| Alaskans take pride in their state's natural resources. | | | | the size of Alaska. The usual animals would be deer, |
| Three of them-- gold, fish and fur-- are well known. | | | | mountain goats, black bears and moose, all commonly |
| These three resources have been worth many times | | | | found in southeastern Alaska. Go up further north and |
| the sum that the United States paid Russia for this | | | | grizzly bears start to appear. As you go into the |
| piece of land. However, for the future, Alaska is | | | | interior lands, caribou begin to replace deer in numbers. |
| beginning to look to other resources, especially oil and | | | | It is not uncommon to see caribou travel in herds of |
| petroleum. | | | | thousands. Polar bears are found in the far north and |
| Alaska is rich in vegetation resources. There are two | | | | spend most of their time out on the ice packs hunting |
| kinds of forests in the state: the interior forest and the | | | | food. Exotic animals that have been introduced to |
| coastal forest. The interior forests are found around | | | | Alaska include the reindeer found in the Arctic areas, |
| the river valleys of the interior area and as far north as | | | | elk on some islands, musk oxen and bison. To |
| the central and eastern parts of the Brooks Range. | | | | conserve animal life on the peninsula, these animals are |
| Most of the timber harvested is mainly willow and | | | | protected in wildlife ranges under the federal |
| aspen but much of the forest growth is stunted | | | | government. Wolves and foxes are also found in |
| because of the short growing season and permafrost. | | | | many parts of the state. Animals hunted for fur include |
| The coastal forests on the other hand, begin in the | | | | the mink and beaver. A number of bird species also |
| Panhandle and spread throughout the coast of the | | | | make Alaska their summer home or remain all year. |
| Gulf of Alaska well into Kodiak Island. These forests | | | | Some of these include ducks, geese and grouse. The |
| are usually dense and made up of hemlock, cedar and | | | | common game fishes are Grayling and rainbow trout. |
| spruce trees. Tundra vegetation is also common to | | | | Commercial fish harvests depend mainly on cod, halibut |
| much of Alaska. Most of it is made up of lichens, | | | | and salmon. In fact, the king salmon is the state fish. |
| grasses, various mosses, cranberry vines and | | | | Shellfish is also plentiful and a large industry is built on |
| crowberries. When these plants die, they decay at a | | | | harvesting shrimp, crabs and clams. |
| very slow rate mainly because of the dampness and | | | | Deposits of gold and silver are known to exist in |
| low temperature of the area. Year after year, old | | | | almost every region of Alaska. So much has been |
| plants pile up and new plants struggle to grow through | | | | said about the gold that people are sometimes |
| them. The tundra vegetation in other parts of Alaska | | | | surprised to learn that Alaska has also other mineral |
| may also include dwarf species of trees and a | | | | riches, like natural gas and petroleum. Geologists are |
| number of bushes. The only extensive lands for | | | | still surveying the area for other petroleum sites. The |
| grazing are found on the Aleutian Islands. If you're | | | | Panhandle is known to contain important minerals such |
| looking for true arctic tundra with absolutely no trees | | | | as nickel, zinc and lead. Mineral deposits of the Gulf of |
| or shrubs, then you can check out the Arctic slope and | | | | Alaska include mercury, platinum and copper. Alaska, |
| Seward Peninsula. | | | | with its many bodies of water, also generates power |
| There is also a wide variety of animal life in an area | | | | through the production of hydroelectricity. |