Alaska Volcanoes

There are approximately 800 active volcanoes in the world. More than 40 of those are in Alaska. Most of Alaska's volcanoes are along the Aleutian Arc, extending westward from central Alaska along the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands toward eastern Russia. This is also the northern portion of the Ring of Fire, where the Pacific plate meets other plates. The plates move a lot here, causing earthquakes and volcanic activity.

 
One of the greatest eruptions in history was the 1912 eruption of volcanoes in what is now Katmai National Park and Preserve, on the Alaska Peninsula. The explosions lasted two days and sent about seven cubic miles of ash and pumice, or light rock full of air pockets, into the air. The wind blew the volcanic ash more than 100 miles away, to the town of Kodiak. Up to 12 inches of ash caused serious problems in Kodiak. It damaged buildings, cars and airplanes and polluted the water supply. Smaller ash falls reached Fairbanks, 500 miles away; Juneau, 750 miles away; and Puget Sound, 1,500 miles away. Volcanic material also filled a glacier-carved valley and formed what is known today as the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. For more than 50 years, scientists believed Mount Katmai was the source of the eruption, but they later found that almost all of the magma that erupted came from the nearby Novarupta volcano. 

Scientists are keeping a close eye on three volcanoes west of Cook Inlet near Anchorage. They are Augustine, Spurr and Redoubt.
The Augustine volcano has been the most active volcano in the Cook Inlet region, erupting at least twice in the 1800s and four times in the last 100 years. An eruption in 1883 sent a tsunami, a giant sea wave, hurling toward the small fishing village of English Bay. The 30-foot wave destroyed boats and buildings, but luckily no one was killed. In 1986, ash blew out of the volcano, as well as giant white clouds of steam. Ash fell over the entire Kenai Peninsula and other areas, including Anchorage. 

On June 27, 1992, Mount Spurr burst into eruption, shooting a mushroom cloud thousands of feet into the air. The ash cloud traveled over Cook Inlet into Anchorage, about 80 miles away. No lava came out of the volcano. It erupted again in July, August and September, blanketing Anchorage with more ash. It took several months to clean up all the ash. Before these eruptions, the volcano had been quiet for nearly 39 years. The ash caused millions of dollars of damage.

Mount Redoubt's 1989-1990 eruption proved very damaging. Volcanic ash caused severe damage to aircraft and left some businesses and homes in Anchorage without power. The ash cloud was so thick, it turned daylight into darkness. Some schools even had to close. The explosion sent ash avalanches down a nearby glacier. The ash flows and floods from the melting glacier slowed oil production in Cook Inlet for several weeks. It was Redoubt's fourth and most damaging eruption of this century. The volcano also erupted in 1902, 1966 and 1967-68.

Alaska Volcano Observatory

Scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory in Anchorage keep track of the many volcanoes in Alaska. They gather information day and night about volcanoes from seismograph machines that let them know when the earth is rumbling. 
 

Since volcanoes often make a lot of noise before they blow, scientists are able to warn us ahead of time of possible eruptions. The Alaska Volcano Observatory uses a color code to let people know how dangerous the eruption may be. Still, scientists are not 100 percent sure how powerful an eruption may be.

The Good Friday Earthquake - Alaska 1964

Alaska has hundreds of earthquakes each year.

Most of them are small and happen on the Aleutian Chain, where there are also several volcanoes.
Sometimes smaller earthquakes called aftershocks happen after a big earthquake.
Although aftershocks are not as strong, they can still cause weakened buildings to collapse.

The March 27, 1964 Good Friday earthquake measured 8.6 on the Richter scale, but was later bumped up to 9.2, which makes it the strongest earthquake ever recorded in North America.
It lasted nearly four minutes.

During the earthquake, streets in Anchorage cracked wide open.
The quake was so strong, it knocked down buildings and split houses in half.
The walls in dozens of downtown shops collapsed, destroying things inside.
In the Turnagain Heights area, the bluff slid to the ocean. Seventy-five homes were carried away into Cook Inlet and destroyed.
The earthquake's epicenter was in Prince William Sound, about 80 miles east of Anchorage. It started about 12 ½ miles below the Earth's surface.

The Good Friday earthquake was one of the strongest earthquakes in over 400 years. Nine people were killed in Anchorage and more than 100 died in other areas.



Some cities close to the ocean were hit with a tsunami, a huge sea wave unleashed by the earthquake. The giant waves, some as big as 50 feet high, flooded Seward, Valdez, Kodiak and other coastal communities. They washed out fisheries and destroyed boats and homes. Some of the waves traveled all the way down the West Coast of North America and hit Hawaii.

Most people who live in Alaska have felt an earthquake. Luckily, most of the earthquakes are small and don't cause any damage. Still, nobody really knows when a big earthquake will hit, but scientists are trying to figure out ways to predict them.

Alaska Education

Alaska's far flung school districts, in urban communities and small villages, are bound together today through the Internet, which allows for extensive access to resources within the state and world wide. 

Great distances between communities prompted as early as 1939 establishment of the Alaska Central School based in Juneau, which provides free home schooling by corresondence courses for thousands of students, grades kindergarten through high school. In 1999 alone, Alyeska Central School served some 3,500 students at all grade levels. Students participate for a variety of reasons, from a specific preference for home schooling to inability to attend public school, for medical reasons or because the student is traveling.

The University of Alaska, founded in 1917 in Fairbanks as Alaska Agriculture College and School of Mines, by a special act of the Alaska Territorial Legislature, is today a multi-campus university. The university's statewide system, created in 1975, gave the Anchorage and Juneau campuses their own central staff and chancellor, although the statewide president and administration remain in Fairbanks. For information on specific campuses and updates on all university events, see http://info.alaska.edu/. 

Through campuses at Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau, plus smaller facilities in communities statewide, and distance delivery systems, thousands of students study vocational, undergraduate and graduate level courses, through the statewide system. 

Alaska Pacific University, a private liberal arts college adjacent to the University of Alaska Anchorage campus, also offers undergraduate and graduate school degrees in a number of fields.

Alaska Economy

The oil and gas industry is the largest measure of the state's economy, with nearly 85 percent of the state budget supplied by oil revenues.

Thousands of residents are employed in oilfield-elated occupations. The buy-out of Arco by British Petroleum will result in upwards of 400 fewer jobs in the industry.
Tourism, commercial fishing, timber, mining and farming also
play an important role in the economy. The tourism industry, which attracts over one million visitors annually, is moving to boost year-round tourism.

Commercial fishermen harvest nearly six billion pounds of seafood, including millions of wild salmon, and groundfish, from fisheries carefully monitored by state and federal fisheries biologists. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, lending support to entrepreneurs of new seafood products, is a major sponsor of the annual Symphony of Salmon competition to promote new value-added wild Alaska salmon products.

Alaska's timber industry supplies world markets with logs, lumber, pulp and other forest products from Chugach National Forest and Tongass National Forest, a 16.8-million-acre rain forest, plus state and private land holdings.

Alaska contains half the nation's coal reserves and its
largest silver and zinc mines. Gold glittering in Alaska streams and mountains still lures miners to work corporate and private claims.

The Alaska Miners Association (http://www.alaskaminers.org) formed in 1939, celebrating its 60th anniversary in 1999.

The mining industry provided some 3,452 full-time equivalent jobs in 1998, the latest year such statistics are available. Rising gold prices in late 1999 boosted industry spirits.

About 15 million acres of soil in Alaska are suitable for
farming, including one million acres currently in farms. Long summer days produce vegetables of extraordinary size, including cabbages weighing more than 90 pounds and 20-pound zucchini squash. There is a growing movement in the lush Matanuska Valley north of Anchorage for more organic crops.

Labor and industry trends are tracked by economists with the AlaskaDepartment of Labor and published monthly in Alaska Economic Trends.
In addition, rural Alaska has a substantial subsistence economy, with many residents dependent on fish, moose, caribou, seals, walrus and whales to feed their families. The subsistence lifestyle is important for its sustenance, as well as its historic cultural role in the lives of many Alaskans.

Alaska - Ketchikan

The indigenous peoples of Southeast Alaska discovered Revillagigedo Island, where Ketchikan is situated, long before Capt. George Vancouver explored the area in 1793.

He named the island after the Viceroy of Mexico, in recognition of the Spanish exploration of the Inside Passage, which had occurred just one year before.

Early Native residents valued the area at the mouth of Ketchikan Creek for its abundant salmon returns each summer and established a fish camp there to catch and prepare food for the winter. When Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867, U.S. fishing interests began to investigate, purchased land and eagerly established a fish saltery in Ketchikan and nearby Loring in the 1880s. Ketchikan was already regarded as a commercial center in 1887, serving as a supply source for prospectors heading to the gold fields of the Yukon, and becoming a new home for those without the means to continue north. In the year 1900, 800 residents signed a petition to incorporate into a city. Area residents, businesses and organizations will host a variety of events throughout the year to celebrate the first 100 years of Ketchikan’s history.

From centennial themed annual events to new activities planned just for the occasion, Ketchikan loves a party and the Centennial promises plenty.

Getting Here by Air

The journey is half the fun

Alaska Airlines

Ketchikan is just 90 minutes by air from Seattle, with several daily flights in and out provided by Alaska Airlines.  Scheduled daily jet service is also available to and from Anchorage, Juneau, Sitka, Petersburg and Wrangell.
Ketchikan International Airport is located on Gravina Island, a five minute ferry ride to town. Airport shuttle vans and a water taxi service meet all flights, transporting passengers and luggage from baggage claim to your Ketchikan destination. Connections to outlying areas via wheeled and floatplanes are available at the airport. Ground service and parking space is also available for private aircraft traveling to Ketchikan.

Floatplanes

Local commuter air carriers connect Ketchikan with all of the outlying communities of southern Southeast Alaska, and Prince Rupert, Canada. The aircraft are called “floatplanes” because of the large floats that allow them to take off and land safely on the water. Floatplanes can land in bays and harbors to access waterfront communities and on lakes to reach remote recreation areas and fishing hot spots.

These folks are ready to help

Alaska Airlines
P.O. Box 68900, Seattle, WA 98168
800-426-0333, www.alaskaair.com

Ketchikan International Airport Transportation Services
(private aircraft )
1000 Airport Terminal Bldg., Ketchikan, AK 99901
907-225-6800
http://borough.ketchikan.ak.us

 Getting Here by Sea

 

Cruise Lines

Ketchikan is a major cruise ship port along the Inside Passage, welcoming hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Cruise lines calling in Ketchikan include American West Steamboat Co., Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Clipper Cruise Line, Cruise West, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and Regent Seven Seas.  Ketchikan’s friendly citizens, scenic beauty and wide range of shore excursions and activities consistently rank it among the most popular ports of call among passengers.

Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS)

The Alaska Marine Highway System operated by the State of Alaska, maintains a fleet of ferries connecting Ketchikan with the lower 48 states, and Canada to the rest of Alaska’s Inside Passage. Ferries range from day boats to full-service vessels accommodating passengers with staterooms, food and beverage service and vehicle transport.  The scenic ferry trip north from Bellingham, Washington takes 36 hours, from Prince Rupert, B.C. 6 hours. Convenient connections are available to Metlakatla, Wrangell, Petersburg, Sitka, Juneau, Haines and Skagway with regular service to Southcentral Alaska via Seward.  Vessels accommodate vehicles of any size.

Inter-Island ferry service

The Inter-Island ferry service operates daily service to and from Prince of Wales Island. The terminal located in Hollis provides access to other communities via the Prince of Wales road system.

Private vessels

Ketchikan has plenty of moorage for visiting yachts and private boaters and can provide any needed marine services including fuel, boater’s supplies and repair services as well as a shipyard capable of hauling out most sizes of vessels.

These folks are ready to help

Alaska Marine Highway System Reservations
6858 Glacier Hwy.
Juneau, AK 99802-5535
800-642-0066
www.alaska.gov/ferry

City of Ketchikan Ports and Harbors Department
334 Front Street, Ketchikan, AK 99901
Phone: (907) 225-3111
www.city.ketchikan.ak.us


Inter-Island Ferry AuthorityCall Toll Free 866-308-4848
www.interislandferry.com

Alaska Tourist Information

Where is the best place to get tourist information?

If you are planning a trip to Alaska, we suggest that you contact The Alaska Public Lands Information Center (APLIC). 

 

 

Alaska's State and Federal public lands are rich and varied. 

Agencies serviced by the APLIC are: 

National Park Service 

U.S. Forest ServiceU.S. Fish & Wildlife ServiceU.S. Geological Survey 

Alaska Division of Tourism

Alaska Department of Natural Resources

Alaska Department of Fish & Game.

 

Whether you hike, camp, photograph, hunt, fish, take a scenic drive or want to rent a remote cabin, the APLIC can provide you information in Anchorage,Fairbanks, Ketchican, and Tok.

 

 

Fish and wildlife information, trip planning, natural and cultural resources exhibits, films and videos, book and map sales, recreation, and visitor information and interpretive programs are available.

 

 

The phone numbers are: Anchorage: 907-271-2737, Fairbanks: 907-456-0527, Ketchican: 907-288-6234, and Tok: 907-883-5667. 

 

Their address in Anchorage:

Alaska Public Lands Information Center

605 West Fourth Avenue, Suite 105

Anchorage, Alaska 99501

Alaska - Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)

The polar bear evolved from the brown bear and is the largest member of the bear family.

 

Adaptations by polar bears to life on sea ice include: translucent fur with water repellent guard hairs and dense underfur, short furred snout, small ears, teeth specialized for a carnivorous rather than omnivorous diet, and hair on the bottom of their feet. Polar bears are the most nomadic of all bears, some of which travel an average of 5,500 miles a year or about 15 miles a day.

Males measure from 8 to 11 feet from nose to tail (2.4 - 3.4 m) and generally weigh from 600 to 1,200 pounds (272 - 543 kg), but may weigh up to 1,500 pounds (679 kg). Females measure from 6 to 8 feet (1.8 - 2.4 m) and weigh from 400 to 700 pounds (181 - 317 kg). Polar bears generally live alone except when mating or rearing cubs.
Exceptions occur when polar bears gather at food sites such as a whale carcass or when they are concentrated on land during the open water season in parts of Canada.
Female polar bears will reach breeding maturity between the ages of 4 and 6. Pregnant female bears seek out denning areas in late fall on land or sea ice.
Dens are made in snow along bluffs and rough ice where snow drifts accumulate. The female digs out a small chamber in the snow drift to serve as a maternity den.
A litter of 1 to 3 cubs is born in December or January.
The cubs will not leave the den until March or early April and will stay with the mother for about two and a quarter years. Female polar bears will have a litter every 3 or 4 years. Polar bears can live up to 32 years but most probably do not live past 25 years in the wild.
Polar bears can be found in Greenland, Norway, Russia, Canada, and in north and northwest Alaska.

Polar bears travel on sea ice which expands and shrinks during annual cycles. In the winter, they will travel as far south as St. Lawrence Island or even St. Matthew Island. During summer months, they are more commonly found near the edge of the ice in the Beaufort Sea and the Chukchi Sea.
It is estimated that their are 22,000 - 28,000 polar bears worldwide and approximately 3,000 - 5,000 in Alaska.

Ringed seals are a favorite food of polar bears. They capture the seals by waiting by breathing holes and at the edges of leads and cracks in the ice. Bears may also stalk seals resting on the top of the ice and catch young seals by breaking into pupping chambers in the spring. Polar bears also hunt bearded seals, walrus and beluga whales. They will feed on carrion also, including whale, walrus and seal carcasses found along the coast.

Hunting and Fishing in Alaska

Frequently Asked Questions

 

How do I report a violation of hunting or fishing laws and can I remain anonymous?

You may telephone Alaska's SAFEGUARD HOTLINE at 800-478-3377. You can also call any of our Law Enforcement field offices or our Regional office.

 

Where can I get a copy of the state hunting and fishing regulations; or purchase fishing\ hunting licenses or a Federal Migratory Waterfowl Conservation Stamp?

You can get them at most sporting goods stores, or Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) District offices, or you can purchase licenses on-line via ADF&G Licenses. You can also call the Alaska Department of Fish & Game office in Juneau at 907-465-2376, or in Anchorage at 907-267-2100. ADF&G can also be contacted at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game homepage. State and federal waterfowl conservation stamps can be purchased at wherever you purchase your hunting license. Federal Migratory Waterfowl Conservation stamps can also be purchased at U.S. Post Offices. 

 

 

 

Where can I get a copy of the federal waterfowl hunting regulations?

We no longer publish the federal waterfowl hunting seasons and bag limits in a separate brochure. The seasons and bag limits for ducks and geese are published as part of the state hunting regulations, available from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in late August of each year. A federal source announcing seasons and limits is the Federal Register.

 

Can I hunt in a National Wildlife Refuge?

You can hunt in most National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska. You should contact the specific refuge where you plan to hunt for regulations specific to that refuge.

 

Can I hunt in National Parks and Preserves?

Generally you cannot hunt in National Parks or Monuments but may be allowed to hunt in National Preserves. You should contact the appropriate Park, Monument or Preserve for their specific regulations. General information may be obtained by calling 907-271-2737.

 

Can I hunt polar bears or walrus in Alaska?

Only Alaska Natives who live on the coast of Alaska can hunt polar bear and walrus.

 

Who do I call for information involving the hunting of Alaska big game species, such as moose, caribou, black or brown bear?

For questions involving hunting of resident game, such as moose, caribou, black or brown bear, goat, and sheep, or local fishing regulations you can call Alaska Department of Fish and Game at 907-267-2100 or contact them at their homepage .

 

Who do I call for information involving whales, seals, sea lions, dolphins, and porpoises in Alaska?

To report a violation, or if you have questions involving an enforcement issue, call the National Marine Fisheries Service in Juneau at 907-586-7225; in Anchorage at 907-271-5745; in Kodiak at 907-486-3298; or in Sitka at 907-747-6940. NMFS also maintains a homepage for the Alaska region.

Alaska Land

For millennia, the land we now call Alaska has nurtured,
on land and sea, mammals great and small, millions of waterfowl, sea birds and songbirds in their annual migration to lush nesting habitat, and millions of shellfish, groundfish and finfish in its waters. The land and sea have helped sustain, for much of the Earth's people, an abundance of wildlife that provides food, clothing and shelter, plus enormous recreational opportunities for this and coming generations.

Archeologists believe that 50,000 and 15,000 years ago, an
early wave of migrants arrived via a land bridge from Siberia, probably in pursuit of mammoth, mastodon and other large herbivores. While they are generally believed to have traveled south to occupy North, Central and South America over the next several thousand years, there came a second wave of migrants, about 5,000 to 10,000 years ago, the ancestors of contemporary Alaska Natives.
The oldest link to human occupation of Alaska comes from a cave north of Nome, where archeologists found a cracked bison leg bone and a bone point about 15,000 years old. Evidence of human occupation after 11,000 years ago is more readily found. The search for untold chapters of Alaska's history continues today at archeological sites, while scientists continue to launch space-age rockets to study worlds beyond Earth.

With firm roots in a land before time, Alaska is blasting
into the 21st century. This is a land of contrasts, with glaciers, fjords, tundra and rain forests, sprawled over 586,412 square miles. Native peoples who have lived here for more than 500 generations have adapted to the "Great Land," with lifestyles that allow survival. What is new, in the last century in particular, is the adaptation of newcomers who came in search of oil and gold and found much more.
These people are whom the poet Robert Service must have had in mind when he wrote, in "The Law of the Yukon," of the children yet to be born and cities yet to leap to stature. Service wrote of "visioning campfires at twilight, sad with a longing forlorn, feeling my womb o'er pregnant, with the seed of cities unborn." Service never mentioned the earthquakes, floods and volcanoes that have made their mark on Alaska, though he did warn that the Law of the Yukon is "that only the strong shall thrive."
State labor department statisticians now estimate that if population trends of the 1990s continue for the next two decades, Alaska's total population will grow to 776,488 by 2018. The forecast is for the most growth to occur in the Anchorage/Matanuska-Susitna region.

For all this growth, much of Alaska will remain the same,
because millions of acres are included in federal and state forests, parks and wildlife refuges. In all, Alaska contains over 322 million acres of public lands, including more than 100 state parks and recreation areas, and 15 national parklands.

Of the latter, some of the best known are Denali National Park, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park, Tongass National Forest and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.

Alaska's Native Peoples

Alaska's history is rooted in its indigenous peoples: Aleuts,
Inupiat and Yupik Eskimos, Athabascans, and Tlingit and Haida Indians, whom European explorers first made contact with in the mid-1700s. Archeologists have found evidence of human occupation of the Nome area dating back 15,000 years. At the time of European contact, Native groups lived within defined regions and did not mingle with other ethnic groups except occasionally in trade.

Tlingits and Haidas found plentiful salmon, deer and other
foods to establish permanent settlements in Southeast Alaska and establish themselves as artisans, with their monuments of cedar, the totem poles, and other intricate works of art, and dance.

Athabascan Indians migrated for many more years to follow the fish, game and other wildlife needed for their subsistence, while Aleuts and coastal Eskimo groups depended on marine and land mammals and vegetation, including berries, teas and herbs that grew in abundance on lands they traversed. 

The Tsimshians came from British Columbia in 1887 to Annette Island in Southeast Alaska. They settled at Metlakatla, where fishing is their primary occupation. 

Native Alaskan cultures have evolved over 200 years of exposure to other cultures.

Much of the diversity of Native economic roles in the state today is linked to the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. That legislation directed that, along with the return of 40 million acres of land, profit-making regional and village Native corporations be established to assure continued ownership of lands returned. The regional and village corporations have been intricately involved in a number of tourism and other industry ventures that have reaped millions and millions of dollars. 

As a result, individual regional and some village corporations have scholarship funds that have helped ensure the education of Alaska Natives at the nation's finest universities. The economic clout has brought political clout, and many modern amenities, including sewer and water, to many rural communities. Health care, communications and transportation resources have greatly improved in rural areas. 

Perhaps most important, there is renewed emphasis on rich Native Alaskan cultures: art, music, dance and legends. Elders are renewing efforts to teach their grandchildren, and Native groups take pride in their role in telling and showing visitors all about their heritage. In 1999, an Alaska Native Heritage Center opened in Anchorage, and almost every community includes in local celebrations some aspect of the role of Native Alaskans in their heritage. 

Alaska Weather Overview

Alaska weather is as varied as its terrain, but perhaps has one constant: it changes frequently, often within the same day. Visitors may find that Alaska is not as cold as they imagine, unless they arrive during a winter freeze. Summer weather can be quite warm.

It all depends on when you visit and where you are in Alaska. With more than 1,400 miles between the southern and northernmost points, several seas and oceans surrounding the coast, glacier-carved inlets, winding river deltas and towering mountain ranges, weather variations are significant. A chart of current temperatures shows how different the weather can be at various locations at one time. The information pages for each destination have summaries of seasonal highs and lows and the current temperature. Visitors may also want to check the historical temperatures and precipitation for the destinations of their choice for the month they will be in Alaska.

The temperatures can be extreme. It's a pretty good bet that anyone outside at Prospect Creek, in northern Alaska, on January 23, 1971, was cold when the temperature hit a United States record low of -79.8 degrees Fahrenheit. Alaskans consider it blazing hot at 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the record high for the state, recorded at Fort Yukon, in the Interior, on June 27, 1915.

But in July, mid-summer in Alaska, high daily temperatures throughout most of the state are comfortable, usually ranging from 60-80 degrees Fahrenheit. Nighttime lows can be 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit. Interior temperatures are generally among the warmest, and coastal areas are cooler.
Winter temperature differences may seem more dramatic. In early January, Southeast Alaska can be enjoying 20-30 degree Fahrenheit winter weather and more than seven hours of sunlight, while Barrow residents endure subzero temperatures and look forward to celebrating the sun's return after six weeks without a sunrise. Winds can make temperatures seem much colder, and it's especially important in winter to consider the wind chill factor when planning outdoor activities.

Spring "breakup," when the snow melts and the leaves on trees begin to open, begins in April in Southeast Alaska and arrives in northern Alaska by June. In mid-May, flowers may be blooming in Anchorage while some of the rivers and sounds of western and northern Alaska are still choked with ice. In fall, temperatures drop and winter snows begin to fly in northern areas in late September, in Anchorage and other Southcentral areas in mid-October, and begins in earnest in Ketchikan in Southeast Alaska in late October or November.
Valdez, on Prince William Sound in Southcentral Alaska, can get more than 300 inches of snow per year, illustrating that the southern coastal areas in Alaska get a lot of precipitation. Usually, this comes in the fall and winter; summer is considered the "dry season," which should be thought of as a relative term. The rain forest of Southeast Alaska is aptly named, but the summer months, when most travelers visit, are the best time to catch sunny weather. Interior regions are relatively dry and arctic areas are semi-arid.

Visitors prepared to dress for the weather and aware of how to prevent hypothermia will be able to enjoy all Alaska has to offer, in any kind of weather.

Alaska Tourism

Fabulous fishing, festivals, wildlife, wilderness, glaciers and a sense of adventure draw 1.3 million visitors to Alaska each year.

A century after the Gold Rush began, the mystique of Alaska is still here for people who want to watch eagles soar, whales play, bears fish for salmon and gather berries, moose nibble lichen on the tundra, and other critters roam free in their natural habitat. 


Others come to hike or ride horses in the backcountry, watch the migration of caribou through the Brooks Range, pan for gold, ride with a sled dog team, fish for record salmon and halibut, or take part in cultural events and festivals celebrating Alaska's heritage.


The state's visitor industry offers options to accommodate the comfort level of travelers of all ages and physical abilities. Most visitors find time to take in flightseeing, walking tours of historical areas, a day of sportfishing or skiing, or special events such as the Golden Days Parade in Fairbanks, the Fur Rendezvous in Anchorage, the Little Norway Festival in Petersburg, or the end of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race at Nome. Each Alaska community has its own traditions, and visitors are welcome to participate in events.


Cruises are growing in popularity, as are outdoor adventure options ranging from birding, hiking, camping, photography and mountain climbing to river running and ocean kayaking.
A significant portion of increased tourism is coming from convention Business, on the rise in Alaska as more people in charge of planning conventions become aware that Alaska is cost competitive and has the hotel and convention space to accommodate their meetings.

The state has also attracted a growing number of conventions, particularly in what are called the shoulder seasons. Convention planners are learning that Alaska is cost-competitive and has the hotel and convention space to accommodate their meetings.

There's no doubt the tourism industry is an important part of the state's economy. During a recent year, visitors spent approximately $952 million dollars and helped create more than 18,900 jobs. Tourism is the second largest private sector employer in Alaska. It is the third largest revenue producer for the State of Alaska, after the oil and gas and commercial fishing industries.

Solomon Islands

Stretching for 1,200 miles and located northeast of Australia, the Solomon Islands consist of 10 large volcanic islands and four smaller island groups.

They are covered with lush, green mountains, beautiful isolated beaches, and the ocean temperature is among the hottest in the world at 85 F.

The Solomon Islands offers great diving, as there are many World War II planes and shipwrecks to see underwater.
 

Its traditional culture and primitive tribes are a draw for seasoned travelers wanting to get off the beaten path. It has a tropical, sunny climate.

The best time to travel to the Solomon Islands is from April to November.


The country is a parliamentary democracy within the British Commonwealth.

Melanesian pidgin is widely spoken and there are 120 indigenous languages.

English is spoken by some of the population.

Historic Highlights of Alaska

1725 - Danish explorer Vitus Bering is sent by Peter the Great of Russia to explore the North Pacific.

1741 - Bering and explorer Alexei Chirikov, in separate ships, site Alaska.

Naturalist Georg Steller becomes the first white man known to set foot in Alaska, on Kayak Island.
1743 - Hunts of sea otters by Russians begin, and continue until the species is nearly decimated; hunts for fur seals follow. Russians force Aleuts to participate, holding their families hostage.
1774-1794 -Exploration of Alaska continues by Spanish Naval Officer Juan Perez, who sails north from Mexico, and English Naval Captains James Cook and George Vancouver.
1784 - Russians build a settlement at Three Saints Bay, Kodiak Island.
1799 - Russian Alexander Baranov establishes a Russian post at Sitka and the Russian-American Co. begins trade operations.
1821 - The Russian-American Co. becomes the sole trading firm in Alaskan waters after Russia prohibits trade by other nations.
1824-1842 - Russian exploration extends to mainland, including the Kuskokwim, Nushagak, Yukon and Koyukuk rivers.
1847 - Hudson's Bay Co. establishes a trading post at Fort Yukon.
1849 - Russians discover coal and gold on the Kenai Peninsula.
1853 - Russian explorers and trappers find oil seeps in Cook Inlet.
1867 - U.S. purchases Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million, with formal transfer of title Oct. 18 at Sitka.
1872 - Gold is discovered near Sitka
1878 - First salmon canneries built at Klawock and Old Sitka.
1902 - Oil production at Katalla, southeast of Cordova.
1911- Copper mining begins at Kennicott.
1912 - Alaska gains territorial status.
1914- President Woodrow Wilson okays Alaska Railroad construction.
1923 - President Warren Harding drives a golden spike to complete construction of the Alaska Railroad.
1935 - Roosevelt administration sends farmers to establish the Matanuska Valley Colony, resettling victims of the Great Depression.
1940 - Military buildup for World War II includes construction of Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage.
1942 - Bombing of Dutch Harbor, Attu and Kiska in the Aleutians by Japanese forces, who are driven from the state a year later.
1957 - Oil is discovered at Swanson River on the Kenai Peninsula.
1959 - Alaska is granted statehood effective Jan. 3, 1959.
1964 - Good Friday earthquake March 27 kills 131 people.
1967 - Alaska marks 100 years since purchase by the U.S.; Fairbanks floods.
1968 - Oil discovery at Prudhoe Bay; $900 million oil lease.
sale follows in 1969
1971 - Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act returns 40 million acres of land, plus $1 billion in payments to Alaska Natives.
1977 - Construction completed on trans-Alaska oil pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez.
1980 - Legislators repeal state income tax. Legislation backed by Gov. Jay Hammond establishes a Permanent Fund for one-fourth of royalties from oil revenues for future generations, who will then get annual dividend checks from the fund.
1986 - Mount Augustine erupts in lower Cook Inlet, spreading ashes over the Anchorage bowl and other areas; World Championship Sled Dog Race is canceled for lack of snow.
1989 - Exxon Valdez runs aground in Prince William Sound, causing the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
1992 - Alaska marks 50th anniversary of the Alaska Highway.

Alaska History

Early inhabitants of what is now Alaska entered the New World from Asia via the Bering Land Bridge, which was a thousand miles long, stretching from the Gulf of Anadyr in Siberia to the western end of Umnak Island. Archeologists have found evidence that man was on the Seward Peninsula by at least 11,000 B.C. and on the upper Yukon River more than 25,000 to 30,000 years ago. While these people were in all probability not ancestors of present Alaska Native groups, there is evidence that today's Aleuts lived continuously in the eastern Aleutians for over 8,000 years and that Indian tribes may have been present in Alaska since before 9000 B.C. 

When Europeans first visited the area in the early 18th century, it was inhabited by Eskimos, Aleuts, Athabascans, Tlingits, and Haidas. The Danish explorer Vitus Bering, sailing for the Russian Government, made two voyages to Alaska in the first half of the 1700s. When word spread that Bering's crew had garnered a high price for sea otter pelts from the Aleutians, hundreds of men came to hunt in the wholesale slaughter of sea otters. The adventurers inflicted violence and bloodshed on the Aleut people, sometimes holding families hostage to force the men to help with the slaughter. 

Under Alexander Baranov, who led the Russian American Co. in the early 1800s, the fur harvest increased and several settlements were established, including New Archangel, later Sitka, the capital of Russian America. 

In 1867, Russia sold Alaska to the United States for $7.2 million, about two cents an acre, a purchase negotiated by Secretary of State William H. Seward. Fishing grew in importance, and in 1878 the first salmon cannery opened. Still, the wholesale slaughter of fur seals, whales, sea otters and walruses continued. 

Russians discovered gold and coal on the Kenai Peninsula in 1849. In the late 1890s, with the rush to the Klondike gold fields, gold also was found on the beaches of Nome, even as exploration for oil was in progress in southwestern Alaska. By mid-1900 the population of Nome swelled to about 10,000 gold prospectors. On Feb. 22, 1900, an intrepid young man, Ed Jesson, left Dawson on a bicycle he had learned to ride the week before. He arrived in Nome, 1,000 miles away, on March 29, tired and nearly snow-blind, but reported that he never had a puncture or broke a spoke the entire trip! 

World War II also brought changes to Alaska. The Japanese bombed Dutch Harbor in 1942 and briefly occupied Attu and Kiska islands in the Aleutians. The attacks prompted building of a supply route, the Alaska Highway, and establishment of several military bases in the territory. The population swelled from 72,524 people in 1939 to 128,643 residents in 1950. 

On Jan. 3, 1959, William A. Egan, born and raised in Valdez, became Alaska's first governor. One of Alaska's first U.S. senators, Ernest Gruening, also was an influential leader in the drive for statehood, as was Robert B. Atwood, publisher of the Anchorage Times. 

When an earthquake measured at 9.2 on the Richter scale struck southcentral Alaska in March 1964, residents rallied to rebuild damaged communities from Kodiak Island to the Kenai Peninsula to the Anchorage area. The quake was so strong it was felt in Kotzebue, hundreds of miles to the north. One Kotzebue woman, feeling the sensation of the earth moving beneath her, said she thought it was morning sickness, but learned later that what she felt was the strongest recorded earthquake in North American history. In Seward, a tidal wave rolled over an Alaska Railroad locomotive. Four years later, oil was discovered on Alaska's North Slope, forever changing the course of economic development and lifestyles of Alaskans. Although the economy is diversifying, oil and gas continue to play a major role in the state. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority encourages, through grants and loans, development of industry in the state. 

In the decades that followed, the state's population has grown extensively both in numbers and diversity, particularly with the influx of Asians, Pacific Islanders and Hispanics. Spanish and Japanese immersion language programs are part of the state's public schools curriculum today, as are classes in Alaska Native languages.