Alaska

Everything about the Last Frontier is big, with more than one person can possibly see in one trip. Alaska’s 570,373 square miles is one-fifth the size of the continental U.S. and over twice the size of Texas. Of the nation’s 20 highest peaks, 17 are in Alaska. That includes the legendary Denali (Mount McKinley), the tallest mountain in North America at 20,320 feet and is the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak.

The State boasts an estimated 100,000 glaciers, which cover almost five percent of the state. There are more active glaciers in Alaska than in the rest of the inhabited world.

Alaska has 3 million lakes, over 3,000 rivers and more coastline (47,300 miles) than the entire continental United States. Lake Hood, located in Anchorage, is the world’s busiest floatplane base. It averages 800 takeoffs and landings on a peak summer day. The Alaska Marine Highway System ferries travel a route covering 3,500 miles and serving 30 Alaskan ports.

The famous Trans-Alaska Pipeline transports approximately 1.8 million barrels of oil a day from the North Slope to the port of Valdez in Prince William Sound. Oil moves at a rate of five to seven miles per hour and takes under six days to travel the 800 miles from Prudhoe Bay to tankers in the port of Valdez.

Alaska has 15 National Parks, Preserves and Monuments, and 3.2 million acres of State Park lands. The largest known concentration of bald eagles, over 3,000, converges near Haines from October through January to feed on late run salmon in the Chilkat River. Other wildlife includes the famous Alaska Polar Bear, moose, brown bears, black bears, seals, walrus, whales, sharks and a huge variety of sport fish.