Alaska Panhandle
57 34'48 "N 135 29'14" W / 57.58, -135.48722
The Alaska Panhandle, sometimes referred to Southeast Alaska, is the south-eastern coast of the U.S. state of Alaska that extends west of the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The majority of the panhandle is covered by the Tongass National Forest the largest U.S. national forest. In many places, the international border runs along the ridges of the Coastal Range. The term panhandle , which can result in the handle of a cooking utensil ( pot or pan frying), is used in the United States to designate a long and narrow extension of the boundary of an administrative division. In French the term is sometimes used geographical equivalent of Panhandle.
Geography
The Panhandle has an area of 91,008 km 2, including four boroughs and part of that of Yakutat. However this represents only 6.14% of the total area of Alaska but is larger than the State of Maine. At the 2000 census, the population was 72 954 inhabitants (11% of the total population of the state) about 42% was concentrated in the city of Juneau , Alaska's capital city.
Apart from a mainland coastal strip includes a myriad of islands larger or smaller of the Alexander Archipelago. The largest islands from north to south are:
- Chichagof Island
- Admiralty Island ,
- Baranof Island or Sitka Island,
- Kupreanof Island ,
- Revillagigedo Island
- Island Prince of Wales (the third largest island in the U.S.).
The sea areas include Glacier Bay (Glacier Bay), Lynn Canal, the Strait ice (Icy Strait), Chatham Strait, Stephens Passage, Frederick Sound, the Strait, Sumner Strait and Clarence.
The Alaska Panhandle is the northern end of the Inside Passage , a sea passage protected estates of passages between the islands and fjords and whose end is the south Puget Sound in Washington state. This was an important route for Native Americans and also for steamboats of the gold rush. This passage is currently frequented by ferries and cruise ships.
The Pandandle has many parks: the Tongass National Forest, Glacier Bay National Park, the Admiralty Island National Monument, Misty Fjords National Monument on, Alaska's Inside Passage.
About 5% of south-eastern Alaska belongs to the indigenous peoples to state. Another party, or 12.5% is managed by the National Park and Reserve of Glacier Bay. The remaining 6.9 million hectares are Tongass National Forest.
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