Alaska occupies the northwestern portion of North America. It includes the
Aleutian Islands, a chain of about 150 islands that arcs westward across the
Pacific Ocean for 1,800 km (1,100 mi).
Alaska has a total area of 1,593,438 sq km (615,230 sq mi), including 45,327 sq
km (17,501 sq mi) of inland water and 70,849 sq km (27,355 sq mi) of coastal
water over which the state has jurisdiction. Alaska has more area of lakes and
rivers than any other state, equaling more than the entire land area of
Massachusetts and Vermont combined. The state’s extreme dimensions are about
2,240 km (about 1,390 mi) from north to south and about 3,550 km (about 2,210
mi) from east to west.
The mean elevation is about 580 m (1,900 ft). A large area, north of an
imaginary line from the Seward Peninsula through Fort Yukon to the Canadian
border, lies within the Arctic Circle. Alaska’s Little Diomede Island in the
Bering Strait is 4 km (2.5 mi) east of Big Diomede Island, or Ratmanov Island,
which belongs to Russia (see Diomede Islands).
Fairbanks, in the center of the state, is 5,280 km (3,280 mi) by air from New
York City, 5,670 km (3,520 mi) from Tokyo, and 6,810 km (4,230 mi) from London.
This key position, at the northern end of the Pacific Ocean and close to Asia,
is a major factor in Alaska’s continued economic importance.
