Arctic Alaska Facts Land Area 400,000 square miles Population 200,000 Indigenous Groups Inuit, Aleut, Athapaskan, Languages English, Inuit Govt. Constl. Republic Mineral Resources Petroleum products, coal, gold, iron, copper Largest City Barrow (pop. 3,500) Economy Fishing, agriculture, forestry, mining, tourism Highest Point Mount Michelson (9,239 ft) Free E-Newsletter Receive Arctic News, Weather and Travel Information Click Here! Did you know? The name Alaska comes from an Aleut word meaning "land that is not an island." Point Barrow is the northernmost point of land in the United States. The chief river of Arctic Alaska is the Yukon, which flows westward 1,265 miles across the central part of the state before emptying into a large delta at the Bering Sea. One of the reasons that herds of caribou come to the North Slope Coastal Tundra in the spring and summer is to eat nutritious lichens and mosses.

Arctic U.S. - Alaska

Arctic Alaska has polar bears, caribou, and arctic foxes. The state's numerous streams are well stocked with trout, salmon, grayling, and other fish, and coastal marine waters contain abundant salmon, halibut, cod, herring, pollack, shrimp, clams, and crabs as well as whales.

The total population of native Alaskans is 85,698 (1990). The majority of Alaska's indigenous peoples live along the Arctic coast and in western Alaska, and many still support themselves in part by catching fish and sea mammals. The principal Native American groups are the Athabascan-speaking groups of the interior and the Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian of the southeast. The Aleut, closely related linguistically to the Inuit, live on the Alaska Peninsula and on the Aleutian and Shumagin islands.

Petroleum is the leading mineral produced in Alaska. The principal oil field is on the Arctic coastal plain, around Prudhoe Bay. Petroleum from this field is transported by the 800 mile long Trans-Alaska Pipeline to Valdez, where it is transferred to oceangoing tankers. Prudhoe Bay also contains one of the world's largest proven natural gas reserves.

The Alaskan North Slope coastal plain is one of the most remote and fascinating places in the Arctic. Sloping gradually downward from the Brooks Range to the Arctic Ocean, the plain is one of the most diverse areas of Arctic tundra in the world with many outstanding ecological features. It covers about 88,000 square miles -- nearly the size of Oregon. Permafrost is extensive under the surface of the plain, as are great deposits of petroleum and natural gas. Along the northern coast (the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas), sea ice remains well into the summer months. Rivers carry much gravel and silt and display well-developed meander patterns.

The Brooks Range rises above the Alaskan North Slope shielding the interior from marine influences. The Brooks Range is a northern extension of the Rocky Mountains that runs east-west for 600 miles across northern Alaska. The highest peak is Mount Michelson (9,239 feet) at the eastern end of the range. The mountains are sparsely populated by Nunamiut Inuit. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline passes through the range at Dietrich Valley.

Arctic areas of Alaska receive only about 10 to 24 inches of precipitation a year, with generally higher amounts along the coast. Long winters are the rule inland, with typical temperatures of - 40° F and occasional periods of several weeks duration when temperatures drop to as low as - 70° F. Summers are usually hot - -temperatures reach 90° F, skies are clear, and sunlight lasts for 24 a day. Winter temperatures along the coast are not as low as in the interior, but high winds can cause extreme chill factors. The Beaufort Sea tends to moderate summer temperatures.