Land Features of Alaska

• As the largest U.S. state, Alaska has a lot of ground to cover.glacier bay, alaska image by Alan James from Fotolia.com
  
  When many people think of Alaska, they picture a frozen tundra. In reality, ice fields cover only about 4 percent of this gigantic state. Alaska is not only the largest of the 50 U.S. states but one of the most topographically diverse. With land features including gigantic glaciers, sparkling rivers and lakes, majestic mountains and active volcanoes, Alaska is both rugged and beautiful.
  
  

Glaciers

• The climate and topography of Alaska has made it the perfect host for glaciers throughout the last 12.5 million years. Today, an estimated 100,000 glaciers are located in Alaska. Many of these glaciers are remnants from the Pleistocene age, when the climate was colder than it is today. Working with the coastal mountains, the maritime climate helps create the ideal conditions for glaciation in Alaska. Some notable Alaskan glaciers include Columbia Glacier, Harding Icefield, Portage Glacier, Mendenhall Glacier, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Malaspina Glacier and Matanuska Glacier.
  
  

Rivers and Lakes

• Hundreds of rivers help to drain the Alaskan land, the most notable of which is the Yukon River. Other major rivers in Alaska include the Kuskokwim, Colville and Copper. The state also has nearly 3 million lakes. The largest are Iliamna Lake and Becharof Lake, but also worth mentioning are Aleknagik, Clark and Minchumina lakes. More than one-fourth of all inland water in the United States lies within the borders of Alaska.
  
  

Mountains

• Alaska is also home to Mount McKinley, the highest point in North America. Mount McKinley stands 20,320 feet tall and dominates most of the state's southeast region. It is located in the Alaska Range, where mountains extend from the Alaska Peninsula to the border of the Yukon Territory, Canada. Alaska is also home to the Aleutian Range, Brooks Range and the Chugach and Kenai mountains.
  
  

Volcanoes

• Alaska also contains nearly 130 volcanoes and volcanic fields, both active and dormant. Alaskan volcanoes make up over three-quarters of all the volcanoes that have erupted in the United States in the past 200 years. Among Alaska's active volcanoes are Akutan, Pavlof, Shishaldin and Cleveland. The largest eruption recorded in Alaska was that of Novarupta/Katmai in 1912.