Travel

Alaska

Alaska is like nothing on earth! Breath-taking ocean coasts, rushing rivers, majestic mountain peaks, abundant wildlife and beautiful people. Discover Alaska's rich history and culture, mush a dog sled team, fish for King Salmon, cruise on blue waters, or take to the open road and explore vast stretches of natural beauty. Alaska has the adventure you crave.

Alaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area at 1,477,277 square km and is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait. As of 2007, Alaska remains the least densely populated state, with a population of 683,478 with approximately 50% residing along the Anchorage metropolitan areas. Alaska has more coastline than all the other U.S. states combined. It is the only non-contiguous U.S. state on continental North America; about 800 km of British Columbia separate Alaska from Washington state and therefore Alaska is an exclave of the United States. Juneau, Alaska's capital city, though located on the mainland of the North American continent, is inaccessible by land-no roads connect Juneau to the rest of the North American highway system.

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 public lands, including a multitude of national forests, national parks, and national wildlife refuges. Of the remaining land area, the State of Alaska owns 410,000 square km; another 180,000 square km are owned by 12 regional and dozens of local Native corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Alaska is administratively divided into "boroughs", as opposed to "counties" or "parishes." The climate in Juneau and the southeast panhandle is a mid-latitude oceanic climate in the southern sections and a subarctic oceanic climate in the northern parts. On an annual basis, the panhandle is both the wettest and warmest part of Alaska with milder temperatures in the winter and high precipitation throughout the year. The climate of Anchorage and south central Alaska is a subarctic climate due to its short, cool summers but mild by comparisson to the rest of Alaska due to its proximity to the seacoast. The climate of Western Alaska is a subarctic oceanic climate in the southwest and a continental subarctic climate farther north. Finally, the climate of the interior of Alaska is best described as extreme and is a good example of a true subarctic climate. Some of the highest and lowest temperatures in Alaska occur around the area near Fairbanks. The summers can have temperatures reaching into the the low to mid 30s °C, while in the winter, the temperature can fall below -52 °C. Precipitation is sparse in the Interior, often less than 25 cm a year, but what precipitation falls in the winter tends to stay the entire winter.

See all vacations available for this destination »