Informations
Alaska, the largest state in the United States, is a land of extreme contrasts and wild beauty, covering more than 1.7 million square kilometers, nearly three times the size of France.
Located at the far northwest end of the North American continent, separated from the rest of the country by Canada, Alaska is bordered to the west by the Bering Sea and the Chukchi Sea, to the north by the Arctic Ocean, and to the south by the Pacific Ocean.
Its territory is shaped by imposing mountain ranges such as the Alaska Range, dominated by Mount Denali — formerly known as McKinley — which rises to 6,190 meters, making it the highest point in North America.
These rugged landscapes are complemented by vast boreal forests, Arctic tundras, spectacular fjords, millennia-old glaciers, and more than 3 million lakes, along with a jagged coastline stretching over 50,000 kilometers.
The climate in Alaska varies considerably by region: subarctic inland with harsh winters that can reach -40°C and short but intense summers; maritime to the southeast, around Juneau and the Alexander Archipelago, with milder, wetter winters; polar to the north, in cities like Barrow (now Utqiaġvik), where nights can last several weeks in winter.
Alaska is sparsely populated, with around 730,000 residents, mainly concentrated around the cities of Anchorage, Fairbanks, and the capital, Juneau.
The indigenous populations, such as the Inuits (or Yupiks), Aleuts, and Athabascans, have inhabited Alaska for millennia and still maintain a vibrant and respected cultural heritage.
The state’s economy is primarily based on the exploitation of natural resources: oil, particularly through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline connecting Prudhoe Bay to Valdez; fishing, especially for salmon, king crab, and halibut in the cold Pacific waters; timber; minerals; and more recently, eco-tourism.
Alaska attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year who come to admire its iconic national parks such as Denali National Park, Glacier Bay National Park, and Wrangell-St. Elias, the largest national park in the United States.
The wildlife here is exceptional: brown bears, grizzly bears, moose, caribou, elk, wolves, whales, bald eagles, and walruses populate these wild expanses.
Rich in imagery often associated with the gold rush, trappers, sled dogs, and the Northern Lights, Alaska retains a mystical aura of the "last frontier," a natural refuge far from the large urban centers, where humans live in harmony with the raw forces of nature.
Its isolation, resilience, and natural majesty make it a unique territory — both rugged and fascinating, yet deeply authentic.