Villaricas flanks, lahars from the glacier-covered volcanoes have damaged towns on its flanks
Pacific Ring of Fire
–
Llaima 's 2008 eruption
Pacific Ring of Fire
–
The Pacific Ring of Fire
Pacific Ring of Fire
–
Lascar erupting in 2006
Pacific Ring of Fire
–
The 1999 eruption of
Wawa Pichincha
22.
Denali Fault
–
The Denali Fault is a major intracontinental dextral strike-slip fault in western North America, extending from northwestern British Columbia, Canada to the central region of the U. S. state of Alaska. The Denali Fault is located in Alaskas Denali National Park and to the east and this National Park includes part of a massive mountain range more than 600 miles long. Along the Denali Fault, lateral and vertical movement is taking place. The steep north face of Denali, known as the Wickersham Wall, rises 15000 feet from its base, and is a result of this relatively recent movement. Alaska’s network of faults is a result of activity, the Pacific Plate is actively subducting the North American Plate. The faults rate of displacement varies from 1 mm to 35 mm per year and it was the main fault along which the 2002 Denali earthquake occurred, which was measured as a magnitude of 7.9 Mw. During the afternoon of November 3,2002, the water in Seattle’s Lake Union suddenly began sloshing hard enough to knock houseboats off their moorings, water in pools, ponds, and bayous as far away as Texas and Louisiana splashed for nearly half an hour. The earthquake began at 1,12 p. m, Alaska local time, and was centered approximately 135 kilometers south of Fairbanks and 283 kilometers north of Anchorage. Shaking at the epicenter lasted approximately 1.5 to 2 minutes, because the earthquake released most of its energy on the sparsely populated eastern end of the fault, Alaska’s major cities were spared serious damage
Denali Fault
–
Tectonic map of Alaska and northwestern Canada showing main faults and historic earthquakes
23.
Earthquake
–
An earthquake is the shaking of the surface of the Earth, resulting from the sudden release of energy in the Earths lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in size from those that are so weak that they cannot be felt to those violent enough to people around. The seismicity or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type, Earthquakes are measured using measurements from seismometers. The moment magnitude is the most common scale on which earthquakes larger than approximately 5 are reported for the entire globe and these two scales are numerically similar over their range of validity. Magnitude 3 or lower earthquakes are mostly imperceptible or weak and magnitude 7 and over potentially cause damage over larger areas. The largest earthquakes in historic times have been of magnitude slightly over 9, intensity of shaking is measured on the modified Mercalli scale. The shallower an earthquake, the damage to structures it causes. At the Earths surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and sometimes displacement of the ground, when the epicenter of a large earthquake is located offshore, the seabed may be displaced sufficiently to cause a tsunami. Earthquakes can also trigger landslides, and occasionally volcanic activity, in its most general sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic event — whether natural or caused by humans — that generates seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of faults, but also by other events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts. An earthquakes point of rupture is called its focus or hypocenter. The epicenter is the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter, tectonic earthquakes occur anywhere in the earth where there is sufficient stored elastic strain energy to drive fracture propagation along a fault plane. The sides of a fault move past each other smoothly and aseismically only if there are no irregularities or asperities along the surface that increase the frictional resistance. Most fault surfaces do have such asperities and this leads to a form of stick-slip behavior, once the fault has locked, continued relative motion between the plates leads to increasing stress and therefore, stored strain energy in the volume around the fault surface. This continues until the stress has risen sufficiently to break through the asperity, suddenly allowing sliding over the portion of the fault. This energy is released as a combination of radiated elastic strain seismic waves, frictional heating of the fault surface and this process of gradual build-up of strain and stress punctuated by occasional sudden earthquake failure is referred to as the elastic-rebound theory. It is estimated that only 10 percent or less of a total energy is radiated as seismic energy. Most of the energy is used to power the earthquake fracture growth or is converted into heat generated by friction
Earthquake
–
Global plate tectonic movement
Earthquake
–
Global earthquake
epicenters, 1963–1998
Earthquake
–
Aerial photo of the San Andreas Fault in the
Carrizo Plain, northwest of Los Angeles
Earthquake
–
Collapsed Gran Hotel building in the
San Salvador metropolis, after the shallow
1986 San Salvador earthquake during mid civil war El Salvador.
24.
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
–
Elias National Park and Preserve is a United States national park and national preserve managed by the National Park Service in south central Alaska. The park and preserve was established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act and this protected area is included in an International Biosphere Reserve and is part of the Kluane/Wrangell–St. Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek UNESCO World Heritage Site, Elias borders on Canadas Kluane National Park and Reserve to the east and approaches the U. S. Glacier Bay National Park to the south. The chief distinction between park and preserve lands is that hunting is prohibited in the park and permitted in the preserve. In addition,9,078,675 acres of the park are designated as the largest single wilderness in the United States, establishment as a national park and preserve followed the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1980. The park, which is bigger than the country Switzerland, has long, extremely cold winters and it supports a variety of large mammals in an environment defined by relative land elevation. Plate tectonics are responsible for the uplift of the ranges that cross the park. The parks extreme high point is Mount St. Elias at 18,008 feet, the park has been shaped by the competing forces of volcanism and glaciation. Mount Wrangell is a volcano, one of several volcanoes in the western Wrangell Mountains. In the St. Elias Range Mount Churchill has erupted explosively within the past 2,000 years, the Bagley Icefield covers much of the parks interior, which includes 60% of the permanently ice-covered terrain in Alaska. At the center of the park, the boomtown of Kennecott exploited one of the worlds richest deposits of copper from 1903 to 1938, exposed by, the mine buildings and mills, now abandoned, compose a National Historic Landmark district. Elias National Park and Preserve includes the entire Wrangell range, the portion of the Saint Elias Mountains. Lesser ranges in the park or preserve include the Nutzotin Mountains, which are an extension of the Alaska Range, the Granite Range, broad rivers run in glacial valleys between the ranges, including the Chitina River, Chisana River and the Nabesna River. All but the Chisana and Nabesna are tributaries to the Copper River, which flows along the margin of the park. The park includes dozens of glaciers and icefields, the Bagley Icefield covers portions of the St. The eastern boundary of the park is Alaskas border with Canada, on the southeast the park is bounded by Yakutat Bay, Tongass National Forest and the Gulf of Alaska. The remainder of the boundary follows the crest of the Chugach Mountains. The western boundary is the Copper River, and the boundary follows the Mentasta Mountains
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
–
Mount St. Elias, the second highest point in both the United States and Canada
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
–
Map of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
–
Nabesna Glacier
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
–
Mount Wrangell
25.
Denali National Park and Preserve
–
Denali National Park and Preserve is a national park and preserve located in Interior Alaska, centered on Denali, the highest mountain in North America. The park and contiguous preserve encompasses more than 6 million acres, the national preserve is 1,334,200 acres. On December 2,1980, a 2,146,580 acre Denali Wilderness was established within the park, denalis landscape is a mix of forest at the lowest elevations, including deciduous taiga. The preserve is home to tundra at middle elevations, and glaciers, rock. The longest glacier is the Kahiltna Glacier, the park received 587,412 recreational visitors in 2016. Wintertime activities includes dog-sledding, cross-country skiing, and snowmachining, human habitation in the Denali Region extends to more than 11,000 years before the present, with documented sites just outside park boundaries dated to more than 8,000 years before present. The oldest site within park boundaries is the Teklanika River site, more than 84 archaeological sites have been documented within the park. The sites are characterized as hunting camps rather than settlements. The principal groups in the area in the last 500 years include the Koyukon. In 1906, conservationist Charles Alexander Sheldon conceived the idea of preserving the Denali region as a national park and he presented the plan to his co-members of the Boone and Crockett Club. They decided that the climate at the time was unfavorable for congressional action. Sheldon wrote, The first step was to secure the approval, the matter was then taken to the Game Committee of the Boone and Crockett Club and, after a full discussion, it received the committees full endorsement. On December 3,1915, the plan was presented to Alaskas delegate, James Wickersham, the plan then went to the Executive Committee of the Boone and Crockett Club and, on December 15,1915, it was unanimously accepted. The plan was endorsed by the Club and presented to Stephen Mather, Assistant Secretary of the Interior in Washington. The bill was introduced in April,1916, by Delegate Wickersham in the House, much lobbying took place over the following year, and on February 19,1917, the bill passed. On February 26,1917,11 years from its conception, a portion of Denali, excluding the summit, was included the original park boundary. On Thanksgiving Day in 1921, the Mount McKinley Park Hotel opened, in July 1923, President Warren Harding stopped at the hotel, on a tour of the length of the Alaska Railroad, during which he drove a golden spike signaling its completion at Nenana. The hotel was the first thing visitors saw stepping down from the train, the flat-roofed, two-story log building featured exposed balconies, glass windows, and electric lights
Denali National Park and Preserve
–
Denali is located in Denali National Park and is the tallest peak in North America
Denali National Park and Preserve
–
Panoramic view of the Polychrome Mountains
Denali National Park and Preserve
–
Denali National Park
Denali National Park and Preserve
–
Map of Denali National Park Also see resolution adjustable pdf map
26.
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
–
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is a United States National Park in Port Alsworth, Alaska. It was first proclaimed a monument in 1978, then established as a national park. The park includes many streams and lakes vital to the Bristol Bay salmon fishery, a wide variety of recreational activities may be pursued in the park and preserve year-round. Redoubt is active, erupting in 1989 and 2009, the wide variety of ecosystems in the park mean that virtually all major Alaskan animals, terrestrial and marine, may be seen in and around the park. Salmon, particularity sockeye salmon, play a role in the ecosystem. The Kvichak River is the worlds most productive watershed for sockeye salmon, no roads lead to the park and it can only be reached by boat or small aircraft, typically floatplanes. The major settled area in the park and preserve is Port Alsworth on Lake Clark, five other settlements are within the park, populated mainly by Denaina natives. Lake Clark was proclaimed a National Monument by President Jimmy Carter using the Antiquities Act on December 1,1978, Lake Clarks status was changed to National Park and Preserve in 1980 by Congress, and about two-thirds was designated wilderness. While both sport and subsistence hunting are permitted in the preserve lands, only subsistence hunting by local residents is permitted within the national park. Lake Clark National Park and Preserve covers 4,030,015 acres at the base of the Alaska Peninsula in southcentral Alaska, of the total area, about 2,637,000 acres lie in the park and 1,400,000 acres in the preserve. Lake Clark is the largest lake in the park, on the southwest corner of the park, the national preserve lands adjoin park lands on the west, offering both subsistence and sport hunting, in contrast to parklands, where only subsistence hunting by local residents is allowed. The extreme southwest section of the preserve includes Alaskan Native corporation lands, most of the park section is designated as wilderness. The eastern part of the park near the Cook Inlet includes two volcanoes, Mount Redoubt and Mount Iliamna. A third, Mount Spurr, is just outside the park to the east, the chief river in the park is the Kvichak River. Another large river, the Tlikakita, runs across the park from its source at Summit Lake to Lake Clark, emerging from the lake, the park is not accessible by roads. Access is solely by air taxi or by boat along the Cook Inlet coast, since much of the movement in the area is by air, the mountains present a significant barrier to air traffic. Lake Clark Pass, at 1,050 feet provides a way through the mountains by air at low elevation, the main inhabited place in the park is Port Alsworth on Lake Clark, with a Park Service visitor center and a number of privately operated lodges. Air taxis make regular trips between Port Alsworth and outside communities, other private lodges are scattered around the park
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
–
Lake Clark and the Chigmit Mountains
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
–
Redoubt volcano in eruption
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
–
Iliamna volcano
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
–
Sockeye salmon in the Kijik River
27.
George Parks Highway
–
The George Parks Highway, usually called simply the Parks Highway, runs 323 miles from the Glenn Highway 35 miles north of Anchorage to Fairbanks in the Alaska Interior. The highway, originally known as the Anchorage-Fairbanks Highway, was completed in 1971, the highway, which mostly parallels the Alaska Railroad, is one of the most important roads in Alaska. It is the route between Anchorage and Fairbanks, the principal access to Denali National Park and Preserve and Denali State Park. The routes Interstate designation is not signed, rather, its length is signed as Alaska Route 3. However, the aptness of the name was recognized when it was chosen, mileposts along the Parks Highway do not begin with 0. Instead, they begin with Mile 35, continuing the milepost numbering of the Glenn Highway where the two highways intersect near Palmer, the 0 mile marker for the Glenn Highway is at its terminus in downtown Anchorage at the intersection of East 5th Avenue and Gambell Street. Thus mileposts along the Parks Highway reflect distance from Anchorage, which is not actually on the Parks Highway, there are two sections of the highway that are built to freeway standards. In the Mile column, the first number is the actual mileage of the Parks Highway, a journey down the George Parks Highway
George Parks Highway
–
The Parks Highway, near Hurricane, Alaska.
George Parks Highway
–
The Parks Highway (right) as it passes through Wasilla. The multilane highway beginning in Anchorage ends a short distance west of this point.
George Parks Highway
–
The highway's bridge over Hurricane Gulch.
George Parks Highway
–
Milepost 238 signpost in
McKinley Park. The signpost is located in a turnout adjacent to a bridge crossing the
Nenana River and near the entrance to
Denali National Park.
28.
Anchorage, Alaska
–
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the U. S. state of Alaska. All together, the Anchorage metropolitan area, which combines Anchorage with the neighboring Matanuska-Susitna Borough, had a population of 401,635 in 2016. Anchorage is located in the portion of Alaska at the terminus of the Cook Inlet on a peninsula formed by the Knik Arm to the north. The city limits span 1,961.1 square miles encompass the urban core. Due to its location on the globe, being almost equidistant from New York City, Tokyo, Anchorage has been named an All-America City four times, in 1956,1965, 1984–85, and 2002, by the National Civic League. It has also named by Kiplinger as the most tax-friendly city in the United States. Russian presence in south central Alaska was well established in the 19th century, in 1867, U. S. Secretary of State William H. Seward brokered a deal to purchase Alaska from Imperial Russia for $7.2 million. His political rivals lampooned the deal as Sewards folly, Sewards icebox, by 1888, gold was discovered along Turnagain Arm. Alaska became a United States territory in 1912, Anchorage, unlike every other large town in Alaska south of the Brooks Range, was neither a fishing nor mining camp. The area surrounding Anchorage lacks significant economic metal minerals, a number of Denaina settlements existed along Knik Arm for years. By 1911 the families of J. D. Bud Whitney, jack Brown, and his bride, Nellie, in 1912 to have lived in the Ship Creek valley in the 1910s prior to the large influx of settlers. The city grew from its choice as the site, in 1914, under the direction of Frederick Mears. The area near the mouth of Ship Creek, where the headquarters was located. A town site was mapped out on higher ground to the south of the tent city, greatly noted in the years since for its order and rigidity compared with other Alaska town sites. In 1915, territorial governor John Franklin Alexander Strong encouraged residents to change the name to one that had more significance. In the summer of year, residents held a vote to change the citys name. However, the government ultimately declined to change the citys name. Anchorage was incorporated on November 23,1920, construction of the Alaska Railroad continued until its completion in 1923
Anchorage, Alaska
–
Anchorage skyline and
Bootleggers Cove as photographed from
Point Woronzof Park on an April evening.
Anchorage, Alaska
–
The tent city (called "The White City" in the handwritten caption) in Ship Creek, photographed by Alberta Pyatt on July 1, 1915.
Anchorage, Alaska
–
Panorama of Anchorage, May 1, 1916
Anchorage, Alaska
–
Fourth Avenue in 1953, looking east from near I Street. Just ten years before, the retail area shown in the foreground was mostly an industrial area, housing lumber yards and similar uses.
29.
Fairbanks, Alaska
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Fairbanks /ˈfɛrbæŋks/ is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U. S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska,2014 estimates put the population of the city proper at 32,469, and the population of the Fairbanks North Star Borough at 99,357, making it the second most populous metropolitan area in Alaska. Fairbanks is home to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the campus of the University of Alaska system. Captain E. T. Barnette founded Fairbanks in August 1901 while headed to Tanacross, the steamboat on which Barnette was a passenger, the Lavelle Young, ran aground while attempting to negotiate shallow water. Barnette, along with his party and supplies, were deposited along the banks of the Chena River 7 miles upstream from its confluence with the Tanana River, the two met Barnette where he disembarked and convinced him of the potential of the area. Barnette set up his trading post at the site, still intending to make it to Tanacross. Teams of gold prospectors soon congregated in and around the newly founded Fairbanks, they built drift mines, dredges, agricultural activity still occurs today in the Tanana Valley, but mostly to the southeast of Fairbanks in the communities of Salcha and Delta Junction. During the early days of Fairbanks, its vicinity was a producer of agricultural goods. What is now the northern reaches of South Fairbanks was originally the farm of Paul J. Rickert, Farmers Loop Road and Badger Road, loop roads north and east of Fairbanks, were also home to major farming activity. Badger Road is named for Harry Markley Badger, a resident of Fairbanks who later established a farm along the road. Ballaine and McGrath Roads, side roads of Farmers Loop Road, were named for prominent local farmers. The Haines - Fairbanks 626 mile long 8 petroleum products pipeline was constructed during the period 1953-55, the presence of the U. S. military has remained strong in Fairbanks. Ladd became Fort Wainwright in 1960, the post was annexed into Fairbanks city limits during the 1980s, Fairbanks suffered from numerous floods in its first six decades, whether from ice jams during spring breakup or due to heavy rainfall. On August 14,1967, after record rainfall upstream, the Chena began to surge over its banks, flooding almost the entire town of Fairbanks overnight. The project was designed to prevent a repetition of the 1967 flood by being able to water in the Chena upstream from Fairbanks into the Tanana River. Fairbanks is located in the central Tanana Valley, straddling the Chena River near its confluence with the Tanana River, immediately north of the city is a chain of hills that rises gradually until it reaches the White Mountains and the Yukon River. The southern border of the city is the Tanana River, South of the river is the Tanana Flats, an area of marsh and bog that stretches for more than 100 miles until it rises into the Alaska Range, which is visible from Fairbanks on clear days. To the east and west are low valleys separated by ridges of hills up to 3,000 feet above sea level, the Tanana Valley is crossed by many low streams and rivers that flow into the Tanana River
Fairbanks, Alaska
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Downtown Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska
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The fledgling settlement of Fairbanks as it appeared in 1903. The buildings shown are likely those of E. T. Barnette's trading post.
Fairbanks, Alaska
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Photo taken by
Elisabeth Meyer in 1955, looking easterly from Second Avenue and Cushman Street. The now-abandoned Polaris Building, the tallest building in Fairbanks since its completion in 1952, is in the background.
Fairbanks, Alaska
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First Family Statue near Visitor Center, Fairbanks, Alaska.
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Richardson Highway
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The Richardson Highway is a highway in the U. S. state of Alaska, running 368 miles and connecting Valdez to Fairbanks. It is marked as Alaska Route 4 from Valdez to Delta Junction and it also connects segments of Alaska Route 1 between the Glenn Highway and the Tok Cut-Off. The Richardson Highway was the first major road built in Alaska, a pack trail from the port at Valdez to Eagle, a distance of about 409 miles, was built in 1898 by the U. S. Army to provide an all-American route to the Klondike gold fields. After the rush ended, the Army kept the trail open in order to connect its posts at Fort Liscum, in Valdez, the head of the project was U. S. Army General Wilds P. Richardson, for whom the highway was later named. During the construction, the government hired failed gold prospectors as well as construction workers. The income from this allowed many of the prospectors to leave Alaska. Several roadhouses now on the National Register of Historic Places were constructed along the route at this time, the rise of motorized travel led the road to be upgraded to automobile standards in the 1920s. When the tolls were increased in 1941 to boost business for the Alaska Railroad. The bridge at Big Delta, the last remaining gap, was built as part of the Alaska Highway project, the highway was paved in 1957. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, built in 1973-1977, mostly parallels the highway from Fairbanks to Valdez, during the 1990s, the highway was upgraded from Fairbanks to the main gate at Eielson AFB, making this stretch a 4-lane divided road. Intersections with other roads, however, are still almost entirely at-grade, under SAFETEA-LU, Alaska Route 2 from the Canadian border to Fairbanks, comprising parts of the Richardson and Alaska Highways, has been declared a High Priority Corridor. What this means for the distant future is not yet certain, although SAFETEA-LU does explicitly provide federal funds for upgrading the road to 4 lanes and divided, media related to Richardson Highway at Wikimedia Commons Evolution of the Richardson Highway - ExploreNorth A journey down the Richardson Highway
Richardson Highway
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The "first car" to travel from Valdez to Eagle, 1913
Richardson Highway
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Richardson Highway from the air, cutting behind a meadow lake.
Richardson Highway
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Interchange with the Fairbanks end of Badger Road, a loop road serving suburban parts of the
North Pole area. The interchange was constructed in the early 2000s, after an approximately three-decade history of serious accidents at the previous at-grade intersection.
Richardson Highway
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Canyon crossing (Richardson Highway)
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