Geography and climate play a larger part in the history of
Alaska than in that of
many other regions. Their importance lies in the great amount of
misinformation that has been and still is accepted as fact. The common fallacies of regarding the Klondike as
a part of Alaska (it isn't; nor was it ever), and
referring to Alaska as an ice-bound land (it isn't) are examples in point.
Having said that...
Alaska is a rugged, wild, beautiful land of majestic
mountains and deep, high-walled fjords; of slow-moving glaciers and still-active
volcanoes; of dense, coniferous forests and desolate, treeless islands; of hot
springs and icy streams. It is a land of contrasts, with extremes of wind and
sun, snow and rain, heat and cold.
Despite its rugged appearance, Alaska is a young land, geologically
speaking. Composed of fragments of the earth's crust that rafted from the
Pacific area on the backs of crust plates and then "docked" together, the
entire region is actually still in the process of coming together. America's largest state has arctic tundra, 5,000 glaciers, ice fields,
four mountain ranges (including Mount McKinley, the tallest mountain in
North America at 20,320 feet), broad valleys, immense forests, active
volcanoes, 12 major river systems, three million lakes and countless
Alaska covers more than twice the land area of its
closest competitor, Texas, and it has 33,900 miles of coastline - 50
percent more than the continental United States. With approximately
622,000 residents, there is an average of about 1 sq. mile of land for
each of them.
In truth, Alaska is not one land, but many. Distances
are immense, and the diversity of terrain and climate is so extreme that
Secretary of State Seward predicted in an 1869 speech in Sitka that this
Great Land could be admitted to the Union as several separate states.
Today, some Alaska residents - far removed from the hub of state
government in Juneau - might complain that his advice should have been
Alaska is a land that has undergone tremendous
change. Since becoming a United States territory in 1912, it has
significantly developed its mineral, fishery, forest, and petroleum
resources. The state now has a stable and self-sufficient economy based on
its rich and varied natural resources above all, oil and natural gas.
Today's Alaska is a composite of old and new, with fur trappers,
traditional sea mammal hunters, and dog teams living in a state with
modern cities connected to the world by all the modern means of
Most geographers identify five distinct regions in the state:
the Far North, the Interior, Southwestern Alaska, Southcentral Alaska, and
the panhandle of the Southeast. The island-studded panhandle, home
to such southeastern cities as Sitka, Ketchikan, and Juneau, enjoys a
mild, maritime climate similar to that of Seattle and the Puget Sound.
In this northern rain forest, temperatures range from 20 degrees in winter
to 60 degrees in summer, and annual rainfall in some places reaches 200
inches. Ketchikan receives an average of 13-1/2 FEET of rain a year!
The tundra steppe of the Arctic (Far North) represents
Alaska's other extreme. Lying north of the Brooks Range, the vast
area's soil never thaws below a few inches, and precipitation totals less
than 10 inches yearly. Between the two extremes lies the semi-arid,
broken forest of the Interior taiga, where the thermometer can dive to -60
degrees or more in winter and killing frosts occur as early as August.
Yet Interior summer temperatures in the Tanana Valley around Fairbanks may reach 90
The map below is hyperlinked. Click directly on the
name of the region of interest; or if you'd prefer, below the map is a
listing of each region and the boroughs/census areas found in each.
Clicking directly on the region name will also take you to the page. The geography of Alaska is extensive
and I've not gone into great detail here choosing rather, to give you a
general idea of the land area of your ancestors.
Below the map you'll find small bits
of information regarding each region, including the county equivalents in
and her county equivalents
Fairbanks North Star Borough,
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area,
Wade Hampton Census Area,
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area
Alaska’s heartland is the continent’s tallest peak, Mt. McKinley, and
wide expanses of tundra. Forests teem with wildlife ranging from the formidable grizzly to stately herds of caribou to the state
bird, the Willow Ptarmigan. Interior is the original home of Alaska’s Athabascan Indians. Gold miners, farmers and
fur trappers later discovered the riches of this region.
North Slope Borough,
Northwest Arctic Borough
Northern Alaska is Arctic Alaska, a remote land of extremes, where traditional
people follow ancient calendars and where national politics plays a prominent
role. Alaska’s Arctic is home to the Inupiat
Eskimos, many who still live a subsistence lifestyle and still preserve their
history verbally from generation to generation.
This area above the Arctic Circle -- without large summer runs of salmon and
facing months of twilight and bitter cold every winter -- is alive in the
summer with millions of migratory waterfowl.
Anchorage Borough, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Matanuska-Susitna Borough,
Valdez-Cordova Census Area
Home to over half of Alaska’s population with mountains and
lakes, Southcentral offers the advantages of remote wilderness, but is linked
via roads. World-class rainbow trout and salmon shimmer in the
Inside Passage - otherwise known as the Southeast Region
Ketchikan Gateway Borough,
Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Borough,
Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon Census Area,
Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area,
by the staggering force of massive glaciers millions of years ago, Alaska’s
Inside Passage boasts wildlife-filled fjords and lush island scenery — habitat
for bald eagles, sea lions, porpoises and whales. Its mountains are carpeted
with majestic forests. Inside Passage is home to Tlingit, Haida and
Tsimshian Indians whose history is reflected in towering totem poles. Russian
settlers left a legacy of onion-domed churches gleaming with icons.
Aleutians East Borough,
Aleutians West Census Area,
Bethel Census Area,
Bristol Bay Borough,
Dillingham Census Area,
Kodiak Island Borough,
Lake and Peninsula Borough
Few places on earth compare with the wonders of
Southwest Alaska. Brown bears amble along the hills and plains, and nearly 230 bird species
live here. The region’s terrain ranges
from a landscape of volcanoes in Katmai National Park to the windswept Aleutian Islands that make an
1100-mile sweep toward Asia.