2002 photo by Robert M. Braley Jr., Nursing Moose with two Calves, Fairbanks, Alaska
With the diverse habitats that exist in Alaska (minerial rich tundra, rocky slopes, alpine meadows, wet thickets, river bars and rocky hilsides), this beautiful unspoiled land produces a magnificent array of wildflowers. A majority of the plants bloom in late May through August, when the tundra thaws and brings out deep rich colors of its natural foliage; flowers ranging from deep chocolate browns to vivid blues, yellows and megentas.
Alaska has an exciting environment and climate conditions that promote the growth and diversity of wildflowers. Alaska is also one of the best-preserved areas in the United States. Some of the wildflower photographs and descriptions on our website are native to the area, while others are introduced by the state to liven up areas that experience heavy trafic. Because Alaska's fertile ecosystem, these plants thrive and even create new hybrids with native species. Truly, Alaska is a wonderful habitat for greenery and for those who love wildflowers.
Forestry
Alaska's forests are capable of supplying a sustained production of several billion board feet of timber annually. In the interior are extensive stands of white spruce, Alaska birch, black cottonwood, balsam poplar, and aspen. These forests occupy nearly a third of the land in Alaska, but they have been little worked. Logging occurs mainly in the usable forests along the south coast and in the Panhandle, where deep inlets make the timber readily accessible. The principal trees are western hemlock and Sitka spruce, intermixed with some western red cedar and Alaska yellow cedar.
Much of the commercial timber is purchased from Tongass National Forest, which covers more than half of southeastern Alaska. Lands privately owned by native Alaskans also provide major contributions to the annual harvest. Logs are manufactured into pulp at plants in Ketchikan and into lumber at a number of sawmills. A second large pulp mill, which supplies great quantities of cellulose to paper and rayon manufacturers in Japan, is located near Sitka.
Ref: Alaska. ( 2007). In Britannica Student Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 18, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-196139
Alaska Recreation
Thousands of tourists visit Alaska every year. Tourism is the state's third major industry. Most visitors come by plane, boat, or ferry but a growing number travel by car or bus over the scenic Alaska Highway. One of Alaska's main tourist attractions, the Denali National Park and Preserve, is in the spectacular Alaska Range. Within the vast park is Muldrow Glacier, more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) long, fed by snow from Mount McKinley and other peaks. The park is also one of the nation's great wildlife sanctuaries. Hunting is not allowed here, but fishing and camping are permitted.
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, to the northwest of Juneau, is famous for its vast ice fields and fjordlike bays. Tourists come to Juneau to view the awesome Mendenhall Glacier and watch the autumn salmon runs. Totem poles are the principal attractions of Sitka National Historical Park, in the Panhandle. Katmai National Park and Preserve, on the Alaska Peninsula, is noted for its volcanoes.
Ref: Alaska. ( 2007). In Britannica Student Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 18, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-196141
(1917) has an abundance of wildlife, including brown and grizzly bears, caribou, and moose. Katmai National Park and Preserve (1918), on the Alaska Peninsula, includes the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, an area of active volcanoes that in 1912 produced one of the world's most violent eruptions. Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (1925) has magnificent fjords, as well as glaciers that have retreated extensively in the 20th century. Sitka National Historic Park (1910), with a large totem pole collection, commemorates the stand of the Tlingit against early Russian settlers. The Tongass and Chugach national forests in the southeast and south central regions, respectively, are also federal public land reserves. The U.S. Department of the Interior has continued to study the need for withdrawing further regions from public domain into reserves.
The sporting industry, including guide and outfitter services and boat charters, continues to be a colourful activity. Alaska provides the nation's only significant Arctic wilderness, and much research is done in the study of glacier, mountain, and tundra biomes, atmospheric and ionospheric conditions, and polar oceanography by federal, state, university, and private agencies. For example, the University of Alaska carries out extensive research on Arctic problems through its Geophysical Institute, Institute of Marine Science, Institute of Arctic Biology, and other groups. Since 1946 the Juneau affiliate of the Foundation for Glacier and Environmental Research, in cooperation with the National Science Foundation, the University of Idaho, and the University of Alaska, has sponsored a glaciologic and environmental research and field sciences training program on the Juneau Icefield.
Vitus Bering: born 1681, Horsens, Den. died Dec. 19, 1741, Bering Island, near the Kamchatka Peninsula
A navigator whose exploration of the Bering Strait and Alaska prepared the way for a Russian foothold on the North American continent.
After a voyage to the East Indies, Bering joined the fleet of Tsar Peter I the Great as a sublieutenant. In 1724 the tsar appointed him leader of an expedition to determine whether Asia and North America were connected by land, because Russia was interested both in colonial expansion in North America and in finding a northeast passage—i.e., a sea route to China around Siberia. (In 1648 a Russian, Semyon Dezhnyov, had sailed through the Bering Strait, but his report went unnoticed until 1736.) On July 13, 1728, Bering set sail from the Siberian peninsula of Kamchatka and in August passed through the Bering Strait into the Arctic Ocean. Bad weather prevented thorough observation, and, though he did not sight the North American coast, he concluded that Siberia and America were not joined.
During the reign of Empress Anna, Bering sought to undertake a second expedition. His simple plan, however, was expanded into Russia's Great Northern Expedition (1733–43), which mapped much of the Arctic coast of Siberia. On June 4, 1741, Bering sailed from Kamchatka in the St. Peter, joined by Aleksey Chirikov commanding the St. Paul. A storm later separated the ships, and Chirikov went on to discover several Aleutian Islands independently. Bering sailed into the Gulf of Alaska on August 20. Anxious to get his ship back to safety, he was able to reconnoitre only the southwestern coast, the Alaska Peninsula, and the Aleutian Islands. Suffering from scurvy, he was unable to maintain effective command, and the ship was wrecked early in November on the shore of Bering Island, near Kamchatka. After his death there, a few survivors were able to reach Siberia and brought news of excellent fur-trading possibilities in the Aleutians and Alaska.
Additional Reading
Glimpses of personality have to be found in the descriptions of Bering's expeditions, such as F.A. Golder, Bering's Voyages: An Account of the Efforts of the Russians to Determine the Relation of Asia and America, 2 vol. (1922–1925, reissued 1968); and Robert Murphy, The Haunted Journey (1961). See also Raymond H. Fisher, Bering's Voyages: Whither and Why (1977).
Welcome to Alaska - The Alaska State Flag
U.S. state flag consisting of a dark blue field (background) showing Polaris (the North Star) and the Ursa Major (Great Bear) constellation in gold or yellow.
The territories of the United States typically did not have flags of their own prior to statehood. Alaska nevertheless held a competition in 1926, sponsored by the American Legion, which sought a distinctive territorial flag. The following year the Alaskan legislature approved the winning design, which remained unchanged when the territory became a state in 1959.
The creator of the flag was Benny Benson, a 13-year-old boy living in an orphanage. He chose straightforward symbols that struck a chord with Alaskans of all ages and backgrounds. The flag's dark blue colour symbolizes the Alaskan sky and the ubiquitous forget-me-not flowers that announce the arrival of spring. The stars emblazoned on this background can be seen clearly in the Alaskan sky. The North Star is an appropriate symbol for Alaska as the northernmost part of the United States; the two previously northernmost states, Minnesota and Maine, also show the North Star in their flags.
Information retrieved from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: article #910935
Wrangell St. Ellias, Alaska
This rural community is blessed with the tranqulility of "Real Alaska". It is set against breathtaking views across Cook Inlet of snowcapped Mt. Iliamna, Redoubt, and Mt. Augustine Island to the southwest. All of these mountains are active volcanoes. Mid-April, 2006, Mt. Augustine last erupted creating spectacular ash plumes in the area.
Ref: 2007 Travel Guide
Welcome to Alaska - Alaska Purchase
(1867), acquisition by the United States from Russia of 586,412 square miles (1,518,800 square km) of land at the northwestern tip of the North American continent.
William Henry Seward, secretary of state under President Andrew Johnson, had as early as 1860 dreamed of acquiring Alaska. The territory was considered an economic liability by the Russians, and in December 1866 Baron Eduard de Stoeckl, Russian minister to the United States, was instructed to open negotiations with Seward for its sale. On March 29, 1867, Stoeckl and Seward completed the draft of a treaty ceding Russian North America to the United States, and the treaty was signed early the following day. The price—$7,200,000—amounted to about two cents per acre.
Few Americans, however, viewed the purchase as a bargain, and Seward was vilified in the press. “Seward's Icebox” and “Seward's Folly” were the two most popular names for the Alaska Purchase, and ratification by the the Senate and funding by the House of Representatives seemed in jeopardy as a result of the public outrage. The treaty was submitted for ratification on March 30. Senator Charles Sumner spoke in its favour, and the treaty was passed on April 9. The House passed the necessary appropriation on July 14, 1868. Extensive propaganda campaigns and judicious use of bribes by Stoeckl secured the required votes in each house of Congress.
Information retrieved from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: article #9005366
