Some 200 miles inland and nearly parallel with the Arctic shores is the Endicott range, low mountains from 1,000 to 1,800 feet in elevation. The Coast Range, north of Cross Sound, consists of the Fair weather and Saint Elias groups — more pic turesque than any other part of Alaska—over which lies the most extended glacier of Amer ica. Twelve of its peaks exceed 10,000 feet in height, while Mounts Saint Elias and Logan rise respectively to 18,024 and 19,540 feet above the sea. The Wrangell group, to the east of Cop per River, is an irregular uplift of volcanic for mation, which has an area of 5,000 square miles. Eight of its summits rise above 10,000 feet, Mount Blackburn reaching 16,140 feet. The Alaskan Range, the southern boundary of the Yukon Basin, extends in an unbroken chain about 200 miles from the Canadian border to the Alaskan Peninsula. Its crest line exceeds an average of 8,000 feet, with four peaks above 10,000, among which is Mount McKinley with an elevation of 20,464 feet the highest peak of America. South of this range are the less important Chugach Mountains. Finally the Aleu tian volcanic range forms the backbone of the Alaskan Peninsula. Among these peaks, and the continuation of the range through the Aleutian Isles, are the active volcanoes of Alaska, perhaps the most remarkable group in the world, Akutan, Bogoslof, Grewingk, Kat mai, Korovin, Pavlof, Redoubt, Shishaldin, etc. The eruption of Katmai in 1912 is the most violent volcanic outburst known in the history of the Alaskan mainland. On the Aleutian Chain the existence of 48 volcanic craters on 25 islands indicates the frequency and violence of such disturbances in past ages.
Glaciers.— The most extensive remnants of the ice-age in North America are those found in Alaska. Along the coast from Portland Canal north and west to the Alaskan Penin sula, the mountains facing the ocean are cov ered with perpetual snow, from which project huge glaciers, increasing in size and in fre quency as one goes north. Though the least extensive of the glacial formations, the tourist visited glaciers of southeastern Alaska are the most widely known. Noteworthy among than are the numerous ice-streams of Sumdum Bay and Taku Inlet, the 40 or more dead glaciers of Lynn Canal and the enormous accumulations in Glacier Bay, where the Muir glacier has a face of about three miles in width and 300 feet in height. Much vaster, however, are the awes which cover the coastal mountains from Glacier Bay northwestward to Kenai Penin sula, as on these shores are to be seen nine tenths of the permanent ice-fields of America. Of the 31 live glaciers (those which reach the sea) no less than 25 are in these regions— three in the Saint Elias group, 11 in Prince William Sound, and 11 in the Fairweather region. Prince William Sound is especially notable for its ice phenomena, since in Harri man and College fiords there are 11 live ice rivers, the largest being Columbia glacier with a front about four miles wide, and 300 feet or more high. The greatest ice mass, however, is
the Malaspina glacier, which rests on the south ern flank of Mount Saint Elias as a seaward flowing ice-mass of some 1,200 square miles in area. Separated from the ocean for a score of miles by a forested moraine about five miles wide, it finally reaches the open sea at Icy Cape. There must be at least 400 glaciers in Alaska, as more than 250 have been visited, definitely located and considered important enough to be named.
Owing to its great range of lati tude, from 54° 30' to 72° N., it is difficult to briefly describe the various climates of this vast territory. From Portland Canal north westward to the Alaska Peninsula the coast type prevails% much cloudiness, heavy rainfall and equable temperature through warm winters and cold summers; of which Sitka and Valdez are representative. Their coldest and warmest months of average temperature and yearly rainfall (including melted snow) are as fol lows: Shim. February, 33°, August, 57°, rain fall 112 inches; Valdez, January, 20°, July rainfall 73 inches. The Bering Sea coast, little affected by the ocean temperatures, has smaller rainfall and increased range of temperature, as shown by Saint Michael, February, 2°, July, 54°, rainfall 15 inches. The interior regions have a continental type of climate, with very cold winters, warm summers and also light rainfall. The following are typical: Copper Center, January, 14°, July, 55°, rainfall 9.3 inches; Ft. Gibbon, January, 18°, July 59° rainfall, 12 inches. The climatic conditions of the Aleutian archipelago are of the insular type, as determined at Unalaska, February, July, 50°, rainfall 109 inches. Point Barrow is typical of the entire Arctic coast, with its polar climate modified by the adjacent sea, January, 21°, July, 39°, rainfall 6.6 inches. It may be added that the heaviest rainfalls occur along the southern coasts during October, in the interior during July, on the Arctic coast during August and in the Aleutian Isles during January.
Fauna and The species of animals, birds, fishes, etc., are varied and numerous. The Harriman expedition collected along the coast more than 1,000 species of insects. More than 150 kinds of plants are known and nearly 50 different fishes and over 200 habitant birds. Osgood records 171 species of birds from the Yukon River region alone. At sea the more important species are the fur-seal, sea-otter, hair seal, walrus and whale. On land are found five kinds of bear and six of foxes. Other animals of economic value are the beaver, cari bou, ermine, goat, hare, lynx, martin, mink, moose, otter, reindeer, sheep, squirrel, wolf and wolverine.