Alaska

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Hi friends, I hope you're fine? One place I would like to visit is Alaska, although it is very cold but the scenery is breathtaking and there is a natural calm...

Alaska is the 49th state of the United States, its capital is Juneau and its largest city, where most of its population lives is Anchorage. It is located along the southern coast where the climate is relatively mild.
It is the largest state in the country but one of the least populated.

Alaska is located in northwestern Canada. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north and the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean to the south. It is separated from Asia by the Bering Strait.

Its administrative divisions are called boroughs and not counties as in other states.

The name Alaska means "big land" or "continent" in Aleut, which is the language of the Eskimo-Aleut family, spoken by the Aleut.
At the end of the eighteenth century, the territory was colonized by Russian trappers. Alaska was at that time trading in the timber and fur trade.

In 1867, the United States bought Alaska from Russia for $ 7.2 million (about $ 120 million today).

At present, the main economic activities are fishing, tourism and oil and gas production since the discovery of gigantic deposits at Prudhoe Bay, located on the north coast of Alaska, above the Arctic Circle.

The Denali, formerly Mount McKinley, is the highest mountain in North America. Located in central Alaska, in the United States, it rises to 6190 meters above sea level.
Its altitude, extreme climate and arctic geographical location make it one of the most difficult peaks in the world to climb.
It is the heart of Denali National Park. The climate is polar, and the fauna characteristic of cold environments such as grizzly bear, caribou, elk or polar bear.

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The climate

Alaska has a dry polar climate, winter is long and cold, average temperatures are below -18 ° C for 170 to 180 days a year and minimum temperatures of -40 to -50 ° C.
Summer is short, without heat with an average temperature below 10 ° C and sometimes there is some rainfall.

In the interior valleys there is a subarctic climate, with minimums even lower than those of the Arctic region, about -60 ° C but with fewer days very cold; precipitation is more abundant, especially in summer.

The summer months can reach temperatures of 10 ° C and sometimes 25 ° C or even 30 ° C.
Only the Pacific coast is temperate, with no marked winter, around - 2 ° C in January for example.

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Trappers

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A trapper is a professional hunter from North America, using traps to catch their prey and then sell their fur that is not damaged by gunfire or arrowheads.

At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants bought skins from white trappers but also traded them to Indians for tools, weapons, alcohol or other items.

This activity has been described in many adventure novels or movies about the life of fictional characters or those who have existed, such as Davy Crockett or as in the film The Revenant adapted from the novel of the same name based on the true story of the feat accomplished in 1823 by trapper Hugh Glass. If you have not seen this movie, I highly recommend it but beware sensitive and chilly souls abstain; o)

At the time, it was in November that furred animals take their best, it is at this time that trappers set their traps, equipped with sleds and snowshoes to move in the snow . At the end of winter, in March / April, they leave to sell or exchange the products of their trap season in the counters and the commercial stations. Trappers have, unfortunately, removed beaver from parts of North America.

In the late twentieth century, with the disappearance of certain species in certain areas and social demands, trap regulations were strengthened, requiring nowadays in Canada, for example, two days of lessons and a trapper's certificate. followed by apprenticeship with a professional trapper before being allowed to participate in this activity.

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Klondike Gold Rush

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The Klondike Gold Rush is a gold rush that attracted about 100,000 prospectors to the Klondike region of Canada's Yukon Territory between 1896 and 1899.

Gold was discovered on August 16, 1896, and when news arrived in San Francisco the following year, they led to a rush.

The rush ended in 1899 when gold was found in Nome, a town on the extreme western tip of Alaska, and many prospectors left the Klondike.
Prospectors had begun to search for gold in the Yukon in the 1880s. The discovery of significant deposits along the Klondike River in 1896 was greeted with enthusiasm on site.

The rush began with the arrival of gold shipments worth $ 1,393,000 (more than $ 1 billion today) in US West Coast ports in July 1897.

Newspaper articles about gold gave rise to collective hysteria and many quit their jobs to go to the Klondike as prospectors.
The end of the rush was accelerated by the discovery of gold at Nome and many prospectors left the Klondike for the new gold deposits.

From the mining point of view, the rush continued until 1903 when production reached its maximum thanks to the use of heavier equipment. Gold mining has continued to this day and it is estimated that about 570 tonnes of gold, valued at $ 30740000000, were produced in the region prior to 2005. The memory of the rush to Gold continues to attract tourists to the region and helps keep its legacy alive.

I hope you enjoyed this article and taught you some new information about Alaska.
I wish you a very warm day; o)

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