Alaska Panhandle
The Alaska Panhandle ( German about "Alaska-Landzipfel", literally "Alaska-Pfannenstiel", colloquial term referring to its characteristic elongated shape in relation to the much larger land mass of the remaining - "actual" - Alaska.) Is the name for a coastal strip east of the 141st west longitude and surrounded on two sides by Canada as part of the US state Alaska .
geography
The Alaska Panhandle forms a narrow stretch of coastline on the Pacific Ocean , which borders directly on the Canadian province of British Columbia in the east . The border with Canada runs along the Elias Range and the Coast Mountains . At the border is also the 4663 meter high Mount Fairweather , the highest mountain in British Columbia. The southern end of the Alaska Panhandle is formed by the Dixon Entrance and the Pearse Canal .
There are countless islands ( Alexander Archipelago ) and fjords in the Alaska Panhandle , some of which extend over a hundred kilometers into the country. The main islands are Admiralty Island , Baranof Island , Chichagof Island , Etolin Island , Kuiu Island , Kupreanof Island , Prince of Wales Island , Revillagigedo Island and Wrangell Island .
Well-known parks are Glacier Bay National Park , Sitka National Historical Park, and Tongass National Forest .
traffic
Only the villages of Skagway (via White Pass , also with a rail connection to Whitehorse ) and Haines , which were the starting points for the legendary Chilkoot Trail at the time of the gold rush, are accessible by road . There (or in Prince Rupert , Canada further south ) you can change to the plane or ferry through the Inside Passage .
Political structure
Well-known cities are Juneau (the capital of Alaska), Sitka , Ketchikan , Wrangell and Petersburg .
The following boroughs and census areas belong to the Alaska Panhandle (mainly from north to south):
- Yakutat City and Borough
- Hoonah-Angoon Census Area
- Skagway City and Borough
- Haines Borough
- Sitka City and Borough
- Juneau City and Borough
- Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area
- Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Census Area
- Ketchikan Gateway Borough
Web links
Coordinates: 57 ° 16 ′ 0 ″ N , 134 ° 0 ′ 0 ″ W.