Alaska Peninsula

Volcanoes on the Alaska Peninsula

Peulik Volcano and cottongrass meadow

Gorge in Valley of 10,000 Smokes

Hiker near Chiginagak Volcano

Peulik Volcano and Ukinrek Maars

The Alaska Peninsula is a peninsula extending about 800 km (497 mi) to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. The peninsula separates the Pacific Ocean from Bristol Bay, an arm of the Bering Sea.

In literature (especially Russian) the term ‘Alaska Peninsula’ was used to denote the northwest part of North America, or all of what is now the state of Alaska with the exception of the Aleutian Islands and the Alaska Panhandle.

Geography

The Aleutian Range is a highly active volcanic mountain range which runs along the entire length of the Peninsula. Within the Peninsula are several U.S. National Parks and Wildlife Refuges, including the Katmai National Park and Preserve, the Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve and the Becharof National Wildlife Refuge, the Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge, and the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.

The southern side of the Alaska Peninsula is rugged and mountainous, created by the uplifting tectonic activity of the North Pacific Plate subsiding under a western section of the North American Plate; the northern side is generally flat and marshy, a result of millennia of erosion and general seismic stability. The northern and southern shores are likewise quite different. The northern Bristol Bay coastal side is generally turbid and muddy, experiences tidal extremes, and is relatively shallow; the Pacific side has relatively small tidal activity and is deep and clear.

Administration

All of the Peninsula is organized as a part of four adjacent boroughs; the Aleutians East Borough, Bristol Bay Borough, Kodiak Island Borough, and Lake and Peninsula Borough; and also the entire small Bristol Bay Borough. The Lake and Peninsula Borough includes most of the peninsula's territory.

Climate

Average annual precipitation ranges from 24 to 65 in (610 to 1,650 mm). Coastal areas are subject to intense storms, wind, and rain. Winter temperatures average between -11°C and 1°C, and in summer between 6°C and 15°. Frosts can occur any day of the year at higher elevations^[1][2]. The climate can be compared to that of the Aleutian Islands, Iceland, and Tierra del Fuego.

Flora and fauna

The peninsula is devoid of trees. The Alaska Peninsula and Bristol Bay are home to the world's largest sockeye salmon runs in large part because the Alaska Peninsula is host to so many large lakes, which are an important element in the lifecycle of Oncorhynchus nerka, sockeye salmon. These salmon, after returning from their short life at sea, swim into the lakes and their contributing streams to spawn. Their offspring, or fry, overwinter in the deep and food-abundant depths of these lakes until their migration to the sea in one or two years.

The Alaska Peninsula is also home to some of the largest populations of native and undisturbed wildlife in the United States. Besides the famous McNeil River and Katmai brown bear populations, large herds of caribou, moose, wolves and waterfowl inhabit the area.

Exceptionally large seabird colonies exist along the coast.^[3]

Demographics

Besides the communities on the (see: Bristol Bay) coast, the Alaska Peninsula also is home to several well-known villages: Cold Bay, King Cove, Perryville, Chignik, Chignik Lake, Chignik Lagoon, and Port Moller. Each is primarily inhabited by Alaska Natives and each, likewise, is mostly dependent on the fishing industry for sustinance. The village of Sand Point should be included here, despite its location on Popof Island, an island of the Sumagin Islands, just off the southern coast of the Peninsula.

References

1. ^ http://www.fs.fed.us/land/pubs/ecoregions/ch7.html
2. ^ http://www.eoearth.org/article/Alaska_Peninsula_montane_taiga
3. ^ http://www.eoearth.org/article/Alaska_Peninsula_montane_taiga

External links

• Ugashik Area website
• Lake & Peninsula Borough
• Lake and Peninsula School District
• Alaska Peninsula Trek
• Trawl survey of shrimp and forage fish in Alaska's Westward region, 2006 / by David R. Jackson. Hosted by Alaska State Publications Program.

Coordinates: 56°30′N 158°45′W / 56.5°N 158.75°W / 56.5; -158.75