Barrow in the Arctic Ocean. The area of land comprised within the 

 limits of Alaska has been estimated at 531,000 square miles, one-sixth 

 of the total area of the United States. 



The south-eastern part of Alaska, the narrow strip already men- 

 tioned, and which at the present time most interests us on account of 

 its undefined boundary, is shielded from the open sea by a vast archi- 

 pelago of islands, large and small, 1,100 in round numbers, most of 

 these being mountainous throughout, and all covered with a dense 

 growth of spruce, hemlock and cedar. 



The islands vary in size from 125 miles in length to mere defin- 

 itions. Beside the channels, straits, bays, inlets and canals found here, 

 the fiords of Norway and scheres of Finland sink into insignificance. 



As we proceed northwesterly along the coast, the mountains increase 

 in height culminating in the lotty St. Elias on or near the international 

 boundary. His foot is laved by the Pacific, while his snow) head is 

 wrapped in clouds. Mont Blanc, the giant ot European mountains, would 

 need a pedestal 3,000 feet high to bring it to the height of our inter- 

 national landmark. 



The highly mountainous character of the coast line continues to 

 the extremity of the Alaskan peninsula. 



On rounding the peninsula and following the shore line, a total 

 change of the aspect of the coast can be observed. Low, sandy reaches 

 and slightly elevated moorland cover the wide interval between the 

 mountains and the shores of Bering Sea. Similar it is along the Arctic 

 Ocean with occasional rocky spurs and steep cliffs. 



The great highway of the interior of Alaska is the Yukon, one of 

 the large rivers of the world. In some parts of its course, through the 

 tundra regions, it is several miles in width. Its vast unsurveyed deltoid 

 mouth makes navigation, with anything but light-draught vessels, 

 impossible. 



The length of coast line of Alaska's mainland and islands is nearly 

 four times that of all other parts of the United States combined, being 

 over 26,000 miles, while that of the rest of the United States, from 

 Maine to California, is only about 7,000 miles. 



The climate of the Alaskan coast regions is much milder, even in 



