Alaska Panhandle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Alaska Panhandle is the southeastern portion of the coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, which lies just west of the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia. In many places, the international border runs along the crest of the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains (see Alaska boundary dispute).
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[edit] Geography
The Panhandle includes the Tongass National Forest, Glacier Bay National Park, Admiralty Island National Monument, Misty Fjords National Monument, Alaska's Inside Passage, and myriad large and small islands. The largest islands are, from North to South, Chichagof Island, Admiralty Island, Baranof Island, and Prince of Wales Island. Major bodies of water of the Alaska Panhandle include Glacier Bay, Lynn Canal, Icy Strait, Chatham Strait, Stephens Passage, Frederick Sound, Sumner Strait, and Clarence Strait.
On August 20, 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt established the Alexander Archipelago Forest Reserve, which formed the heart of the Tongass National Forest that covers most of the region.
[edit] Ecology
Wildlife includes brown bears, black bears, wolves, Sitka deer, humpback whales, orcas, five species of salmon, bald eagles, harlequin ducks, scoters, and marbled murrelets.
[edit] Cities and towns
Major cities are Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan. Other towns are Petersburg, Wrangell, Metlakatla, Haines, Hoonah, Angoon, Kake, Craig, Klawock, Yakutat, Skagway, and Gustavus. There are also many tiny (under 100 people) towns and villages, such as Pelican, Tenakee Springs, Port Protection, Port Frederick, Port Alexander, Baranof Warm Springs, Elfin Cove, Excursion Inlet, Hyder, and Meyers Chuck.
[edit] Culture
This area is the traditional homeland of the Tlingit people.
[edit] Transportation
Due to the extremely rural nature of Southeastern Alaska, almost all communities (with the exception of Hyder, Skagway, and Haines) have no road connections outside of their locale so aerial and marine transportation becomes the only way to get around. The Alaska Marine Highway passes through the islthis region.
[edit] Air transportation
Alaska Airlines is far and away the largest air carrier in the region, with Juneau's Juneau International Airport serving as the aerial hub for all of Southeast and Ketchikan's Ketchikan International Airport serving as a secondary hub for southern Southeast Alaska. However, Alaska Airline's Boeing 737s can only be handled by a few airports in the region and Alaska's bush airlines serve many of the smaller and more isolated communities and villages in the regions. L.A.B. Flying Service (based out of Haines), Wings of Alaska (based out of Juneau), Alaska Seaplane Service (based out of Juneau), and Skagway Air Service (based out of Skagway) are the primary bush carriers in region and also offer cargo service to smaller communities.
[edit] Marine transportation
Southeast Alaska is primarily served by the state-run Alaska Marine Highway and secondarily by the Prince of Wales Island-based Inter-Island Ferry Authority although small companies like Sitka-based Alaska Catamaran and a myriad of independent operators in the Lynn Canal also occasionally offer marine passenger service.
| Image:Flag of Alaska.svg | State of Alaska
Juneau (capital) |
|---|---|
| Regions |
Aleutian Islands | Arctic Alaska | Bush Alaska | Interior | Kenai Peninsula | Mat-Su Valley | North Slope | Panhandle | Seward Peninsula | Southcentral | Southwest | Tanana Valley | Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta |
| Largest cities |
Anchorage | Barrow | Bethel | Fairbanks | Homer | Juneau | Kenai | Ketchikan | Kodiak | Kotzebue | Nome | Palmer | Petersburg | Seward | Sitka | Unalaska | Valdez | Wasilla |
| Boroughs |
Aleutians East | Anchorage | Bristol Bay | Denali | Fairbanks North Star | Haines | Juneau | Kenai Peninsula | Ketchikan Gateway | Kodiak Island | Lake and Peninsula | Matanuska-Susitna | North Slope | Northwest Arctic | Sitka | Yakutat |
| Census areas |
Aleutians West | Bethel | Dillingham | Nome | Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan | Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon | Southeast Fairbanks | Valdez-Cordova | Wade Hampton | Wrangell-Petersburg | Yukon-Koyukuk | (see also) Unorganized Borough |
