2 BULLETIN 50, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



glaciers, and illimitable fields of snow. The tourist has traveled 

 nearly 2,000 miles from Seattle by this route, but he has seen only 

 the narrow southeastern projection of the Territory and a small sec- 

 tion of the south coast of the mainland. He has seen, however, what 

 has given to the world the most commonly accepted opinion of 

 Alaska. Erroneous as is the opinion thus developed of the Terri- 

 tory as a whole, it is the more remarkable that it is quite as far 

 wrong respecting the portion that comes under observation, for, 

 notwithstanding the prevalence and close proximity of the snow 

 and ice fields on the south coast, the fact remains that this portion 

 of the Territory has a comparatively mild climate. To get a clear 

 understanding of how this can be and of Alaskan climatic condi- 

 tions in general, a brief description of the physical features of 

 Alaska will be in order and necessary to a consideration of the 

 agricultural possibilities. 



A glance at a map of North America will show that Alaska com- 

 prises the northwestern end of the continent. The Territory all lies 

 west of longitude 141° W., excepting the narrow strip that extends 

 from Mount St. Elias along the shore southeastward some (500 miles, 

 the extreme southern point touching latitude 54° 40' N. The long pro- 

 jection extending out from the southwestern coast, forming the 

 Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutiarulslands, goes so far to the southwest 

 that the farthermost island, Attn, is in the longitude of New Zealand, 

 173° E. Exclusive of the southeastern and southwestern projections, 

 Alaska lies between longitude 141° and 166° W. and latitude 60° 

 and 70° 30' N. The mainland is about 700 miles from north to south 

 and 700 to 800 miles from east to west. The total area is about 

 600,000 square miles. This area is thrust out from the main conti- 

 nental land mass, so that it is surrounded on three sides by great 

 bodies of salt water differing greatly in temperature. The Arctic 

 Ocean is on the north, Bering Sea on the west, and the Pacific Ocean 

 on the south. The waters of the first are very cold, of course, because 

 of the drift from the polar region. This drift extending through the 

 Bering Strait makes the Bering Sea also quite cold. The drift of 

 warm water from the southern Pacific Ocean northeastward modifies 

 quite markedly the temperatures along the south coast, just as it 

 does all along the western coast of the United States. Quite different 

 climatic effects are thus produced on their respective shores by these 

 different bodies of water. How far these effects extend inland de- 

 pends much upon the topography of the country. 



THE MOUNTAIN SYSTEMS OF ALASKA. 



Alaska is distinctively mountainous, with two well-defined sys- 

 tems, one fronting the Arctic Ocean on the north and the other the 

 Pacific Ocean on the south. Between these systems is a great plateau 



