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THE INTERIOR 



Between the Alaska and Brooks 

 Ranges and extending from Can- 

 ada to Bering Sea are the huge cen- 

 tral valleys of the Yukon and Kus- 

 kokwim Rivers. Known as the In- 

 terior, this is a region of cold dark 

 winters, and of summers with con- 

 tinuous daylight. January tem- 

 peratures vary from 7° F. at Bethel 

 to —29° F. at Bettles, with an aver- 

 age of —10° F. Precipitation is 

 relatively light, averaging about 13 

 inches annually, and occurring 

 principally during the summer. 

 The forests are of black and white 

 spruce, and the timber line is at 

 2,500 to 3,000 feet. The tundras 

 bordering Bering Sea are treeless. 



The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is 

 perhaps the largest waterfowl- 

 nesting area on the continent. 

 Black brant, lesser Canada geese 

 and cackling geese, mallards, green- 

 winged teal, baldpates, and pintails 





TRUMPETER SWAN 



are but a few of the webfeet which 

 use this area for summer quarters. 

 Here also is found the emperor 

 goose, a beautifully colored goose of 

 medium size. Upland game birds 

 are ruffed and spruce grouse, and 

 the willow, white-tailed, and rock 

 ptarmigan. At the peak of their 

 cycle, these birds occur in amazing 

 abundance. The varied thrush, the 

 Bohemian waxwing, the wandering 

 tattler, and the surfbird, which 

 nests in the Mount McKinley re- 

 gion, are summer visitors. Here, 

 too, is found the water ouzel, or dip- 

 per, whose search for aquatic in- 

 sects is conducted under water as 

 it walks along stream beds. 



Big-game populations of the area 

 include the Stone caribou, Dall 

 sheep, black and grizzly bears, and 

 moose. About 90 miles southeast 

 of Fairbanks is a herd of bison, 

 started from a nucleus transplanted 

 from the National Bison Range in 

 Montana. Among the smaller ani- 

 mals are muskrat, beaver, lynx, and 

 marten. Inland waters contain 

 trout, salmon, grayling, northern 

 pike, whitefish, and the sheefish. 

 In Bering Sea are various whales — 

 humpback, sei, Pacific killer, 

 beaked, gray, right, white, and 

 Stejneger's — and dolphins. 



