NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS 



143 



Animals: A characteristic large mam- 

 mal is the Sitka deer, generally distrib- 

 uted and very abundant except where 

 reduced by market hunting. Other 

 mammals are brown and black bears, 

 timber wolves, beaver, otters, mink, red 

 squirrels, voles, white-footed mice and 

 shrews. The mountain goat is common 

 on the heights of the mountains of the 

 mainland, but not on the islands. 

 Moose, caribou, mountain sheep, and 

 typical grizzly bears do not occur in this 

 part of Alaska. The sea otter, formerly 

 abundant, is now practically extinct and 

 is the only important element of the 

 fauna of which this can be said. A 

 conspicuous and characteristic bird is 

 the Alaskan bald eagle, recently much 

 reduced in numbers through a bounty 

 directed against it. Water birds, loons, 

 gulls, ducks, and shorebirds are well 

 represented, and among common land 

 birds are the rufous hummingbird, the 

 varied thrush, sooty grouse, Steller's 

 jay, northern raven, pine siskin, rusty 

 song sparrow, and golden-crowned spar- 

 row. Ptarmigan occur in the mainland 

 mountains but only rarely on the islands. 

 Fish are abundant in the waters, and 

 besides several varieties of salmon, there 

 are important fisheries of halibut, her- 

 ring, candlefish and others. Marine 

 invertebrates abound and in much 

 greater variety than in similar latitudes 

 on the Atlantic coast. 



D. Travel conditions. Southeastern 

 Alaska is easily reached by comfortable 

 steamers from Seattle, operating on 

 regular schedules and calling at the 

 ports of Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway 

 from which connections are often possi- 

 ble with small steamers running to vari- 

 ous points among the islands. Inde- 

 pendent excursions are made best with 

 power launches or with canoes as sailing 

 is impractical on account of tidal cur- 

 rents. There are no roads and few 

 trails, so all but foot travel is by water. 



2. Glacial coast region 



A. Topography. This region em- 

 braces the coast and seaward slopes of 

 the mountains from Lynn Canal to the 



Kenai Peninsula. The dominating fea- 

 ture is found in the numerous live 

 glaciers debouching directly into the 

 sea, and numbering nearly 200, including 

 some of very large size, as the Malaspina 

 Glacier which has an ice area of some 

 1200 sq. mi. with a front of not less than 

 60 mi. Behind these glaciers and the 

 plain of some 20 mi. width on which they 

 lie, rise some of the highest peaks on the 

 continent, Mt. St. Elias (about 18,000 

 ft.) and Mt. Logan (about 19,500 ft.), 

 being the best known. The eastern 

 coast is mostly icebound and forbidding, 

 but there are harbors and settlements in 

 Yakutat Bay and at Katalla where there 

 is petroleum in Controller Bay. The 

 Copper River, a very large and impor- 

 tant stream, has its delta in the western 

 part where the higher mountains recede 

 from the coast. Beyond this is Prince 

 William Sound, an irregular bay of great 

 beauty with several large islands guard- 

 ing its entrance and the Kenai Peninsula 

 forming its western boundary. 



B. Climate. In this region, which also 

 has a relatively equable but colder 

 climate, there is a greater precipitation 

 and more cloudy weather even than in 

 southeastern Alaska. Cold mists or 

 steady downpours are the rule, and 

 bright fine weather is not long sus- 

 tained at any season. At stations about 

 Prince William Sound, the annual rain- 

 fall is from 130 to 190 in. In summer, the 

 temperature is moderate, usually ranging 

 from 40 to 70 and scarcely reaching a 

 maximum of 90; while in winter, the 

 recorded minimum is 0. 



C. Biota. The biological features of 

 this region are mainly negative and it 

 is to some extent connectant between 

 the southeastern region and the Arctic 

 region. Some of the southern forms of 

 life do not continue into it and others 

 which were found in the south on the 

 mountains, are here found coming to the 

 coast. 



Vegetation : At altitudes below 1500 ft. 

 where soil conditions permit, there is 

 heavy forest growth largely consisting 

 of Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) , but 

 also including giant cedar (Thuja), 



