"MOUNTAINS
Of the 20 highest peaks in the United States, 17 are in Alaska. Mt. McKinley,
the highest peak in North America, is 20,320 ft. above sea level. Denali, the
Indian name for the peak, means "The Great One."
WATER BODIES
The Yukon River, almost 2,000 miles long, is the third longest river in the U.S.
There are more than 3,000 rivers in Alaska and over 3 million lakes. The
largest, Lake Iliamna, encompasses over 1,000 square miles.
GLACIERS
Alaska has an estimated 100,000 glaciers, ranging from tiny cirque glaciers to
huge valley glaciers. There are more active glaciers and ice fields in Alaska
than in the rest of the inhabited world. The largest glacier is the Malaspina at
850 square miles. Five percent of the state, or 29,000 square miles, is covered
by glaciers.
COMPASS POINTS
Alaska boasts the northernmost (Point Barrow), the easternmost (Pochnoi Point
on Semisopochnoi Island in the Aleutians), and the westernmost (Amatignak
Island in the Aleutians) points in the United States.
COASTLINE
Alaska has 6,640 miles of coastline and, including islands, has 33,904 miles of
shoreline.
VOLCANOES
There are more than 70 potentially active volcanoes in Alaska. Several have
erupted in recent times. The most violent volcanic eruption of the century took
place in 1912 when Novarupta Volcano erupted, creating the Valley of Ten
Thousand Smokes which is now part of Katmai National Park.
EARTHQUAKES
On March 27, 1964, North America’s strongest recorded earthquake, with a
moment magnitude of 9.2, rocked central Alaska. Each year Alaska has
approximately 5,000 earthquakes, including 1,000 that measure above 3.5 on the
Richter scale. Of the ten strongest earthquakes ever recorded in the world,
three have occurred in Alaska.
Biggest MISCONCEPTIONS About
Alaska
Most visitors have
pleasant surprises in store when they come to Alaska. Three common
misconceptions concerning Alaska are weather, road conditions, and prices.
Weather is the
#1 misconception. Over a third
of all vacation/pleasure visitors found the weather better than expected. During
the summer, average daytime temperatures throughout the state range from the 60s
to the 90s.
Road conditions
are usually better than expected. Almost
the entire length of the Alaska Highway is asphalt-surfaced, and approximately
half of the roads in the state’s highway system are paved.
The third
misconception is price. Contrary
to popular belief, prices throughout Alaska are generally quite reasonable. To
help illustrate the cost of a vacation, the following chart provides high and
low prices for a few of the basics. More specific pricing may be obtained in the
Official State Vacation Planner."
- State of Alaska Website
To learn more about Alaska, visit http://www.dced.state.ak.us/
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