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  • The Snowy Owl is a powerful arctic predator, active during the day from dawn to dusk. Visit the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, Alaska, USA. Snowy Owls (also known as Arctic owl, Great White owl, or harfang des neiges in French) nest in the Arctic tundra of the northermost stretches of Alaska, Canada, and Eurasia. They winter south through Canada and northern Eurasia, with irruptions occurring further south in some years. The Snowy Owl is a large bird of prey with a rounded head, yellow eyes, black bill, and heavily feathered feet.. The adult male is virtually pure white, but females and young birds have some dark scalloping; the young are heavily barred, and dark spotting may even predominate. It was formerly regarded as the sole member of a genus (Nyctea scandiaca), but mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data (Olsen et al. 2002) shows that it is very closely related to the horned owls in the genus Bubo, so it is now called Bubo scandiacus. It is the official bird of Quebec. Snowy Owl calls are varied, but the alarm call is a barking, almost quacking krek-krek; the female also has a softer mewling pyee-pyee or prek-prek. The song is a deep repeated gawh.
    06AK_8014-Snowy-Owl_Alaska-Zoo.jpg
  • A polar bear (Ursus maritimus) in the Alaska Zoo, Anchorage, Alaska, USA. Polar bears live mostly within the Arctic Circle, Arctic Ocean, and surrounding land. It is the world's largest land carnivore and the largest bear, together with the similar sized Kodiak Bear.
    06AK_8052-Polar-bear_Alaska-Zoo.jpg
  • Musk ox in the Alaska Zoo, Anchorage, Alaska, USA. A musk ox (ovibos moschatus), is not an ox, and has no musk glands. Instead, it is a relative of sheep and goats. 3000 musk ox live in Alaska and 100,000 more live worldwide in the far north. Due to their habit of huddling together in a circle (with calves in the center) when threatened, they nearly went extinct after the invention of guns.
    06AK_8042-Musk-ox_ovibos-moschatus_A...jpg
  • A white Dall sheep grows large curved horns at the Alaska Zoo, Anchorage, Alaska, USA. Dall sheep (Ovis dalli) are native to northwestern North America. The sheep inhabit the subarctic mountain ranges of Alaska, the Yukon Territory, the Mackenzie Mountains in the western Northwest Territories, and northern British Columbia.
    06AK_8030-Dall-sheep_Alaska-Zoo.jpg
  • A white Dall sheep grows large curved horns at the Alaska Zoo, Anchorage, Alaska, USA. Dall sheep (Ovis dalli) are native to northwestern North America. The sheep inhabit the subarctic mountain ranges of Alaska, the Yukon Territory, the Mackenzie Mountains in the western Northwest Territories, and northern British Columbia.
    06AK_8026-Dall-sheep_Alaska-Zoo.jpg
  • Fireweed blooms pink magenta at Summit Lake (3210 feet elevation) beneath the snowy Alaska Range, along the Richardson Highway near Paxson, in Alaska, USA. Panorama stitched from 2 overlapping photos.
    06AK_3142-43pan_Summit-Lake_Alaska-R...jpg
  • A pickup truck on the Richardson Highway pulls a boat trailer towards snowy Alaska Range, in Alaska, USA. Panorama stitched from 2 overlapping photos.
    06AK_3140-41pan_Alaska-Range_Richard...jpg
  • A polar bear (Ursus maritimus) in the Alaska Zoo, Anchorage, Alaska, USA. Polar bears live mostly within the Arctic Circle, Arctic Ocean, and surrounding land. It is the world's largest land carnivore and the largest bear, together with the similar sized Kodiak Bear.
    06AK_8046-Polar-bear_Alaska-Zoo.jpg
  • A polar bear (Ursus maritimus) in the Alaska Zoo, Anchorage, Alaska, USA. Polar bears live mostly within the Arctic Circle, Arctic Ocean, and surrounding land. It is the world's largest land carnivore and the largest bear, together with the similar sized Kodiak Bear. Published in the book "On Thin Ice: The Changing World of the Polar Bear" by Richard Ellis 2009, from Alfred A. Knopf and Random House.
    06AK_8045-Polar-bear_Alaska-Zoo.jpg
  • A colorful rainbow arches over Alaska Railroad train engines. The Alaska Railroad carries both freight and passengers from Whittier and Seward to Anchorage, Denali National Park, Fairbanks, Eielson Air Force Base, and Fort Wainwright in Alaska, USA. The railroad is connected to the lower 48 via three rail barges that sail between the Port of Whittier and Harbor Island in Seattle, Washington.
    06AK_3260-Alaska-Railroad-rainbow-De...jpg
  • A colorful rainbow arches over Alaska Railroad train engines. The Alaska Railroad carries both freight and passengers from Whittier and Seward to Anchorage, Denali National Park, Fairbanks, Eielson Air Force Base, and Fort Wainwright in Alaska, USA. The railroad is connected to the lower 48 via three rail barges that sail between the Port of Whittier and Harbor Island in Seattle, Washington.
    06AK_3255-Alaska-Railroad-rainbow-De...jpg
  • Fireweed blooms pink magenta at Summit Lake (3210 feet elevation) beneath the snowy Alaska Range, along the Richardson Highway near Paxson, in Alaska, USA.
    06AK_3146_Summit-Lake_Alaska-Range.jpg
  • A brown bear (called a grizzly in the Lower 48) strides over a log in the Alaska Zoo, Anchorage, Alaska, USA. The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is an omnivorous mammal of the order Carnivora, found across northern Eurasia (including Russia and Scandinavia) and North America. The easiest place to see brown bears in the wild is by taking the bus on the Denali National Park Road in Alaska.
    06AK_8031-Brown-bear_grizzly_Alaska-...jpg
  • Fireweed blooms pink magenta at Summit Lake (3210 feet elevation) beneath the snowy Alaska Range, along the Richardson Highway near Paxson, in Alaska, USA.
    06AK_3150_Summit-Lake_Alaska-Range.jpg
  • The tidewater Cascade and Barry Glaciers pour from the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains into Barry Arm of Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters). Panorama stitched from 2 overlapping photos.
    06AK_2011-12pan_Cascade-Barry-Glacie...jpg
  • The Alaska Range rises above tundra and a braided river seen from near Polychrome Overlook, in Denali National Park, Alaska, USA.
    06AK_4129-Polychrome-Denali-NP.jpg
  • The Trans Alaska Pipeline (or Alyeska Pipeline) crosses the Alaska Range and conveys crude oil 800 miles (1287 km) from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, Alaska, USA. Heat Pipes conduct heat from the oil to aerial fins to avoid melting the permafrost. The 48-inch diameter (122 cm) pipeline is privately owned by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. The Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) includes The Pipeline, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, 11 pump stations, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. Environmental, legal, and political debates followed the discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay in 1968. After the 1973 oil crisis caused a sharp rise in oil prices in the United States and made exploration of the Prudhoe Bay oil field economically feasible, legislation removed legal challenges and the pipeline was built 1974-1977. Extreme cold, permafrost, and difficult terrain challenged builders. Tens of thousands of workers flocked to Alaska, causing a boomtown atmosphere in Valdez, Fairbanks, and Anchorage. Oil began flowing in 1977. The pipeline delivered the oil spilled by the huge 1989 Exxon Valdez oil tanker disaster, which caused environmental damage expected to last 20-30 years in Prince William Sound. Panorama stitched from 4 overlapping photos.
    06AK_3209-12pan_Alyeska-Pipeline.jpg
  • A flower bed and old wooden wheel rest by the old Watsjold Groceries & Meat building labeled "GENERAL MERCHANDISE" in historic McCarthy, Alaska, USA. McCarthy and nearby Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark are nestled under the glacier-clad Wrangell Mountains within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Old mine buildings, artifacts, and colorful history attract summer visitors. Remote McCarthy is connected to Chitina via the McCarthy Road spur of the Edgerton Highway. At the east end of McCarthy Road, visitors must park their vehicle and walk across the footbridge to McCarthy. From McCarthy, a privately-operated shuttle takes visitors 5 miles to Kennecott. After copper was discovered between the Kennicott Glacier and McCarthy Creek in 1900, the Kennecott town, mines, and Kennecott Mining Company were created and named after the adjacent glacier. Kennicott Glacier and River had previously been named after Robert Kennicott, a naturalist who explored in Alaska in the mid-1800s. The corporation and town stuck with a mistaken spelling of "Kennecott" with an e (instead of "Kennicott" with an i). Partly because alcoholic beverages and prostitution were forbidden in the company town of Kennecott, the neighboring town of McCarthy grew quickly to provide a bar, brothel, gymnasium, hospital, and school. The Copper River and Northwestern Railway reached McCarthy in 1911 to haul over 200 million dollars worth of ore 196 miles to the port of Cordova on Prince William Sound. By 1938, the worlds richest concentration of copper ore was mostly gone, the town was mostly abandoned, and railroad service ended. Not until the 1970s did the area began to draw young people for adventure and the big money of the Trans Alaska Pipeline project. Declaration of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in 1980 drew adventurous tourists who helped revive McCarthy with demand for needed services. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve is the largest National Park in the USA.
    06AK_3038-McCarthy.jpg
  • Boilerplate. Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark and nearby McCarthy nestle under the glacier-clad Wrangell Mountains within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska, USA. Old mine buildings, artifacts, and colorful history attract summer visitors. Remote McCarthy is connected to Chitina via the McCarthy Road spur of the Edgerton Highway. At the east end of McCarthy Road, visitors must park their vehicle and walk across the footbridge to McCarthy. From McCarthy, a privately-operated shuttle takes visitors 5 miles to Kennecott. After copper was discovered between the Kennicott Glacier and McCarthy Creek in 1900, the Kennecott town, mines, and Kennecott Mining Company were created and named after the adjacent glacier. Kennicott Glacier and River had previously been named after Robert Kennicott, a naturalist who explored in Alaska in the mid-1800s. The corporation and town stuck with a mistaken spelling of "Kennecott" with an e (instead of "Kennicott" with an i). Partly because alcoholic beverages and prostitution were forbidden in the company town of Kennecott, the neighboring town of McCarthy grew quickly to provide a bar, brothel, gymnasium, hospital, and school. The Copper River and Northwestern Railway reached McCarthy in 1911 to haul over 200 million dollars worth of ore 196 miles to the port of Cordova on Prince William Sound. By 1938, the worlds richest concentration of copper ore was mostly gone, the town was mostly abandoned, and railroad service ended. Not until the 1970s did the area began to draw young people for adventure and the big money of the Trans Alaska Pipeline project. Declaration of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in 1980 drew adventurous tourists who helped revive McCarthy with demand for needed services. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (the largest National Park in the USA) is honored by UNESCO as part of an International Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
    06AK_3028-Kennecott-Mines-NHL.jpg
  • The tidewater Surprise Glacier pours from the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains into Harriman Fjord in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_2035-Surprise-Glacier.jpg
  • The tidewater Surprise Glacier pours from the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains into Harriman Fjord in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters). Panorama stitched from 2 overlapping photos.
    06AK_2025-26pan_Surprise-Glacier.jpg
  • At sunset, lines of clouds form patterns against blue sky over Cook Inlet, Ninilchik, Alaska, USA. Ninilchik is on the west side of the Kenai Peninsula, 38 miles southwest of Kenai on Sterling Highway, 188 miles by road from Anchorage and 44 miles from Homer. Ninilchik hosts the annual Kenai Peninsula State Fair. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act recognized Ninilchik as an Alaska Native village. Panorama stitched from 2 overlapping photos.
    06AK_1146-47pan_sunset-Ninilchik.jpg
  • Drive to Worthington Glacier State Recreation Site near Thompson Pass in the Chugach Mountains, at milepost 28.7 of Richardson Highway east of Valdez, Alaska, USA. See one of the few US glaciers accessible by paved highway. Like most of Alaskas glaciers, this valley glacier has been steadily retreating for the last 150 years, but not as dramatically as many others. Thompson Pass is the snowiest place recorded in Alaska, with 551.5 inches (1,401 cm) of snow per year on average. The winter of 1952-1953 set an Alaskan record of more than 80 feet of snow. An Alaskan record snowfall of 62 inches (160 cm) fell in a single day, December 29, 1955. Panorama stitched from 2 overlapping photos.
    06AK_2177-78pan_Worthington-Glacier.jpg
  • Drive to Worthington Glacier State Recreation Site near Thompson Pass in the Chugach Mountains, at milepost 28.7 of Richardson Highway east of Valdez, Alaska, USA. See one of the few US glaciers accessible by paved highway. Like most of Alaskas glaciers, this valley glacier has been steadily retreating for the last 150 years, but not as dramatically as many others. Thompson Pass is the snowiest place recorded in Alaska, with 551.5 inches (1,401 cm) of snow per year on average. The winter of 1952-1953 set an Alaskan record of more than 80 feet of snow. An Alaskan record snowfall of 62 inches (160 cm) fell in a single day, December 29, 1955.
    06AK_2140-Worthington-Glacier.jpg
  • Chairs invite guests to Ma Johnson's Hotel porch, in McCarthy, Alaska, USA. McCarthy and nearby Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark are nestled under the glacier-clad Wrangell Mountains within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska, USA. Old mine buildings, artifacts, and colorful history attract summer visitors. Remote McCarthy is connected to Chitina via the McCarthy Road spur of the Edgerton Highway. At the east end of McCarthy Road, visitors must park their vehicle and walk across the footbridge to McCarthy. From McCarthy, a privately-operated shuttle takes visitors 5 miles to Kennecott. After copper was discovered between the Kennicott Glacier and McCarthy Creek in 1900, the Kennecott town, mines, and Kennecott Mining Company were created and named after the adjacent glacier. Kennicott Glacier and River had previously been named after Robert Kennicott, a naturalist who explored in Alaska in the mid-1800s. The corporation and town stuck with a mistaken spelling of "Kennecott" with an e (instead of "Kennicott" with an i). Partly because alcoholic beverages and prostitution were forbidden in the company town of Kennecott, the neighboring town of McCarthy grew quickly to provide a bar, brothel, gymnasium, hospital, and school. The Copper River and Northwestern Railway reached McCarthy in 1911 to haul over 200 million dollars worth of ore 196 miles to the port of Cordova on Prince William Sound. By 1938, the worlds richest concentration of copper ore was mostly gone, the town was mostly abandoned, and railroad service ended. Not until the 1970s did the area began to draw young people for adventure and the big money of the Trans Alaska Pipeline project. Declaration of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in 1980 drew adventurous tourists who helped revive McCarthy with demand for needed services. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (the largest National Park in the USA) is honored by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
    06AK_3045-McCarthy.jpg
  • A US flag flies from a boat touring glaciers hanging from the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains along Harriman Fjord in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_2072-Harriman-Fjord_Barry-Arm.jpg
  • A raft of sea otters (Enhydra lutris) floats in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_2000-Otters_Barry-Arm.jpg
  • Tidewater glaciers pour from the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains into College Fjord, part of Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_1238-College-Fjord_PWS.jpg
  • Ride the Phillips Cruises 26 Glacier Cruise In One Day to College Fjord, Barry Arm, and Harriman Fjord from Whittier, Alaska, USA. Whittier sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal, on the west side of Prince William Sound, in Alaska, USA. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_1199-Phillips-cruises-map.jpg
  • A Steller Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus, or northern sea lion) plays with a firehose in an aquarium tank at the Alaska Sealife Center, Seward, Alaska. Steller Sea Lions are an endangered species in parts of Alaska and threatened elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest USA.
    06AK_7119-Steller-sea-lion_AK-Sealif...jpg
  • Granite cliffs soar a mile above the mile-wide Great Gorge of the Ruth Glacier in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, USA. Flightsee over a vast wilderness of glaciers and icy peaks in the Alaska Range. Ruth Glacier was 3800 feet thick in 1983 and flows 3 feet a day from Denali (20,310 feet or 6191 meters, aka Mount McKinley), the highest mountain peak in North America. Denali is a granitic pluton uplifted by tectonic pressure while erosion has simultaneously stripped away the softer sedimentary rock above and around it.
    06AK_6015-fly-Denali.jpg
  • Dramatic architecture and distinctive exhibit galleries make the Museum of the North a must-see destination at the University of Alaska, in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA.
    06AK_3238-UA-Museum-of-the-North.jpg
  • Kennecott Concentration Mill rises 14 stories tall beneath Bonanza Ridge in the Wrangell Mountains, Alaska, USA. Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark and nearby McCarthy lie within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, the largest National Park in the USA. Old mine buildings, artifacts, and colorful history attract summer visitors. Remote McCarthy is connected to Chitina via the McCarthy Road spur of the Edgerton Highway. At the east end of McCarthy Road, visitors must park their vehicle and walk across the footbridge to McCarthy. From McCarthy, a privately-operated shuttle takes visitors 5 miles to Kennecott. After copper was discovered between the Kennicott Glacier and McCarthy Creek in 1900, the Kennecott town, mines, and Kennecott Mining Company were created and named after the adjacent glacier. Kennicott Glacier and River had previously been named after Robert Kennicott, a naturalist who explored in Alaska in the mid-1800s. The corporation and town stuck with a mistaken spelling of "Kennecott" with an e (instead of "Kennicott" with an i). Partly because alcoholic beverages and prostitution were forbidden in the company town of Kennecott, the neighboring town of McCarthy grew quickly to provide a bar, brothel, gymnasium, hospital, and school. The Copper River and Northwestern Railway reached McCarthy in 1911 to haul over 200 million dollars worth of ore 196 miles to the port of Cordova on Prince William Sound. By 1938, the worlds richest concentration of copper ore was mostly gone, the town was mostly abandoned, and railroad service ended. Not until the 1970s did the area began to draw young people for adventure and the big money of the Trans Alaska Pipeline project. Declaration of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in 1980 drew adventurous tourists who helped revive McCarthy with demand for needed services. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve is honored by UNESCO as part of an International Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage
    06AK_3066-Kennecott-Mines-NHL.jpg
  • Drive to Worthington Glacier State Recreation Site near Thompson Pass in the Chugach Mountains, at milepost 28.7 of Richardson Highway east of Valdez, Alaska, USA. See one of the few US glaciers accessible by paved highway. Like most of Alaskas glaciers, this valley glacier has been steadily retreating for the last 150 years, but not as dramatically as many others. Thompson Pass is the snowiest place recorded in Alaska, with 551.5 inches (1,401 cm) of snow per year on average. The winter of 1952-1953 set an Alaskan record of more than 80 feet of snow. An Alaskan record snowfall of 62 inches (160 cm) fell in a single day, December 29, 1955. Panorama stitched from 12 overlapping photos.
    06AK_2141-52pan_Worthington-Glacier.jpg
  • At sunset, lines of pink and magenta clouds glow in blue sky over a recreational vehicle (RV), in Ninilchik, Alaska, USA. Ninilchik is on the west side of the Kenai Peninsula, 38 miles southwest of Kenai on Sterling Highway, 188 miles by road from Anchorage and 44 miles from Homer. Ninilchik hosts the annual Kenai Peninsula State Fair. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act recognized Ninilchik as an Alaska Native village.
    06AK_1166_sunset-Ninilchik.jpg
  • A worker fillets and sprays a halibut, which is a flatfish, genus Hippoglossus, from the family of the right-eye flounders (Pleuronectidae). In Alaska, the town of Homer claims to be the "halibut fishing capital of the world." Village nicknames include "Homer - a quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem" [bumper sticker] and "the end of the road." Homer is the southernmost town on the contiguous Alaska highway system. Homer is at the end of Sterling Highway (part of Alaska Route 1) on Kenai Peninsula, on the shore of Kachemak Bay, Alaska, USA.
    06AK_1102_Halibut_Homer.jpg
  • Flightsee over Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, USA. See a vast wilderness of glaciers, icy peaks, and mile deep granite gorges in the Alaska Range.
    06AK_5234-fly-Denali.jpg
  • The tidewater Cascade and Barry Glaciers pour from the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains into Barry Arm of Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters). Panorama stitched from 4 overlapping photos.
    06AK_2089-92pan_Cascade-Barry-Glacie...jpg
  • The tidewater Surprise Glacier pours from the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains into Harriman Fjord in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_2037-Surprise-Glacier.jpg
  • Glaciers pour from the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains into Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_1276.jpg
  • Tidewater glaciers pour from the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains into College Fjord, part of Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters). Panorama stitched from 7 overlapping photos.
    06AK_1258-64pan_College-Fjord_PWS.jpg
  • CruiseAmerica RVs park beneath glaciated peaks in Homer, on the shore of Kachemak Bay, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, USA. The town of Homer claims to be the "halibut fishing capital of the world." Village nicknames include "Homer - a quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem" [bumper sticker] and "the end of the road." Homer is the southernmost town on the contiguous Alaska highway system: the end of Sterling Highway, part of Alaska Route 1.
    06AK_1107-Homer-RVs-mountains.jpg
  • Beneath Phoenix Peak, Exit Glacier flows from the Harding Icefield in the Kenai Mountains of Alaska, USA. The only road into Kenai Fjords National Park is a spur of the Seward Highway to Exit Glacier, one of the most visited glaciers in Alaska. It was named after the exit of the first recorded crossing of Harding Icefield in 1968. Hike trails to the glacier terminus or up to Harding Icefield. From 1815-1999, the Exit Glacier in Alaska retreated 6549 feet, melting an average of 35 feet per year (according to www.nps.gov/kefj/). Over the past 50 years, Alaska’s winters have warmed by 6.3°F (3.5°C) and its annual average temperature has increased 3.4°F (2.0°C) (Karl et al. 2009). Alaska has warmed more than twice as fast as the continental United States. Since the industrial revolution began, humans have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration by 35% through burning fossil fuels, deforesting land, and grazing livestock. An overwhelming consensus of climate scientists agree that global warming is indeed happening and humans are contributing to it through emission of greenhouse gases (primarily carbon dioxide). The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007) says "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global average sea level. There is very high confidence that the net effect of human activities since 1750 has been one of warming."
    02AK-04-32_Exit-Glacier-ice-Phoenix-...jpg
  • See Harding Icefield on the Exit Glacier Trail in the Kenai Mountains of Alaska, USA. Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) blooms pink in an alpine meadow. The only road into Kenai Fjords National Park is a spur of the Seward Highway to Exit Glacier, one of the most visited glaciers in Alaska. It was named after the exit of the first recorded crossing of Harding Icefield in 1968. Hike trails to the glacier terminus or up to Harding Icefield. From 1815-1999, Exit Glacier retreated 6549 feet, melting an average of 35 feet per year, according to www.nps.gov/kefj/.
    06AK_6120-Harding-Icefield.jpg
  • Bonanza Ridge, which supplied one the worlds richest copper mines, rises in the Wrangell Mountains behind Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska, USA. Old mine buildings, artifacts, and colorful history attract summer visitors. From McCarthy, a privately-operated shuttle takes visitors 5 miles to Kennecott. Remote McCarthy is connected to Chitina via the McCarthy Road spur of the Edgerton Highway. At the east end of McCarthy Road, visitors must park their vehicle and walk across the footbridge to McCarthy. After copper was discovered on Bonanza Ridge between the Kennicott Glacier and McCarthy Creek in 1900, the Kennecott town, mines, and Kennecott Mining Company were created and named after the adjacent glacier. Kennicott Glacier and River had previously been named after Robert Kennicott, a naturalist who explored in Alaska in the mid-1800s. The corporation and town stuck with a mistaken spelling of "Kennecott" with an e (instead of "Kennicott" with an i). Partly because alcoholic beverages and prostitution were forbidden in the company town of Kennecott, the neighboring town of McCarthy grew quickly to provide a bar, brothel, gymnasium, hospital, and school. The Copper River and Northwestern Railway reached McCarthy in 1911 to haul over 200 million dollars worth of ore 196 miles to the port of Cordova on Prince William Sound. By 1938, the copper ore was mostly gone, the town was mostly abandoned, and railroad service ended. Not until the 1970s did the area began to draw young people for adventure and the big money of the Trans Alaska Pipeline project. Declaration of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in 1980 drew adventurous tourists who helped revive McCarthy with demand for needed services. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (the largest National Park in the USA) is honored by UNESCO as part of an International Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
    06AK_3025-Kennecott-Mines-NHL.jpg
  • At sunset, lines of orange yellow clouds form patterns against dark blue sky over Cook Inlet, Ninilchik, Alaska, USA. Ninilchik is on the west side of the Kenai Peninsula, 38 miles southwest of Kenai on Sterling Highway, 188 miles by road from Anchorage and 44 miles from Homer. Ninilchik hosts the annual Kenai Peninsula State Fair. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act recognized Ninilchik as an Alaska Native village.
    06AK_1158_sunset-Ninilchik.jpg
  • Denali rises to 20,310 feet elevation (6191 m, aka Mount McKinley) along Denali National Park Road near Eielson Visitor Center, Alaska, USA. Denali is the highest mountain peak in North America, and measured from base to peak, it is earth's tallest mountain on land. Denali is only visible 1 out of 3 days. Rain falls as light showers or drizzle for half of summer days. The earliest shuttle bus doesnt reach Denali views until mid morning. The least cloudy time is early morning, which suggests overnight tenting at Wonder Lake to best see the mountain. Mount McKinley is a granitic pluton uplifted by tectonic pressure while erosion has simultaneously stripped away the somewhat softer sedimentary rock above and around it. Panorama stitched from 2 overlapping photos.
    06AK_4062-63pan_Denali_Mt-McKinley_S...jpg
  • Drive to Worthington Glacier State Recreation Site near Thompson Pass in the Chugach Mountains, at milepost 28.7 of Richardson Highway east of Valdez, Alaska, USA. See one of the few US glaciers accessible by paved highway. Like most of Alaskas glaciers, this valley glacier has been steadily retreating for the last 150 years, but not as dramatically as many others. Thompson Pass is the snowiest place recorded in Alaska, with 551.5 inches (1,401 cm) of snow per year on average. The winter of 1952-1953 set an Alaskan record of more than 80 feet of snow. An Alaskan record snowfall of 62 inches (160 cm) fell in a single day, December 29, 1955.
    06AK_2160-Worthington-Glacier.jpg
  • Flightsee over the Alaska Range and Denali National Park and Preserve, in Alaska, USA. See a vast wilderness of glaciers, icy peaks, and mile deep granite gorges.
    06AK_5216-fly-Denali.jpg
  • Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) leaves turn red in early September in Denali State Park, Alaska, USA.
    06AK_5052-fireweed.jpg
  • Tour Kenai Fjords National Park via commercial boat from Seward, Alaska, USA. From Seward (130 miles south of Anchorage at the end of the Seward Highway), start your day cruise visiting Resurrection Bay, Aialik Bay, fjords, tidewater glaciers, and wildlife.
    02AK-09-06_Kenai-Fjords-NP.jpg
  • Tundra foliage turns red in early September above the Harding Icefield, in the Kenai Mountains, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska, USA. The only road into Kenai Fjords National Park is a spur of the Seward Highway to Exit Glacier, one of the most visited glaciers in Alaska. Exit Glacier was named after the exit of the first recorded crossing of Harding Icefield in 1968. A trail ascends alongside Exit Glacier to overlook its source in the Harding Icefield.
    06AK_7038-Harding-Icefield.jpg
  • Salty Dawg Saloon, Homer, Alaska, USA. The Salty Dawg started out as one of the first cabins built in 1897, soon after Homer became a town site. It served as the first post office, a railroad station, a grocery store, and a coal mining office for twenty years. In 1909 a second building served as a school house, post office, grocery store. In April 1957, it opened as the Salty Dawg Saloon. The Alaska Territory became the 49th state of the union in January 1959. Salty Dawg Saloon was moved to its present location after the 1964 âGood Friday❠earthquake. The distinctive lighthouse tower was added to cover a water storage tank.
    06AK_1056_Salty-Dawg-Lighthouse_Home...jpg
  • See Mount Hunter and Mount McKinley from the confluence of the Talkeetna and Susitna Rivers at Talkeetna, Alaska, USA. Paddle a rubber raft. Denali (20,310 feet or 6191 meters, aka Mount McKinley) is the highest mountain peak in North America, and measured from base to peak, it is earth's tallest mountain on land. Mount McKinley is a granitic pluton uplifted by tectonic pressure while erosion has simultaneously stripped away the somewhat softer sedimentary rock above and around it.
    06AK_5149-Mts-Hunter-McKinley-p$1.jpg
  • Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) leaves turn purple and red in early September in Denali State Park, Alaska, USA.
    06AK_5054-fireweed.jpg
  • Alpine tundra plant leaves turn red in late August at Wonder Lake, Denali National Park, Alaska, USA.
    06AK_4092.jpg
  • Orange and gray lichen grows in polygons in Denali State Park, Alaska, USA
    06AK_5073-lichen-pattern-orange.jpg
  • Seen from above, a river meanders through forest in Alaska, USA.
    06AK_6074-fly-Denali.jpg
  • Glacier crevasses form a pattern in the Alaska Range, Denali National Park and Preserve, USA.
    06AK_5233-fly-Denali.jpg
  • A fungus fruits with an orange mushroom in Denali State Park, Alaska, USA.
    06AK_5092-mushroom-macro.jpg
  • An orange, yellow, green leaf rests on polygons of orange and gray lichen on a rock in Denali State Park, Alaska, USA.
    06AK_5061-lichen-pattern-orange.jpg
  • Homer Small Boat Harbor, Kachemak Bay, Homer, Alaska, USA.
    06AK_1060_Homer-Small-Boat-Harbor.jpg
  • Bunchberry (cornus canadensis, or Dwarf Dogwood, Dwarf Cornel, or Crackerberry) foliage turns red and yellow and produces edible red berries in late August in Denali National Park, Alaska, USA.
    06AK_4026.jpg
  • Horsetail Falls and pink blooms of fireweed, along the Richardson Highway in Keystone Canyon (mileposts 14-17), in the Chugach Mountains, near Valdez, southcentral Alaska, USA.
    06AK_2197-Horsetail-Falls.jpg
  • Tour Aialik Glacier in Aialik Bay via commercial boat in Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska, USA. From Seward (130 miles south of Anchorage at the end of the Seward Highway), start your day cruise visiting Resurrection Bay, Aialik Bay, fjords, tidewater glaciers, and wildlife.
    02AK-08-29-Aialik-boat.jpg
  • Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) leaves turn red and yellow in late August in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, USA.
    06AK_4237-fireweed.jpg
  • The northern lights glow after midnight in late August at Teklanika Campground, Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. In 1621, Pierre Gassendi named the aurora borealis after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for north wind, Boreas.
    06AK_4173-Northern-Lights_Denali-NP.jpg
  • Alpine tundra plants are dwarfed by harsh climate at Wonder Lake, Denali National Park, Alaska, USA. Fungi fruits with a white mushroom.
    06AK_4091-mushrooms.jpg
  • The world's largest Santa Claus statue greets visitors to Santa Claus House in the Christmas themed town of North Pole (14 miles east of Fairbanks), Alaska, USA. Standing 42 feet high and weighing 900 pounds, this Santa was built for the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle, and then travelled promotionally until emplaced at North Pole in 1983. Saint Nicholas was born in Patara on the Aegean Sea coast of Anatolia (Asia Minor). As a Byzantine Christian bishop, Nicholas of Myra anonymously dropped gifts of coins down the chimneys of village girls who lacked dowries, thereby allowing them to marry and probably avoid a life of prostitution. After his death he was declared Saint Nicholas, patron saint of virgins, sailors, children, pawnbrokers, Holy Russia, and others. Saint Nicholas' town of Myra is now called Demre in the Republic of Turkey. The fame of Saint Nicholas grew in different cultures, such as in the Dutch figure of "Sancte Claus," and in the German legend of Christkindl (the Christ child) who was helped by the elf Belsnickle, imitated by adults in furs who brought gifts. These traditions evolved into Kris Kringle, as defined by Reverend Clement Moore in the famous 1822 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" which starts: " 'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house / Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse... ." In the Civil War era of the United States of America, Thomas Nast further solidified the image of Kris Kringle in Harper's Magazine illustrations of a familiar white-bearded, gleaming-eyed man. Today in Turkey, Saint Nicholas is known as "Noel Baba", or Father Christmas.
    06AK_3223-Santa_North-Pole.jpg
  • A captive male reindeer sports antlers in the Christmas themed town of North Pole, Alaska, USA. Reindeer and caribou look different, but they are probably the same species of deer (Rangifer tarandus) which are well adapted to Arctic and Subarctic regions. Both sexes grow antlers, which are typically larger in males. Reindeer are well known from the Christmas myth where flying reindeer pull Santa Claus's sleigh, as popularized since the early 1800s in America. Caribou are large, wild, elk-like animals which live on lichen and vegetation above tree-line in arctic North America and Greenland. Reindeer are slightly smaller and were domesticated in northern Eurasia about 2000 years ago. Today, reindeer are herded by many Arctic peoples in Europe and Asia including the Sami in Scandinavia and the Nenets, Chukchi, and others in Russia. Reindeer and caribou have unique hairs which trap air for excellent insulation and flotation for swimming cold rivers.
    06AK_3221-reindeer_domestic-caribou.jpg
  • The Russian Orthodox Church in the town of Ninilchik was redesigned and constructed in 1901 in Alaska, USA. Notice that the Russian Orthodox Cross has two extra arms: the top arm represents the inscribed acronyms [ INRI in Latin,  in Greek, and a Hebrew version, meaning "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews" ], and the angled bottom arm is his footrest. Russian Orthodox religion was born in Kiev in the "land of the Rus" in 988 AD as a branch of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. After Russian discovery of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands in 1741, Russian fur traders taught Christianity to Alaskan Natives. The first eight Russian Orthodox missionaries came to Kodiak Island, Alaska (Russian America) in 1794. The religion spread amongst Alaskans, and the monks mission was made a diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church a few years after the United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867. Ninilchik is on the Sterling Highway on the west side of the Kenai Peninsula on the coast of Cook Inlet, 186 miles by road from Anchorage and 38 miles from Homer. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act recognized Ninilchik as an Alaska Native village. Ninilchik hosts the annual Kenai Peninsula State Fair.
    06AK_1124_Russian-Orthodox-Church-Ni...jpg
  • The Trans Alaska Pipeline (or Alyeska Pipeline) crosses the Alaska Range and conveys crude oil 800 miles (1287 km) from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, Alaska, USA. Heat Pipes conduct heat from the oil to aerial fins to avoid melting the permafrost. The 48-inch diameter (122 cm) pipeline is privately owned by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. The Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) includes "The Pipeline", several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, 11 pump stations, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. Environmental, legal, and political debates followed the discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay in 1968. After the 1973 oil crisis caused a sharp rise in oil prices in the United States and made exploration of the Prudhoe Bay oil field economically feasible, legislation removed legal challenges and the pipeline was built 1974-1977. Extreme cold, permafrost, and difficult terrain challenged builders. Tens of thousands of workers flocked to Alaska, causing a boomtown atmosphere in Valdez, Fairbanks, and Anchorage. Oil began flowing in 1977. The pipeline delivered the oil spilled by the huge 1989 Exxon Valdez oil tanker disaster, which caused environmental damage expected to last 20-30 years in Prince William Sound.
    06AK_3202-Alyeska-Pipeline.jpg
  • The Trans Alaska Pipeline (or Alyeska Pipeline) crosses the Alaska Range and conveys crude oil 800 miles (1287 km) from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, Alaska, USA. The Pipeline snakes above ground in "S" shapes to enable expansion and contraction as weather varies. Horizontal slip-bars allow for sliding in a severe earthquake. The 48-inch diameter (122 cm) pipeline is privately owned by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. The Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) includes "The Pipeline", several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, 11 pump stations, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. Environmental, legal, and political debates followed the discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay in 1968. After the 1973 oil crisis caused a sharp rise in oil prices in the United States and made exploration of the Prudhoe Bay oil field economically feasible, legislation removed legal challenges and the pipeline was built 1974-1977. Extreme cold, permafrost, and difficult terrain challenged builders. Tens of thousands of workers flocked to Alaska, causing a boomtown atmosphere in Valdez, Fairbanks, and Anchorage. Oil began flowing in 1977. The pipeline delivered the oil spilled by the huge 1989 Exxon Valdez oil tanker disaster, which caused environmental damage expected to last 20-30 years in Prince William Sound.
    06AK_3197-Alyeska-Pipeline.jpg
  • The Trans Alaska Pipeline (or Alyeska Pipeline) crosses the Alaska Range and conveys crude oil 800 miles (1287 km) from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, Alaska, USA. The 48-inch diameter (122 cm) pipeline is privately owned by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. The Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) includes "The Pipeline", several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, 11 pump stations, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. Environmental, legal, and political debates followed the discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay in 1968. After the 1973 oil crisis caused a sharp rise in oil prices in the United States and made exploration of the Prudhoe Bay oil field economically feasible, legislation removed legal challenges and the pipeline was built 1974-1977. Extreme cold, permafrost, and difficult terrain challenged builders. Tens of thousands of workers flocked to Alaska, causing a boomtown atmosphere in Valdez, Fairbanks, and Anchorage. Oil began flowing in 1977. The pipeline delivered the oil spilled by the huge 1989 Exxon Valdez oil tanker disaster, which caused environmental damage expected to last 20-30 years in Prince William Sound.
    06AK_3195-Alyeska-Pipeline.jpg
  • The Russian Orthodox Church in the town of Ninilchik was redesigned and constructed in 1901 in Alaska, USA. In the graveyard, notice that the Russian Orthodox Cross has two extra arms: the top arm represents the inscribed acronyms [ INRI in Latin,  in Greek, and a Hebrew version, meaning "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews" ], and the angled bottom arm is his footrest. Russian Orthodox religion was born in Kiev in the "land of the Rus" in 988 AD as a branch of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. After Russian discovery of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands in 1741, Russian fur traders taught Christianity to Alaskan Natives. The first eight Russian Orthodox missionaries came to Kodiak Island, Alaska (Russian America) in 1794. The religion spread amongst Alaskans, and the monks mission was made a diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church a few years after the United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867. Ninilchik is on the Sterling Highway on the west side of the Kenai Peninsula on the coast of Cook Inlet, 186 miles by road from Anchorage and 38 miles from Homer. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act recognized Ninilchik as an Alaska Native village. Ninilchik hosts the annual Kenai Peninsula State Fair.
    06AK_1119_Russian-Orthodox-Church-Ni...jpg
  • The Trans Alaska Pipeline (or Alyeska Pipeline) crosses the Alaska Range and conveys crude oil 800 miles (1287 km) from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, Alaska, USA. Heat Pipes conduct heat from the oil to aerial fins to avoid melting the permafrost. The 48-inch diameter (122 cm) pipeline is privately owned by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. The Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) includes "The Pipeline", several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, 11 pump stations, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. Environmental, legal, and political debates followed the discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay in 1968. After the 1973 oil crisis caused a sharp rise in oil prices in the United States and made exploration of the Prudhoe Bay oil field economically feasible, legislation removed legal challenges and the pipeline was built 1974-1977. Extreme cold, permafrost, and difficult terrain challenged builders. Tens of thousands of workers flocked to Alaska, causing a boomtown atmosphere in Valdez, Fairbanks, and Anchorage. Oil began flowing in 1977. The pipeline delivered the oil spilled by the huge 1989 Exxon Valdez oil tanker disaster, which caused environmental damage expected to last 20-30 years in Prince William Sound.
    06AK_3218-Alyeska-Pipeline.jpg
  • The Trans Alaska Pipeline (or Alyeska Pipeline) crosses the Alaska Range and conveys crude oil 800 miles (1287 km) from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, Alaska, USA. Heat Pipes conduct heat from the oil to aerial fins to avoid melting the permafrost. The 48-inch diameter (122 cm) pipeline is privately owned by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. The Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) includes "The Pipeline", several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, 11 pump stations, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. Environmental, legal, and political debates followed the discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay in 1968. After the 1973 oil crisis caused a sharp rise in oil prices in the United States and made exploration of the Prudhoe Bay oil field economically feasible, legislation removed legal challenges and the pipeline was built 1974-1977. Extreme cold, permafrost, and difficult terrain challenged builders. Tens of thousands of workers flocked to Alaska, causing a boomtown atmosphere in Valdez, Fairbanks, and Anchorage. Oil began flowing in 1977. The pipeline delivered the oil spilled by the huge 1989 Exxon Valdez oil tanker disaster, which caused environmental damage expected to last 20-30 years in Prince William Sound.
    06AK_3193-Alyeska-Pipeline.jpg
  • Whittier sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal, on the west side of Prince William Sound, in Alaska, USA. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_1208-Passage_Canal_PWS.jpg
  • A woman reaches for a Steller Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus, or northern sea lion) playing with a firehose in an aquarium tank at the Alaska Sealife Center, Seward, Alaska. Steller Sea Lions are an endangered species in parts of Alaska and threatened elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest USA. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    06AK_7118-Steller-sea-lion_AK-Sealif...jpg
  • Old wooden wagon, McCarthy, Alaska, USA. McCarthy and nearby Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark are nestled under the glacier-clad Wrangell Mountains within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska, USA. Old mine buildings, artifacts, and colorful history attract summer visitors. Remote McCarthy is connected to Chitina via the McCarthy Road spur of the Edgerton Highway. At the east end of McCarthy Road, visitors must park their vehicle and walk across the footbridge to McCarthy. From McCarthy, a privately-operated shuttle takes visitors 5 miles to Kennecott. After copper was discovered between the Kennicott Glacier and McCarthy Creek in 1900, the Kennecott town, mines, and Kennecott Mining Company were created and named after the adjacent glacier. Kennicott Glacier and River had previously been named after Robert Kennicott, a naturalist who explored in Alaska in the mid-1800s. The corporation and town stuck with a mistaken spelling of "Kennecott" with an e (instead of "Kennicott" with an i). Partly because alcoholic beverages and prostitution were forbidden in the company town of Kennecott, the neighboring town of McCarthy grew quickly to provide a bar, brothel, gymnasium, hospital, and school. The Copper River and Northwestern Railway reached McCarthy in 1911 to haul over 200 million dollars worth of ore 196 miles to the port of Cordova on Prince William Sound. By 1938, the worlds richest concentration of copper ore was mostly gone, the town was mostly abandoned, and railroad service ended. Not until the 1970s did the area began to draw young people for adventure and the big money of the Trans Alaska Pipeline project. Declaration of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in 1980 drew adventurous tourists who helped revive McCarthy with demand for needed services. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (the largest National Park in the USA) is honored by UNESCO as part of an International Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
    06AK_3047-McCarthy.jpg
  • Kittiwake bird rookery, Prince William Sound, Chugach Mountains, Alaska, USA.  The Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_2112-Kittiwake-rookery.jpg
  • The tidewater Surprise Glacier pours from the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains into Harriman Fjord in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_2036-Surprise-Glacier.jpg
  • A hiker explores the Exit Glacier, which flows from the Harding Icefield in the Kenai Mountains of Alaska, USA. The only road into Kenai Fjords National Park is a spur of the Seward Highway to Exit Glacier, one of the most visited glaciers in Alaska. It was named after the exit of the first recorded crossing of Harding Icefield in 1968. Hike trails to the glacier terminus or up to Harding Icefield. From 1815-1999, the Exit Glacier in Alaska retreated 6549 feet, melting an average of 35 feet per year (according to www.nps.gov/kefj/). Over the past 50 years, Alaska’s winters have warmed by 6.3°F (3.5°C) and its annual average temperature has increased 3.4°F (2.0°C) (Karl et al. 2009). Alaska has warmed more than twice as fast as the continental United States. Since the industrial revolution began, humans have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration by 35% through burning fossil fuels, deforesting land, and grazing livestock. An overwhelming consensus of climate scientists agree that global warming is indeed happening and humans are contributing to it through emission of greenhouse gases (primarily carbon dioxide). The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007) says "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global average sea level. There is very high confidence that the net effect of human activities since 1750 has been one of warming."
    06AK_7009-Exit-Glacier_Kenai-FNP.jpg
  • Exit Glacier flows from the Harding Icefield in the Kenai Mountains of Alaska, USA. The only road into Kenai Fjords National Park is a spur of the Seward Highway to Exit Glacier, one of the most visited glaciers in Alaska. It was named after the exit of the first recorded crossing of Harding Icefield in 1968. Hike trails to the glacier terminus or up to Harding Icefield. From 1815-1999, the Exit Glacier in Alaska retreated 6549 feet, melting an average of 35 feet per year (according to www.nps.gov/kefj/). Over the past 50 years, Alaska’s winters have warmed by 6.3°F (3.5°C) and its annual average temperature has increased 3.4°F (2.0°C) (Karl et al. 2009). Alaska has warmed more than twice as fast as the continental United States. Since the industrial revolution began, humans have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration by 35% through burning fossil fuels, deforesting land, and grazing livestock. An overwhelming consensus of climate scientists agree that global warming is indeed happening and humans are contributing to it through emission of greenhouse gases (primarily carbon dioxide). The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007) says "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global average sea level. There is very high confidence that the net effect of human activities since 1750 has been one of warming."
    06AK_7002-Exit-Glacier_Kenai-FNP.jpg
  • Exit Glacier flows from the Harding Icefield in the Kenai Mountains of Alaska, USA. The only road into Kenai Fjords National Park is a spur of the Seward Highway to Exit Glacier, one of the most visited glaciers in Alaska. It was named after the exit of the first recorded crossing of Harding Icefield in 1968. Hike trails to the glacier terminus or up to Harding Icefield. From 1815-1999, the Exit Glacier in Alaska retreated 6549 feet, melting an average of 35 feet per year (according to www.nps.gov/kefj/). Over the past 50 years, Alaska’s winters have warmed by 6.3°F (3.5°C) and its annual average temperature has increased 3.4°F (2.0°C) (Karl et al. 2009). Alaska has warmed more than twice as fast as the continental United States. Since the industrial revolution began, humans have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration by 35% through burning fossil fuels, deforesting land, and grazing livestock. An overwhelming consensus of climate scientists agree that global warming is indeed happening and humans are contributing to it through emission of greenhouse gases (primarily carbon dioxide). The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007) says "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global average sea level. There is very high confidence that the net effect of human activities since 1750 has been one of warming."
    06AK_7001-Exit-Glacier_Kenai-FNP.jpg
  • The tidewater Cascade and Barry Glaciers pour from the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains into Barry Arm of Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_2089-Cascade-Barry-Glaciers-p1.jpg
  • Ice tumbles from tidewater Cascade Glacier into Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_2083.jpg
  • The tidewater Cascade and Barry Glaciers pour from the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains into Barry Arm of Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_2079_Cascade_Barry-Glacier.jpg
  • The tidewater Serpentine Glacier pours from the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains into Harriman Fjord in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_2067_Serpentine-Glacier_Harrima...jpg
  • The tidewater Harriman Glacier pours from the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains into Harriman Fjord in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_2066-Harriman-Glacier.jpg
  • The tidewater Surprise Glacier pours from the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains into Harriman Fjord in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_2053-Surprise-Glacier.jpg
  • The tidewater Surprise Glacier pours from the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains into Harriman Fjord in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_2047-Surprise-Glacier.jpg
  • The tidewater Surprise Glacier pours from the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains into Harriman Fjord in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_2034-Surprise-Glacier.jpg
  • Glaciers in the Chugach Mountains melt into Barry Arm of Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_2009-Barry-Arm.jpg
  • The tidewater Cascade Glacier pours from the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains into Barry Arm of Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_2007-Cascade-Glacier_Barry-Arm.jpg
  • Tidewater glaciers pour from the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains into College Fjord, part of Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters). Panorama stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    06AK_1254-56pan_College-Fjord_PWS.jpg
  • Tidewater glaciers pour from the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains into College Fjord, part of Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters).
    06AK_1252-College-Fjord_PWS.jpg
  • Tidewater glaciers pour from the steep and glaciated Chugach Mountains into College Fjord, part of Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Prince William Sound is surrounded by Chugach National Forest (the second largest national forest in the USA). Tour spectacular Prince William Sound by commercial boat from Whittier, which sits strategically on Kenai Peninsula at the head of Passage Canal. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ferry service which operates along the south-central coast, eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Cruise ships stop at the port of Whittier for passenger connections to Anchorage (by road 60 miles) and to the interior of Alaska via highway and rail (the Denali Express). Known by locals as the Whittier tunnel or the Portage tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel links Whittier via Portage Glacier Highway to the Seward Highway and Anchorage. At 13,300 feet long (4050 m), it is the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Whittier was severely damaged by tsunamis triggered by the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, when thirteen people died from waves reaching 43 feet high (13 meters). Panorama stitched from 6 overlapping photos.
    06AK_1241-46pan_College-Fjord_PWS.jpg
  • People are dwarfed by the Exit Glacier, which flows from the Harding Icefield in the Kenai Mountains of Alaska, USA. The only road into Kenai Fjords National Park is a spur of the Seward Highway to Exit Glacier, one of the most visited glaciers in Alaska. It was named after the exit of the first recorded crossing of Harding Icefield in 1968. Hike trails to the glacier terminus or up to Harding Icefield. From 1815-1999, the Exit Glacier in Alaska retreated 6549 feet, melting an average of 35 feet per year (according to www.nps.gov/kefj/). Over the past 50 years, Alaska’s winters have warmed by 6.3°F (3.5°C) and its annual average temperature has increased 3.4°F (2.0°C) (Karl et al. 2009). Alaska has warmed more than twice as fast as the continental United States. Since the industrial revolution began, humans have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration by 35% through burning fossil fuels, deforesting land, and grazing livestock. An overwhelming consensus of climate scientists agree that global warming is indeed happening and humans are contributing to it through emission of greenhouse gases (primarily carbon dioxide). The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007) says "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global average sea level. There is very high confidence that the net effect of human activities since 1750 has been one of warming."
    06AK_1179-Exit-Glacier_Kenai-FNP.jpg
  • Exit Glacier terminus in 2006. Exit Glacier flows from the Harding Icefield in the Kenai Mountains of Alaska, USA, and terminates near a visitor center. The only road into Kenai Fjords National Park is a spur of the Seward Highway to Exit Glacier, one of the most visited glaciers in Alaska. It was named after the exit of the first recorded crossing of Harding Icefield in 1968. Hike trails to the glacier terminus or up to Harding Icefield. From 1815-1999, the Exit Glacier in Alaska retreated 6549 feet, melting an average of 35 feet per year (according to www.nps.gov/kefj/). Over the past 50 years, Alaska’s winters have warmed by 6.3°F (3.5°C) and its annual average temperature has increased 3.4°F (2.0°C) (Karl et al. 2009). Alaska has warmed more than twice as fast as the continental United States. Since the industrial revolution began, humans have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration by 35% through burning fossil fuels, deforesting land, and grazing livestock. An overwhelming consensus of climate scientists agree that global warming is indeed happening and humans are contributing to it through emission of greenhouse gases (primarily carbon dioxide). The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007) says "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global average sea level. There is very high confidence that the net effect of human activities since 1750 has been one of warming."
    06AK_1173-Exit-Glacier_Kenai-FNP.jpg
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