Page 729 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - USA

ALASK A  727

w Aleutian Islands There are many hiking trails
* 9,000. ~ 4 Unalaska. n stretching across the treeless
Unalaska Dutch Harbor Convention tundra. Panning for gold
and Visitors’ Bureau, (907) 581-2612, along the beach is another
(877) 581-2612. ∑ unalaska.info unique activity.
Beyond the Alaska Peninsula,
the summits of the Aleutian r Fairbanks
Range have created a string of * 35,000. ~ @ n 101 Dunkel St,
islands that extend 1,200 miles (907) 456-5774, (800) 327-5774.
(1,932 km) into the Pacific ∑ explorefairbanks.com
Ocean. Originally settled by
hardy Aleut seal hunters, the Surrounded by subarctic
islands were occupied for more wilderness, Fairbanks is Alaska’s
than a year by the Japanese second-largest city and has one
during World War II. Today, of the largest populations at
over half the archipelago’s this latitude anywhere in the The spectacular aurora borealis,
population live in the town of world. Located just 150 miles or northern lights, Alaska
Unalaska, which is set around (241 km) south of the Arctic
a picturesque Dutch Harbor. Circle, the sun barely dips Park, historic buildings collected
This town is North America’s below the horizon at the from around the state re-create a
number one seafood time of the summer Gold Rush-era town on the banks
producer. The catch solstice (Jun 21). The long of the Chena River. Each summer
includes crab, halibut, hours of darkness through evening, Pioneer Park plays
cod, and pollock. Its winter make it a good host to a musical revue, with
harbor is lined with place to view the dancers who are dressed in
fishing boats, container aurora borealis, or period costume.
cranes, and processing northern lights, a
plants, all catering phenomenon of P Pioneer Park
to this industry. The dazzling sheets of Airport Way. Tel (907) 459-1087. Open
Russian Orthodox light produced in daily. Gold Rush Town: Open late
Church of the Holy Caribou at the Ice Museum, the sky by electron May–early Sep: noon–8pm daily. 7
Ascension, built Fairbanks and proton particles P Morris Thompson Cultural &
in 1896, dominates of the solar wind. Visitor Center
the foreshore. Fair banks is also known for its 101 Dunkel St. Tel (907) 459-3700.
extremes in temperature, Open daily. ∑ morristhompson
which often soar well above center.org
e Nome 90° F (32° C) in summer, but
dip below -60° F (-15° C) in
* 3,800. ~ n 301 Front St, (907) t Wrangell-St. Elias
443-6555, (800) 478-1901. winter. The downtown Morris
∑ visitnomealaska.com Thompson Cultural & Visitor National Park
Center has information and
Few would argue with excellent exhibits on regional ~ McCarthy. @ to McCarthy.
n Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
the local catchphrase that history. The University of Alaska Visitors’ Center, Mile 106.5 Richardson
“there’s no place like Nome.” Museum of the North focuses on Highway; (907) 822-7250. Ranger
Perched on the edge of the natural history and art. At Pioneer stations at Chitina and Slana. 0 -
Bering Sea, closer to Russia = 7 ∑ nps.gov/wrst
than to Anchorage, the town
was named after an early The largest National Park in
cartographer marked this the US – six times the size of
location as “Name?” on a Yellowstone. Wrangell-St. Elias
map. Later another National Park is a 20,000-sq-mile
mapmaker misread the (52,500-sq-km) wilderness
annotation as “Nome.” sprawling across the southeast
Although Nome is now a corner of the Alaskan mainland.
shadow of its former self, it is Dominated by the volcanic
still a fascinating and popular Wrangell Mountains and the
destination. Friendly staff at glaciated St. Elias Range,
the tourist information office the park has nine of the 16
obligingly indicate historic highest mountains in the US.
relics such as the Last Train Designated a UNESCO World
to Nowhere, and the rusting Heritage Site in 1992, the park
hulks of dredges that have The old mining town of McCarthy in contains historic mining sites,
long since been abandoned. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park such as the town of McCarthy.

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