Peninsula extending about 800 km (497 mi) to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands, separating the Pacific Ocean from Bristol Bay, an arm of the Bering Sea
Places to See in Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands
Sarvis, John, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
Wildlife refuge comprising 2,400 islands, featuring diverse landforms and terrains, including tundra, rainforest, cliffs, volcanoes, beaches, lakes, and streams
U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Aleutian Islands
Chain of 14 large volcanic islands and 55 smaller islands that form part of the Aleutian Arc in the Northern Pacific Ocean, extending about 1,200 mi (1,900 km) westward from the Alaska Peninsula toward Russia
Sekora, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Attu Island
Island part of the Aleutian Islands chain is the westernmost point of Alaska, the site of the only World War II land battle fought in the United States and an important location in the world of competitive birding
Captain Budd Christman, NOAA Corps, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Katmai National Park and Preserve
National park and preserve in southwest Alaska, notable for the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and for its brown bears
U.S. Department of Energy (official Flickr account), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Kodiak Island Archipelago
National park and preserve in southwest Alaska, notable for the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and for its brown bears
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James JonesResearch GeologistUSGS, Alaska Science Centerjvjones@usgs.gov, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Cropped and Image Size Adjusted
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
Park includes many streams and lakes and protects rainforests along the coastline of Cook Inlet, alpine tundra, glaciers, glacial lakes, and two volcanoes
Mark Wipfli, Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. Public domain., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
McNeil River State Game Sanctuary and Refuge
River on the eastern drainage of the Alaska Peninsula, famous for its salmon and brown bears
Piergiuliano Chesi, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Unalaska, AK
Volcanic island in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska with the city of Unalaska, Alaska, covering part of the island and all of neighboring Amaknak Island where the Port of Dutch Harbor is located
The Alaska Peninsula (also called Aleutian 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.
The Aleutian Range is a highly active volcanic mountain range which runs along the entire length of the Peninsula. Within it lie 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 most active volcano along the volcanic mountain range is Pavlof Volcano which is more than 2,515 meters (8,251 feet).
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, which is also known as the "ring of fire," has relatively small tidal activity and the water is deep and clear.
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. The Lake and Peninsula Borough includes most of the peninsula's territory.
Average annual precipitation ranges from 24-65 in (610-1,650 mm). Coastal areas are subject to intense storms, wind, and rain. Winter temperatures average between -11 and 1 °C (12 and 34 °F), and in summer between 6 and 15 °C (43 and 59 °F). Frosts can occur any day of the year at higher elevations. The climate can be compared to that of parts of Scotland, the Aleutian Islands, Iceland, and Tierra del Fuego.
The Alaska Peninsula is home to some of the largest populations of native and undisturbed wildlife in the United States. Besides the famous McNeil River and Katmai Alaskan brown bear populations, large herds of caribou, moose, wolves waterfowl, and willow ptarmigan inhabit the area. The bears of the peninsula and Bristol Bay are so numerous because they feed on the world's largest sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) runs, which occur here in large part because the many large lakes of the peninsula are an important element in their lifecycle. These salmon, after returning from their short time 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.
Exceptionally large seabird colonies exist along the coast. Additionally, there are large populations of sea mammals in the North Pacific Ocean between the Alaska Peninsula and Kamchatka. This includes harbor seals, ringed seals, northern fur seals, whales, porpoises, sea otters and sea lions.
The rugged southern half of the peninsula, and also the Kodiak Archipelago which lie off the south coast of the peninsula and are home to even more bears, constitute the Alaska Peninsula montane taiga ecoregion and contain a number of protected areas such as Katmai National Park. Vegetation on the Peninsula consists mostly of shrub-lands, grassy meadows, or wet tundra.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Alaska Peninsula", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
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