FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT ALASKA
Q. What are the best places
in Alaska to see Mt. McKinley (Mt. Denali)?
A. Talkeetna
and Denali
State Park.
Q. What kind of wildlife
can I expect to see on my trip to Alaska?
A. Bears, moose, caribou and more. See Alaska
Wildlife and Marine Life.
Q. How can I keep food safe
from bears when I'm hiking or camping?
A. The best way is with a bear-proof container.
See the Denali
National Park section for more.
Q. Where in Alaska can I
grow enormous vegetables?
A. This is possible in many areas, but Palmer
in particular is famous for oversized veggies.
Q. Where did President Warren
Harding drive the "Golden Spike" to celebrate the
completion of the railroad from Anchorage to Fairbanks?
A. In the little town of Nenana,
which he visited shortly before his death with his wife and
--scandalously -- his mistress.
Q. What was once the primary
road of rural Alaska, and what cities did it connect?
A. The Richardson
Highway, which also provided the route for the Trans-Alaska
pipeline. This highway connected (and still connects) the
cities of Valdez and Fairbanks. You can read about its construction
in the Fairbanks
section.
Q. What is Alaska's largest
city?
A. Anchorage.
Q. What gold mines are within
driving distance of Anchorage?
A. Check out the Gold
Mines Within Driving Distance of Anchorage Map for the
answer to this one.
Q. Where was the movie "Runaway
Train" filmed?
A. Turnagain
Arm.
Q. What are the best places
to fish along the Kenai River?
A. Take a look at the Kenai
River Fishing Map for the answer.
Q. What's America's (and
Alaska's) westernmost highway point?
A. Anchor
Point on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula.
Q. What Alaska town was completely
destroyed in the 1969 "Good Friday" Earthquake?
A. Portage.
Q. What Alaska towns were
partially destroyed by the earthquake, but survived and are
now thriving today?
A. Anchorage,
Seward, and
Valdez.
Q. What's a fishwheel?
A. A basket, turned by a river's current,
that scoops up fish. See the Copper
River Country section for a brief description.
Q. What are the most accessible
glaciers on the road system?
A. Worthington
Glacier on the road to Valdez, Matanuska
Glacier on the Glenn Highway, and the
Harding Icefield near Seward.
Q. What's North America's
largest active volcano?
A. Mt. Wrangell, which has been measured
at 14,163 feet.
See the section on Slana in Copper River Country for a
brief description of what it was like to homestead in its
shadow.
Q. What's the United States'
largest National Park? Where is it?
A. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. It's
located in Eastern Alaska, and among its key access points
are the towns of McCarthy
and Kennicott.
Q. What's the United States'
northernmost ice-free port?
A. Valdez.
Q. Where can I find a toilet
in Chitina?
A. That's
a tricky one.
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