2 CIRCULAR 3, FISH .\ND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



This extensive Territory may be divided into four broad geograph- 

 ical regions — the Pacific Mountain Region, the Central Plateau, the 

 Arctic Plains, and the Aleutian Islands — which present striking con- 

 trasts in surface, climate, vegetation, mineral resources, and agricul- 

 tural possibilities. 



The Pacific Mountain Region is a continuation of the rugged 

 mountainous district of western United States and British Columbia. 

 It is an area of high relief and of great valleys that were gouged out 

 during the ice age. Hundreds of snow-capped peaks rise to high alti- 

 tudes. Scores of immense glaciers descend to the coast from extensive 

 ice fields. The summers are cool and damp and the winters compara- 



FiGURE 1. — The size of Alaska is readily appreciated by noting the extent of a 

 map of the Territory superimposed on a like-scale maj) of the United States. 



tively mild. Precipitation is heavy, ranging from 60 to 140 inches 

 ainuially. The lower mountain slopes are heavily forested with hem- 

 lock, spruce, and giant cedar. 



The Central Plateau, comprising about two-fifths of the Territory, 

 is relatively low in relief and is characterized by flat-topped highlands; 

 it includes the basins of the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers. This is 

 a coimtry of short, warm summers, with 18 to 20 hours of sunshine 

 daily, and of long, cold winters. The precipitation is scanty, varying 

 from 9 to 19 inches, including a relatively slight snowfall. Two- 

 thirds of the area is in forests of small open growths. Pasturage is 

 aftbrded for moose and caribou. Situated just south of the center of 

 the Territory, snow-covered Mount McKinloy (fig. 2), towering 20,300 

 feet, is the highest peak on the continent. The Yukon, second 



