NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Southwest Alaska

Southwest Alaska is a region of the U.S. state of Alaska, part of the Alaska Bush. Image File history File links Lake_Clark_National_Park. ... Image File history File links Lake_Clark_National_Park. ... Lake Clark is a lake in southern Alaska at about 60°15 North 15°41 West. ... This list of regions of the United States includes official (governmental) and non-official areas within the borders of the United States, not including U.S. states, the federal district of Washington, D.C. or standard subentities such as cities or counties. ... A state of the United States (a U.S. state) is any one of the fifty states (four of which officially favor the term commonwealth) which, along with the District of Columbia, form the United States of America. ... Official language(s) English Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Area Ranked 1st - Total 663,267 sq mi (1,717,854 kmÂ²) - Width 808 miles (1,300 km) - Length 1,479 miles (2,380 km) - % water 13. ...

Geography

Like all regions of the state, it has no formal boundaries; one rough definition includes the Aleutians East, Bristol Bay, Kodiak Island, and Lake and Peninsula boroughs and the Aleutians West, Bethel, Dillingham, and Wade Hampton census areas, plus the portion of the Kenai Peninsula Borough west of Cook Inlet. By this definition, Southwest Alaska has an area of 442,194 km² (170,732 mi²). Aleutians East Borough is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. ... Bristol Bay Borough is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska on Bristol Bay or Iilgayaq Bay. ... Kodiak Island Borough is a borough located in the state of Alaska. ... Lake and Peninsula Borough is a borough located in the state of Alaska. ... Aleutians West Census Area is a census area located in the U.S. state of Alaska. ... Bethel Census Area is a census area located in the U.S. state of Alaska. ... Dillingham Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska. ... Wade Hampton Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska. ... Kenai Peninsula Borough is a borough located in the state of Alaska. ... Cook Inlet, showing Knik and Turnagain Arms The Cook Inlet or Nuti Inlet is a large inlet of the Gulf of Alaska in south-central Alaska. ...

This area, in turn, can be divided into six subregions: the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, the Bristol Bay area, the Alaska Peninsula, the Aleutian Islands, the Kodiak Archipelago, and the Pribilof Islands. The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region is a treeless tundra located in southwestern Alaska. ... Shore of Bristol Bay near Naknek. ... Volcanoes on the Alaska Peninsula The Alaska Peninsula is a peninsula extending about 800 km (500 miles) to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. ... Looking down the Aleutians from an airplane. ... The Kodiak Archipelago is an archipelago, or group of islands, south of the mainland of the United States state of Alaska, about 405 km (252 miles) by air south of Anchorage in the Gulf of Alaska. ... The Pribilof Islands (often called the Fur Seal Islands, Russian: Kotovi) are a group of four volcanic islands, part of Alaska, lying in the Bering Sea, about 200 miles north of Unalaska and 200 miles south of Cape Newenham, the nearest point on the North American mainland. ...

Much of Southwest Alaska is part of the Aleutian volcanic arc, and the region contains most of Alaska's volcanoes, including Mount Katmai, Novarupta and the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, Mount Redoubt, Mount Iliamna, and Augustine Volcano. Image File history File links Map of Alaska Peninsula volcanoes. ... Image File history File links Map of Alaska Peninsula volcanoes. ... A volcano is a geological landform usually generated by the eruption through a planets surface of magma, molten rock welling up from the planets interior. ... This article is about Katmai, the volcano. ... Novarupta, meaning new eruption, is a volcano located on the Alaska Peninsula in the Katmai area, about 290 miles southwest of Anchorage. ... The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is a valley within Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska which is filled with ash flow from the eruption of Novarupta on June 6-June 8, 1912. ... Mount Redoubt is an active volcano in the Aleutian Range on the Alaska Peninsula in Alaska, at 60°29 North 152°45 West. ... Iliamna Volcano is a glacier-carved volcanic peak located approximately 215 km (134 mi) southwest of Anchorage on the west side of lower Cook Inlet. ... Augustine Volcano is a stratovolcano in southwestern Cook Inlet, southcentral coastal Alaska, 280 kilometres (180 miles) southwest of Anchorage. ...

Protected areas

Southwest Alaska contains numerous state and federal protected areas. These include:

The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (often shortened to Alaska Maritime or AMNWR) is a United States National Wildlife Refuge comprising 2,400 islands, headlands, rocks, islets, spires and reefs in Alaska, with a total area of 4. ... The Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge is a portion of southwestern Alaska whose use is regulated as an ecological_protection measure. ... Aerial-view of the caldera of Mount Aniakchak from the west The Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve is a U.S. National Monument and National Preserve, consisting of the region around the Aniakchak volcano on the Aleutian Range of south-western Alaska, United States. ... Katmai National Park and Preserve is a United States National Park in Alaska, notable for the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and for its brown bears. ... The Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge is a wilderness area in the Kodiak Archipelago in southern Alaska in the United States. ... Established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is a United States National Park in southwestern Alaska. ... Wood-Tikchik State Park is the largest state park in Alaska, containing over 1. ...

Mountain ranges

The Aleutian Range is the mountain range of the Alaska Peninsula in southeast Alaska. ... The Kuskokwim Mountains is a range of mountains in southwestern Alaska west of the Alaska Range and southeast of the Yukon River, at about 61°00 North 155°00 West. ...

Rivers

The Kuskokwim River is a river, approximately 650 mi (1,110 km) long, in southwest Alaska in the United States. ... The Nushagak River is a river in southwest Alaska, at about 60Â°50 North 154Â° West. ... Map of the Yukon River watershed The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. ...

Lakes

Becharof Lake is a 37-miles long lake located on Alaska Peninsula, 23 miles SE of Egegik, Aleutian Range. ... Lake Clark is a lake in southern Alaska at about 60°15 North 15°41 West. ... Iliamna Lake or Lake Iliamna is a lake in southwest Alaska at 59Â°46â€² N 154Â°50â€² W, at the base of the Alaska Peninsula. ... Naknek Lake is a lake in southern Alaska, near the base of the Alaska Peninsula, at about 58°40 North 156°12 West. ...

Demographics

Southwest Alaska had a population of 53,349 as of the 2000 census, less than one-tenth of Alaska's inhabitants. The largest cities were Kodiak (6,334), Bethel (5,471), Unalaska/Dutch Harbor (4,283), and Dillingham (2,466). Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (3000x2000, 623 KB) Summary Aerial view of w:Kodiak, Alaska. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (3000x2000, 623 KB) Summary Aerial view of w:Kodiak, Alaska. ... Aerial view of Kodiak Kodiak is a city located in Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska. ... The 22nd United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13. ... Aerial view of Kodiak Kodiak is a city located in Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska. ... Bethel is a city located in Bethel Census Area, Alaska 340 miles west of Anchorage. ... Unalaska is a small city on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Islands, off the coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. ... Dillingham is a city located in Dillingham Census Area, Alaska. ...

The population is in large part Alaska Native, with 58.1% identifying as entirely or partly "Native American" in the 2000 census. Natives in Southwest Alaska are mainly Central Yupik in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and Bristol Bay areas, Alutiiq on the eastern Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island, Aleut in the Aleutians, Pribilofs, and the western Alaska Peninsula, and a few Dena'ina Athabaskans near the western shore of Cook Inlet. Alaskan Natives are Aboriginal Americans who live in Alaska. ... The Yupik or, in the Central Alaskan language, Yupik, are indigenous or aboriginal peoples who live along the coast of western Alaska, especially on the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta and along the Kuskokwim River (Central Alaskan Yupik), in southern Alaska (the Alutiiq) and in the Russian Far East and St. ... The Alutiiq (plural: Alutiit), also called Pacific Yupik or Sugpiaq, are a southern, coastal branch of Alaskan Yupik. ... The Aleuts (self-denomination: Unangax, Unangan or Unanga) are the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, U.S.A. and Chukotka, Russia. ... Dena’ina (also Tanaina) is the Athabaskan language of the Cook Inlet area of Alaska, with four dialects located: Kenai Peninsula southcentral Alaska Upper Cook Inlet north of Anchorage, Alaska Coastal west side of the Cook Inlet Inland areas of the west side of the Cook Inlet Dena’ina can... Athabaskan or Athabascan (also Athapascan or Athapaskan) is the name of a large group of distantly related Native American peoples, also known as the Athabasca Indians or Athapaskes, and of their language family. ...

Economy

Most of the smaller settlements rely on subsistence activities. Fishing, both commercial and recreational, is a mainstay of the economy, along with hunting and tourism. Kodiak and Unalaska are among the most productive fishing ports in the United States. The salmon, trout, king crab, and halibut fisheries are extremely lucrative. The following is a list of subsistence techniques: Hunting and Gathering, also known as Foraging freeganism involves gathering of discarded food in the context of an urban environment gleaning involves the gathering of food that traditional farmers have left behind in their fields Cultivation Horticulture - plant cultivation, based on the... Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish. ... Salmon for sale at a marketplace The Fishing industry is the commercial activity of fishing and producing fish and other seafood products. ... Sport fishing is a form of recreational fishing where the primary reward is the challenge of finding and catching the fish rather than the culinary or financial value of the fishs flesh. ... A hunter on horseback shoots at deer or elk with a bow. ... El Nido, Philippines Tourism is the act of travel for the purpose of recreation and business, and the provision of services for this act. ... The Chinook or King Salmon is the largest salmon in North America and can grow to 1. ... Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Biwa trout (Oncorhynchus masou subsp) Trout is the common name given to a number of species of freshwater fish belonging to the salmon family, Salmonidae. ... Genera Acantholithodes Cryptolithodes Dermaturus Glyptolithodes Hapalogaster Lithodes Lopholithodes Neolithodes Oedignathus Paralithodes Paralomis Phyllolithodes Placetron Rhinolithodes King crabs, also called stone crabs, are a family of crab-like decapod crustaceans chiefly found in cold seas. ... A large halibut with a fisher to its right A halibut is a type of flatfish from the family of the righteye flounders (Pleuronectidae). ...

Wildlife

Transportation

There are no road connections anywhere in Southwest Alaska, except occasionally between neighboring settlements. All transportation is by air or sea. Alaska Airlines serves the larger population centers; PenAir and, formerly, Reeve Aleutian Airways provide more complete coverage. Alaska Marine Highway ferries connect coastal settlements to the ports of Southcentral Alaska, while river barges are common in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Spirit of Disneyland parked at Ontario International Airports gate 206 Alaska Airlines (IATA: AS, ICAO: ASA, and Callsign: Alaska), (NYSE: ALK), based in Seattle, Washington, USA, has grown from a small regional airline to one carrying more than 12 million customers per year. ... Peninsula Airways, usually called PenAir, (IATA: KS, ICAO: PEN, and Callsign: Peninsula) is an airline based in Anchorage, Alaska, USA. Founded in 1955 by pilot Orin Seybert of Pilot Point, it is Alaskas largest commuter airline, operating both passenger and cargo service, primarily in the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian... Reeve Aleutian Airways was an airline company from Alaska. ... The Alaska Marine Highway or the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is a ferry service that is operated by the government of the state of Alaska in the United States. ... Self propelled barge carrying bulk crushed stone A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. ... The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region is a treeless tundra located in southwestern Alaska. ...

References

The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census) is a part of the United States Department of Commerce. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 19 is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 195 days remaining. ...

External links

Categories: Wikipedia articles needing clarification | Alaska geography Image File history File links Flag_of_Alaska. ... A state of the United States (a U.S. state) is any one of the fifty states (four of which officially favor the term commonwealth) which, along with the District of Columbia, form the United States of America. ... Official language(s) English Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Area Ranked 1st - Total 663,267 sq mi (1,717,854 kmÂ²) - Width 808 miles (1,300 km) - Length 1,479 miles (2,380 km) - % water 13. ... Image File history File links AlaskaStateSealTransparent. ... This is a list of United States state capitals: Trivia - Jefferson City (Missouri) has the longest name of the U.S. state capitals - Only two of the U.S. state capitals are named for their state: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Indianapolis, Indiana retard See also List of current and former... Juneau redirects here. ... This list of regions of the United States includes official (governmental) and non-official areas within the borders of the United States, not including U.S. states, the federal district of Washington, D.C. or standard subentities such as cities or counties. ... Looking down the Aleutians from an airplane. ... -1... Fall in Interior Alaska The interior of Alaska makes up most of the state. ... The Kenai Peninsula in Alaska The Kenai Peninsula is a large peninsula jutting from the southern coast of Alaska in the United States. ... Matanuska-Susitna Valley shown shaded in red north of Anchorage Matanuska-Susitna Valley (known locally as the Mat-Su Valley) is an area in south central Alaska south of the Alaska Range north and northeast of Anchorage. ... ... South Central Alaska consists of the portion of the state of Alaska, United States of America, from the shorelines and uplands of the Gulf of Alaska. ... The Alaska Panhandle is the coast of the American state of Alaska, just west of the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia. ... The Tanana Valley is the lowland region in central Alaska in the United States, on the north side of the Alaska Range where the Tanana River emerges from the mountains. ... The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region is a treeless tundra located in southwestern Alaska. ... Flag Nickname: The City of Lights and Flowers Location Location in the state of Alaska Coordinates , Government Borough Municipality of Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D) Geographical characteristics Area City 1,961. ... Barrow is a city in North Slope Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. ... Bethel is a city located in Bethel Census Area, Alaska 340 miles west of Anchorage. ... Nickname: The Golden Heart City Location Coordinates , Government Country State Borough United States Alaska Fairbanks North Star Incorporated November 10, 1903 Mayor Steve M. Thompson Geographical characteristics Area City 84. ... Homer is a town located in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska. ... Motto: Nickname: Map Political Statistics Founded 1881 Incorporated 1900 Juneau City and Borough Mayor Bruce Botelho Geographic Statistics Area - Total - Land - Water 8,430. ... Kenai is a city located in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska. ... Ketchikan (IPA: ) is the fifth-largest city in terms of population in the U.S. state of Alaska. ... Aerial view of Kodiak Kodiak is a city located in Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska. ... Kotzebue is a city located in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska. ... Nome is a city located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast of Norton Sound in the Nome Census Area, Alaska. ... Palmer is a city located in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska. ... Petersburg is a city located in Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area, Alaska. ... Seward is a city located in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska. ... Motto: Nickname: First City of Alaska Map Political Statistics Founded 1799 Incorporated December 2, 1971 Sitka Borough Mayor Marko Dapcevich Geographic Statistics Area - Total - Land - Water 12,461. ... Unalaska is a small city on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Islands, off the coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. ... Valdez is a city located in Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Alaska. ... For the Sarmatian god of the same name, see Wasilla (god) Wasilla (population 5,469) is a small city in southcentral Alaskas Matanuska-Susitna Borough. ... Map of Alaska boroughs and census areas The U.S. state of Alaska does not have counties in the sense of counties in the rest of the country. ... Aleutians East Borough is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. ... Flag Nickname: The City of Lights and Flowers Location Location in the state of Alaska Coordinates , Government Borough Municipality of Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D) Geographical characteristics Area City 1,961. ... Bristol Bay Borough is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska on Bristol Bay or Iilgayaq Bay. ... Denali Borough is a borough located in the state of Alaska. ... Fairbanks North Star Borough is a borough located in the state of Alaska. ... Haines Borough is a borough located in the state of Alaska. ... Motto: Nickname: Map Political Statistics Founded 1881 Incorporated 1900 Juneau City and Borough Mayor Bruce Botelho Geographic Statistics Area - Total - Land - Water 8,430. ... Kenai Peninsula Borough is a borough located in the state of Alaska. ... Ketchikan Gateway Borough is a borough located in the state of Alaska. ... Kodiak Island Borough is a borough located in the state of Alaska. ... Lake and Peninsula Borough is a borough located in the state of Alaska. ... Matanuska-Susitna Borough is a borough located in the state of Alaska. ... North Slope Borough is a borough located largely in the North Slope region of the state of Alaska. ... Northwest Arctic Borough is a borough located in the state of Alaska. ... Motto: Nickname: First City of Alaska Map Political Statistics Founded 1799 Incorporated December 2, 1971 Sitka Borough Mayor Marko Dapcevich Geographic Statistics Area - Total - Land - Water 12,461. ... Yakutat City and Borough is a borough and a city located in Alaska. ... Map of Alaska boroughs and census areas The U.S. state of Alaska does not have counties in the sense of counties in the rest of the country. ... Aleutians West Census Area is a census area located in the U.S. state of Alaska. ... Bethel Census Area is a census area located in the U.S. state of Alaska. ... Dillingham Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska. ... Nome Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska. ... Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska. ... Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska. ... Southeast Fairbanks Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska. ... Valdez-Cordova Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska. ... Wade Hampton Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska. ... Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska. ... Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska. ... Map of Alaska boroughs and census areas The Unorganized Borough is that part of Alaska not contained in any of its 16 organized boroughs. ...

Contents

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