Alaska Geography

Alaska does not border any U.S. state; it borders the Yukon and British Columbia, Canada, to the east, the Gulf of Alaska and the Pacific Ocean to the south, the Bering Sea, Bering Strait, and Chukchi Sea to the west, and the Beaufort Sea and the Arctic Ocean to the north.

Alaska has the largest land area of any U.S. state at 570,380 square miles (1,477,277 km²) and is over twice as large as Texas, the next largest state.

Because the state is so large, its geographical characteristics vary widely by region. Southcentral Alaska, the state's southern coastal region, contains Anchorage (Alaska's largest city) and most of the state's population. Southeast Alaska is home to several mid-size towns (including the state capital Juneau), tidewater glaciers, and extensive forests. Southwest Alaska is largely coastal, sparsely populated, and unconnected to the road system; it is known for wet and stormy weather, tundra landscapes. The Alaska Interior is marked by large braided rivers and Arctic tundra lands and shorelines. The Aleutian Islands that extend west from the southern tip of the Alaska Peninsula contain many active volcanoes. The North Slope is known for its oil reservoirs and extreme climate. The Alaskan Bush is a general term encompassing any remote part of the state.

With its numerous islands, Alaska has nearly 34,000 miles (54,720 km) of tidal shoreline (the most shoreline in the United States ). Alaska is home to 3.5 million lakes of 20 acres (8 ha) or larger [5]. Marshlands and wetland permafrost cover 188,320 square miles (487,747 km²) (mostly in northern, western and southwest flatlands). Frozen water, in the form of glacier ice, covers some 16,000 square miles (41,440 km²) of land and 1,200 square miles (3,110 km²) of tidal zone.

The northeast corner of Alaska is covered by the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which covers 19,049,236 acres (77,090 km²). Much of the northwest is covered by the larger National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska, which covers around 23,000,000 acres (93,100 km²).

According to an October 1998 report by the United States Bureau of Land Management, approximately 65% of Alaska is owned and managed by the U.S. federal government as national forests, national parks, and national wildlife refuges. Of these, the Bureau of Land Management manages 87 million acres (350,000 km²), or 23.8% of the state. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Of the land area, the State of Alaska owns 24.5%; another 10% is managed by thirteen regional and dozens of local Native corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Various private interests own the remaining land, totaling less than 1%.

The climate of Alaska varies widely by region.

The climate in southeast Alaska is similar to that of Seattle, with a mid-latitude oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) in the southern sections and a subarctic oceanic climate (Köppen Cfc) in the northern parts. This is both the wettest part of Alaska as well as the warmest; it is the only part of the state in which the average daytime high temperature is above freezing during the winter.

The climate in southcentral Alaska, is generally mild by Alaskan standards, due in large part to its proximity to the coast. It is a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc) due to its short, cool summers.

The climate of Western Alaska is a subarctic oceanic climate in the southwest and a continental subarctic climate farther north. Precipitation in this area varies widely: the northern side of the Seward Peninsula receives 10 inches (250 mm) of precipitation annually, while some locations between Dillingham and Bethel receive around 100 inches (2,540 mm).[6]

Alaska's interior has an extreme subarctic climate. Summer temperatures may reach into the 80s°F (near 30 °C), while winter temperatures can fall below ?60 °F (-51 °C). Interior locations often receive less than 10 inches (250 mm) precipitation annually.

The climate in the extreme north of Alaska is a polar climate (Köppen ET) with long, very cold winters and short, cool summers. Even in July, the average low temperature is barely above freezing in Barrow, at 34 °F (1 °C).[7] Precipitation is light in this part of Alaska, with many places averaging less than 10 inches (250 mm) per year, mostly in the form of snow which stays on the ground almost the entire year.

The Alaskan flora are diverse and abundant. Especially notable are its populations of large mammals, including polar bears, wolf, moose and caribou. There are a great variety of fish, including Pacific salmon. However due to the low temperatures in much of Alaska there are relatively few species of reptiles and amphibians.

Map of Alaska.

Near Little Port Walter in Southeast Alaska.

Average daily high temperatures (*F) of selected Alaska cities.