United States, Alaska

Alaska is the northernmost, westernmost, and “easternmost” state in the United States (parts of the Aleutian Islands cross the 180th meridian). Because of its size and location, it encompasses many different geophysical areas, from rainy spruce and fir forests in southeast Alaska, to the desert of the Arctic. Alaska also contains many natural resources, and the exploitation of those resources has often been a point of controversy throughout its history.

Before its “discovery,” the Inuit people, Eskimos of non-Inuit origin, Aleuts (of the Aleutian Islands), and Native Americans populated Alaska. These included the Athabascans of central Alaska and the Tlingit and Haida tribes of southeast Alaska. Unlike most of the United States, the indigenous peoples of Alaska were not forced into reservations. The Alaska Native Claims ...