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The Compass: Alaska

Immense beyond imagination, Alaska covers more territory than Texas, California, and Montana combined. Wide swaths of the 49th state—aptly nicknamed the “Last Frontier”—are untamed and extraordinarily scenic.

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December 18, 2021 6:23pm EST

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Alaska

PHOTOGRAPH BY KATIE ORLINSKY, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Immense beyond imagination, Alaska covers more territory than Texas, California, and Montana combined. Wide swaths of the 49th state—aptly nicknamed the “Last Frontier”—are untamed and extraordinarily scenic. In this edition, learn about the oldest dog remains in the Americas discovered in Alaska, see how thawing permafrost is prompting Denali National Park to reimagine its future, and see the rugged past and fragile future of Alaska's roadhouses.

Let's explore Alaska.

HISTORY & CULTURE

The Naknek River is 35-miles long and flows into Kvichak Bay, an arm of Bristol Bay, host to the largest sockeye salmon run in the world.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ASH ADAMS

COVID-19 threatened Alaska’s fishermen. Here's how they persevered.

In the Bristol Bay fishing region, efforts developed in response to COVID-19 seem to have paid off.

Huskies, Malamutes, and sled dogs from Siberia to Greenland are all physically similar to the first domesticated dogs that entered North America more than 10,000 years ago.

PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL NICKLEN, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Oldest dog remains in Americas discovered in Alaska

A shard of bone tells the story of a canine companion that trekked into an icy new world, providing clues to the migrations of the earliest Americans.

ENVIRONMENT

Halibut are the primary target for Indigenous fishermen in parts of Alaska. Populations are declining, leaving less fish to go around, especially as factory trawlers are scooping them up with the other fish they catch.

PHOTOGRAPH BY DANITA DELIMONT, ALAMY

As halibut decline, Alaska Native fishers square off against industrial fleets

The tiny fishing fleet from St. Paul is losing the fight for halibut, up against factory ships that throw away more of the valuable fish than the Indigenous fishers are allowed to catch.

Dall's sheep above the Toklat River in Denali National Park. Climate change is thawing the topmost layer of permafrost in much of the park, disrupting the main park road.

PHOTOGRAPH BY AARON HUEY,
NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Thawing permafrost prompts Denali National Park to reimagine its future

Much of the ground in Alaska's Denali is losing its top layer of permafrost, resulting in landslides and a sometimes-blocked park road.

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In Gates of the Arctic National Park, Takahula Lake lies near the winding Alatna River. Because there are no roads in the park, visitors often travel by rivercraft.

PHOTOGRAPH BY KILIII YÜYAN

This U.S. national park above the Arctic Circle is an adventurer’s dream

Alaska’s Gates of the Arctic National Park features a rugged expanse of mountains, rivers, and wildlife.

American bald eagles and ravens feast on food scraps in bundled garbage at the Unalaska City Landfill in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska.

PHOTOGRAPH BY COREY ARNOLD

This town is besieged by violent bald eagles

In Alaska, America’s national bird sends people to the hospital.

TRAVEL

DREAM NOW, GO LATER

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is a haven for kayakers and cruisers looking to explore ancient glaciers now threatened by climate change.

PHOTOGRAPH BY WOLFGANG KAEHLER, LIGHTROCKET / GETTY IMAGES

More than a quarter of this national park is covered by glaciers

Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve mesmerizes with frozen landscapes, whales, and history.

Open since 1917, the Talkeetna Roadhouse offers rustic lodgings and hearty meals to adventurers on the way to Alaska’s Denali National Park. It’s one of just a few dozen historic roadhouses that remain in the state.

PHOTOGRAPH BY KYLE JOHNSON

The rugged past and fragile future of Alaska’s roadhouses

Trappers and miners once bunked in the state’s rustic outposts. Now the historic structures are endangered.

In 1912, an eruption of the volcano Novarupta formed the caldera and crater lake at the summit of Mount Katmai. A 2018 expedition set out to uncover traces of Katmai National Park’s history before the massive explosion.

PHOTOGRAPH BY KATIE ORLINSKY,
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Retracing the explosive history of a remote national park in Alaska

On a 200-mile trek in the Katmai Preserve, archaeologists document life before the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century.

Field technicians Margaret Archibald and Matthew Lorhstorfer take a daily walk around Alaska’s Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary to monitor the wildlife. The beach below is filled with male Pacific walrus. The sanctuary, established in 1960, is open to adventurous travelers for a few months a year.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ACACIA JOHNSON

Discover an isolated Alaska island where walrus sing

Visitors to this dot of land in the Bering Sea find music from a surprising source.

WHERE WILL WE JOURNEY TO NEXT?

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The Compass: Alaska

Immense beyond imagination, Alaska covers more territory than Texas, California, and Montana combined. Wide swaths of the 49th state—aptly nicknamed the “Last Frontier”—are untamed and extraordinarily scenic.

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