ALASKA. 
16 
also very mountainous. Steep ridges and peaks rise to the height 
of sometimes 12,000 feet, intersected by glaciers. Coal has been 
found on the peninsula opposite Kadiak Island, and coal and gold 
on Cook Inlet. The principal rivers are the Shushitna and the 
Copper. 
3. The Aleutian division contains 14,610 square miles, and 
comprises the western part of the Aliaska Peninsula and the chain 
of islands from the Shumagin group in the east to Attu in the 
west, including the Pribilof Islands. The islands appear to be a 
continuation of the main Alaskan range of mountain groups. 
There are many volcanic peaks, and slight shocks of earthquake 
are common. The entire division is treeless, dwarfed specimens 
of creeping willow being the nearest approach to timber found. 
Grass grows in abundance. 
4. The Kuskokwim division contains 1 14,975 square miles, and 
is bounded on the north by the Yukon division and on the east 
by the mountain range between the Kuskokwim and Tanana rivers. 
The head waters of this river have not been explored, but the 
ground on the shores is low and marshy. The interior of Alaska 
is less elevated, and contains extensive plains. The country is 
poor in natural products, although salmon abounds in the river. 
5. The Yukon division contains 176,715 square miles, and 
comprises the valley of the Yukon River, as far as it lies within 
our boundaries, with its tributaries. The division is bounded by 
the Arctic division on the north, the one hundred and forty-fifth 
meridian on the east, and Bering Sea on the west. The southern 
boundary lies along a line indicating the water shed between the 
Yukon and the Kuskokwim, Sushitna, and Copper rivers. This 
section, as well as the Kuskokwim division, are more fully described 
under the heading “River system.” 
6. The Arctic division covers 125,245 square miles, and com¬ 
prises that portion of the continent between the one hundred and 
forty-fifth meridian on the east and Bering Strait on the west, the 
