Official State of Alaska Vacation Planner

SOUTHWEST Fishing fleets, windswept shores, winged migrations, marine mammals LAY OF THE LAND Southwest Alaska is known as a water world, a place that stretches from the Cook Inlet and Alaska Peninsula's windswept coastline to more than 1,000 miles into the Bering Sea. Life here revolves around the ocean— Bristol Bay is responsible for about half the world's wild-caught salmon, and legendary crab fishing thrives in the Bering Sea. But this pristine place is larger than California and encompasses more than seashore: it's also home to mountains and volcanoes, broad deltas and verdant highlands, sparkling lakes and rivers, and breathtaking boreal forests. Outdoor lovers come here to hike, fly-fish, boat, and fat-tire bike. Birders converge at the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta to see thousands of birds, ducks, and geese, or trek to the Pribilof Islands to see rare seabirds perching on the steep cliffs. But the summer's biggest stars? The coastal brown bears—the largest land predators in the world. This region has been home to four Alaska Native cultures for thousands of years: the Unangax, Alutiiq (Sugpiaq), Yup'ik, and Cup'ik people, all of whom developed lifestyles focused on harvesting natural bounty. The Unangax and Alutiiq were the first to encounter Russian explorers in the 18th century, and today, their culture seamlessly incorporates that Russian influence. Travel here rarely involves driving. Some visitors arrive on cruise ships. Others charter a plane or take regularly scheduled flights, and some arrive via the Alaska Marine Highway, which has summer service through Kodiak along the Aleutian Islands to Dutch Harbor. KNOWN FOR: PARKS Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Izembek National Wildlife Refuge Katmai National Park and Preserve Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Lake Clark National Park & Preserve McNeil River State Game Sanctuary & Refuge Togiak National Wildlife Refuge Wood-Tikchik State Park HISTORICAL SITES Aleutian World War II National Historic Area Attu Battlefield & U.S. Army & Navy Airfields National Historic Landmark Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base Fort Abercrombie State Historical Park Russian-American Co. Magazin National Historic Landmark SCENIC BYWAYS Alaska Marine Highway K u s kok w i m R i ve r Y u k o n R i ve r T a n a n a R i ver Y u k o n R i v er K o yu k u k R i v e r Arctic Circle Wrangell-St. Elias Nat'l Park & Preserve Glacier Bay Nat'l Park & Preserve Kluane Nat'l Park Misty Nat'l Aniakchak Nat'l Monument & Preserve Kodiak Nat'l Wildlife Refuge Togiak Nat'l Wildlife Refuge GULF OF ALASKA CHUKCHI SEA BERING SEA BRISTOL BAY BEAUFORT SEA PACIFIC OCEAN ARCTIC OCEAN ST. MATTHEW ISLAND NUNIVAK ISLAND PRIBILOF ISLANDS Prince William Sound WHITEHORSE FAIRBANKS JUNEAU ALEUTIAN ISLANDS PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND CANADA U.S.A. ALASKA YUKON N.W. TERRITORIES BRITISH COLUMBIA Yukon-Charley Rivers Nat'l Preserve Katmai Nat'l Park & Preserve Lake Clark Nat'l Park & Preserve ST. LAWRENCE ISLAND Auke Bay Gates of The Arctic Nat'l Park & Preserve Arctic Nat'l Wildlife Refuge KODIAK ISLAND St. Paul Island St. George Island Tracy Arm Fjord Wasilla Palmer Girdwood Seward Valdez Sitka Ketchikan Glennallen McCarthy Ross River Nome Point Hope Kotzebue Chena Hot Springs Bethel Emmonak Scammon Bay Hooper Bay Iliamna Talkeetna Whittier Cordova Yakutat Haines Gustavus Skagway Petersburg Wrangell Hollis Metlakatla Prince Rupert Haines Jct. Dawson City Kennicott Gakona Jct. Tok Chicken Nenana Healy Kodiak Unalaska Dutch Harbor King Salmon Fort Yukon Circle Central Rampart Tanana St. Mary's Pilgrim Springs Savoonga Gambell Taylor Noatak Umiat Bettles Stevens Village Goodnews Bay Dillingham Chenaga Elfin Cove Pelican Tenakee Springs Angoon Kake Hyder/ Stewart Carcross Northway Beaver Creek Destruction Bay Carmacks Boundary Paxson Fox Salcha Cantwell Eagle Lake Louise Chitna Kenny Lake Copper Center Nabesna Tatitlek Old Harbor Wainwright Huslia Holy Cross McGrath Aniak Quinhagak Chignik Sand Point Cold Bay False Pass Akutan King Cove Naknek Mekoryuk Selawik Noorvik White Mountain Council Ouzinkie Port Lions Utqiaġvik (Barrow) Prudhoe Bay Deadhorse Anaktuvuk Pass Wiseman Coldfoot Arctic Village Shishmaref Wales Little Diomede Teller Port Alsworth Beaver Kaktovik Hoonah/ Icy Strait Point Hughes Sutton North Pole Delta Jct. N 2 2 2 3 3 3 1 1 1 4 SEASON Spring Summer Fall Winter 34° 61° 33° 13° 19° 46° 25° 1° 15 hrs 17 hrs 11 hrs 8 hrs H L Average temperatures in F° TEMPERATURES & DAYLIGHT T a n a n a R i ver Y u k o n R i v er K o yu k u k R i v e r Arctic Circle Wrangell-St. Elias Nat'l Park & Preserve Glacier Bay Nat'l Park & Preserve Kluane Nat'l Park Misty Nat'l GULF OF ALASKA CHUKCHI SEA BEAUFORT SEA PACIFIC OCEAN ARCTIC OCEAN Prince William Sound WHITEHORSE FAIRBANKS JUNEAU PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND CANADA U.S.A. ALASKA YUKON N.W. TERRITORIES BRITISH COLUMBIA Yukon-Charley Rivers Nat'l Preserve ST. LAWRENCE ISLAND Auke Bay Gates of The Arctic Nat'l Park & Preserve Arctic Nat'l Wildlife Refuge Tracy Arm Fjord Emmonak Wasilla Palmer Girdwood Seward Valdez Sitka Ketchikan Glennallen McCarthy Ross River Nome Point Hope Kotzebue N 2 2 2 3 3 3 1 1 1 4 45 TravelAlaska.com/Southwest T a n a n a R i ver Y u k o n R i v er K o yu k u k R i v e r Arctic Circle Wrangell-St. Elias Nat'l Park & Preserve Glacier Bay Nat'l Park & Preserve Kluane Nat'l Park Misty Nat'l GULF OF ALASKA CHUKCHI SEA BEAUFORT SEA PACIFIC OCEAN ARCTIC OCEAN Prince William Sound WHITEHORSE FAIRBANKS JUNEAU PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND CANADA U.S.A. ALASKA YUKON N.W. TERRITORIES BRITISH COLUMBIA Yukon-Charley Rivers Nat'l Preserve ST. LAWRENCE ISLAND Auke Bay Gates of The Arctic Nat'l Park & Preserve Arctic Nat'l Wildlife Refuge Tracy Arm Fjord Emmonak Wasilla Palmer Girdwood Seward Valdez Sitka Ketchikan Glennallen McCarthy Ross River Nome Point Hope Kotzebue N 2 2 2 3 3 3 1 1 1 4

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