ALASKA 



135 



ALASKA 



temples in his destruction of many of the Greek 

 and Roman cities. His victories in the western 

 part of the Roman Empire paved the way for 



the conquest of the Romans in the Iberian 

 peninsula and the founding of the Visigothic 

 kingdom in Spain. See VISIGOTHS. 



LAS'KA, the largest outlying pos- 

 session of the United States, and its only con- 

 tinental possession in North America. Its area 

 is 590,884 square miles, about one-sixth of the 

 area of the United States proper; this is more 

 than twice the 

 of Texas 

 and slightly less 

 than the com- 

 bined area of 

 Alberta and 

 British Colum- 

 bia. It is a 

 more or less 

 regular rectan- 

 jjuhtr mass, ap- 

 proximately 800 

 miles long and 

 wide, with long, 

 narrow exten- 

 sions to the 



southeast and to the entire continent of 

 to the south- 

 west. Its coast line is 8,000 miles long, more 

 than that of the entire Atlantic coast of the 

 United States. 



In 1867 the United States bought Alaska 

 from Russia for $7,200,000. This purchase was 

 bitterly opposed by many prominent men, but 

 was vigorously defended by others. The 

 had formerly been called Russian America, but 

 Senator Charles Sumner suggested a new name, 

 Alaska. The word is an English corruption of 

 the native Aleut Al-ay-ek-sa, meaning great 

 land or mainland, which was applied some- 

 what vaguely to the entire region, but more 

 particularly to the long, narrow strip now 

 known as the Alaska Peninsula. 



Location. Alaska is still regarded by many 

 people as a land of gold, fur seals, enow and 

 ice. This popular conception is true, but it is 

 >nl\ part of the truth. It is no more a polar 

 than are Norway and Sweden, winch 

 I !' in almost the same latitude. Point Bar- 



LOCATION MAP 

 Showing size with respect 

 to the entire 

 North America. 



row, the northernmost point of Alaska, is more 

 than 1,200 miles from the North Pole, about 

 the same distance from it as is the North 

 Cape ; and the southernmost point of the main- 

 land is in the latitude of Glasgow and Moscow. 

 Its location in an east-and-west line is littlr 

 appreciated, for it lies far to the west of the 

 United States. Its easternmost point is 700 

 miles west of San Francisco, and the western- 

 most point of the Aleutian Islands is in the 

 longitude of New Zealand. 



Alaska is itself a vast peninsula, but the 

 name Alaska Peninsula is restricted to the ex- 

 tension in the southwest, beyond which lie the 

 Aleutian Islands. These islands, together with 

 the Commander Islands, which extend seaward 

 from Siberia, form the line between Bering 

 Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The northern 

 shores of Alaska are washed by the Arctic 

 Ocean. On the southeast are the islands of 

 the Alexander Archipelago and a long strip of 

 the mainland, which extends southward to the 

 parallel of 54 41' N. and shuts off nearly half 

 of British Columbia from the Pacific Ocean. 



Physical Characteristics. Alaska is divided 

 into four parts, each of which has individuali- 

 ties of surface and climate. These divisions are 

 described below. 



(1) Pacific Coast. Practically the rntin- 

 southern coast, from the westernmost of the 

 Aleutian Islands to the Portland Canal, is 

 mountainous. The coast is not unlikr that of 

 Norway, cut by many rocky fiords and straits, 

 and its rugged beauty is the delight of thou- 

 sands of visitors. Between the mountains and 

 the sea is only a narrow ledge or shelf, and in 

 many places the mountains rise abruptly from 

 the water's edge to a height of 15,000 feet or 

 more. There are many islands along the coast, 

 the largest of which are Kodiak, in the south- 

 west, and Baranof, Prince of Wales, Chichagof 

 X dm unity, in the southeast. 



remarkably picturesque region IB com- 

 posed of four connected mountain chains, 



