Nature of Alaska: climate, relief, flora and fauna of the region
Alaska is the largest and "harsh" US state. The homeland of the Eskimos and Earth of the midnight sun captures incredible landscapes. What is remarkable about the wild nature of Alaska? Photo and description of the staff you will find further in the article.
The Last Frontier
Alaska is on the peninsula of the same name.northwestern part of the continent of North America. This is the most northern state of the United States and besides the exclave (dependent region, surrounded from the main territory of the country by other states). For these reasons, Alaska was named "The Last Frontier".
In addition to the continental part, the state coversthe island of Pribylov, the Aleutian Islands, the Alexander archipelago, the island of Kodiak, St. Lawrence, and other nearby islands. It borders on Canada, and across the Bering Strait - with Russia. In the south the state is washed by the Pacific Ocean, in the north it is surrounded by the Arctic Ocean, which in many respects influenced the formation of the nature of Alaska.
The region covers an area of 1.7 millionsquare kilometers. If you place it on top of the US map, it will stretch from Florida to California. Here live about 740 thousand people. The main and one of the largest cities of Alaska is Juneau. Other major cities are Anchorage, Sitka, Fairbanks, College.
Climate and Relief
A significant impact on the nature of Alaska had itsrelief. Alaska ridge stretches along the entire southern coast of the region, where McKinley Mountain is located - the highest peak in the United States. The mountain is also called Denali and extends to a height of 6,194 meters. In the eastern part of the ridge, next to the Canadian state of Yukon, is Mount Bona - a long extinct volcano covered with glaciers.
To the north of the ridge is a plateau with a swingheights from 1200 to 600 meters, which gradually turns into a lowland. Behind the plateau is the Brooks Range with heights from 950 to 2000 meters. Behind him is the Arctic Lowland. In Alaska there are "high-altitude record-holders of the USA", more than 20 peaks have an absolute height of 4 kilometers.
Because of the huge size of the staff, the climate and natureAlaska is different in its different parts. In the very north of the state the climate is arctic. Even in summer, the average temperature in this region is from -20 to -28 degrees. In other parts of the state the conditions are much softer.
In the south, the climate is humid with plenty ofprecipitation. The temperature in the summer is not as severe as in the north, but still low. On average, in July it reaches 13 degrees. The lowest temperature in Alaska, which was ever recorded, is -62 degrees.
Nature of Alaska
There are eight nationalparks. The largest of them, Gates-of-the-Alaska, is completely located beyond the Arctic Circle in the permafrost region. Despite the cold and hard climate, the wild nature of Alaska is quite diverse.
There are many reservoirs in the region. Here there are about 3 million lakes and 12 thousand rivers. The largest river is the Yukon. To the north about 40 thousand square meters. km are occupied by glaciers.
In the north-west of the country there are hugesand dunes. The inner part of the region covers the woodlands and tundra. They serve as a shelter for moose, grizzly bears, reindeer, mink, marten, fox, and wolverine.
In the southern part of Alaska there are meadows and conifersforests. Here live wolves, coyotes, baribals, partridges, Alaskan geese, hazel grouses. Among the ungulates are caribou, moose, snow goats, sometimes musk oxen.
At the coast of the state is no less active life. Near Alaska, walruses, sea lions, various kinds of whales, seals live. On the coast of the Pacific Ocean, there are many mollusks, shrimps and crabs.
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