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Bald Eagle Diving

Photo

Amazing Alaska

Explore monstrous glaciers, soar over ice caps, have a close-encounter with wildlife – nature, beauty and endless adventure abound in Alaska.

/ 18 PHOTOS
Terminus of Mendenhall Glacier

Mendenhall Glacier

Located in Mendenhall Valley, the Mendenhall Glacier is a massive glacial system that stretches 120 miles. It is approximately 12 miles long, and 1.5 miles in width at the face. It is located 12 miles from downtown Juneau.

Danny Lehman
Bald Eagle Diving

Bald beauty

A bald eagle dives for dinner in one of the many remote lakes within the Tongass National Forest. With almost 17 million acres, the Tongass is the nation's largest national forest covering most of Southeast Alaska, surrounding the famous Inside Passage.

Ron Sanford
Tram Above Juneau

Scenic adventure

Experience the panorama of Juneau and the Inside Passage from 1,800 feet above the city on the Mount Roberts Tramway, one of the most visited attractions in Southeast Alaska.

Stuart Westmorland
Cruise Ship on Auke Bay

Bright nights

A cruise ship floats on Auke Bay near Juneau, Alaska. The summer sky is still bright at 11:00 p.m.

Bob Rowan
Plane Flying over Juneau Ice Cap

Flying high

Take a scenic flight over the 1,500 square mile Juneau Icecap. Flight-seeing tours are the only way to see the glaciers and fields that make up the fifth-largest ice field in the Western Hemisphere.

Lee Cohen
Humpback Whale Fluke and Fishing Boat

Awe inspiring

A humpback whale shows its fluke during a dive while a fishing boat cruises by. Humpbacks may be seen at any time of year in Alaska, but during spring, the animals migrate back to Alaska where food is abundant. Whales seen in Alaska during the summer months are from Hawaii.

Buddy Mays
Alaska. Kobuk Valley National Park. Caribou (Rangifer tarandus)  herd on  tundra in summer.

Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska

Less than 2,000 visitors last year, but almost 500,000 caribou each spring and fall. In other words, the only crowds you’ll experience at Kobuk will likely have antlers and four legs apiece. In fact, this roadless expanse, just north of the Arctic Circle, is so remote that the U.S. Geologic Survey still hasn’t named some of its river drainages. But for those who are prepared for a true wilderness experience, rafting the Kobuk River, hiking the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes or climbing among the Baird and Waring ranges that ring the park can be the adventure of a lifetime.

Tom Walker

Cool city

A winter view of the Anchorage skyline with the Chugach Range in the background. The Chugach Range forms a 300-mile crescent outside the town of Valdez, Alaska, east of Anchorage.

Denali, North America's tallest mountain at 20,320 feet, is visible from Anchorage even though it's 140 miles to the north.

Majestic mountain

Denali, North America's tallest mountain at 20,320 feet, is visible from Anchorage even though it's 140 miles to the north.

John Brecher
** FILE ** Mel Leskinen, left, talks as Albert Whitehead walks his pet reindeer Star along 4th Avenue in downtown Anchorage, Alaska, Feb. 2, 2005.  Half of the nation's population thinks most of Alaska is covered in ice and snow year-round. One out of every eight believe that the 49th state is either a separate country, a U.S. territory, a commonwealth or just aren't sure. Thanks to a poll commissioned by Gov. Frank Murkowski, Alaskans know a bit better the misperceptions Americans have of their neighbors to the north. (AP Photo/Al Grillo, File)

Reindeer games

Mel Leskinen, left, talks as Albert Whitehead walks his pet reindeer Star along 4th Avenue in downtown Anchorage, Alaska, Feb. 2, 2005. Half of the nation's population thinks most of Alaska is covered in ice and snow year-round. One out of every eight believe that the 49th state is either a separate country, a U.S. territory, a commonwealth or just aren't sure. Thanks to a poll commissioned by Gov. Frank Murkowski, Alaskans know a bit better the misperceptions Americans have of their neighbors to the north.

Al Grillo / AP
MOOSE

Lighten up, moose

A bull moose with Christmas lights tangled in its antlers rests in a field in Anchorage, Alaska, on Dec. 25, 2005. The lights, which did not seem to bother the moose, could pull off as the he wonders through Anchorage neighborhoods.

Al Grillo / AP
Young boy poses in front of snowman in residential neighborhood in Anchorage

Wow, that's a snowman!

A young boy poses in front of a 16-foot tall snowman in a residential neighborhood of Anchorage, Dec. 24, 2005. Thousands of people trekked to the house to see the creation.

Stringer/usa / X01447
A windsurfer rides the wind as he jumps across waves in the Turnagain Arm south of Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, May 18, 2006.  (AP Photo/Al Grillo)

A refreshing ride

A windsurfer rides the wind as he jumps across waves in the Turnagain Arm south of Anchorage, Alaska on May 18, 2006.

Al Grillo / AP
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The Iditarod

Mitch Seavey mushes past a patch of open water on the Yukon River after leaving Ruby, Alaska on Friday, March 12, 2010 during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Bob Hallinen / Anchorage Daily News
** ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND SEPT. 16-17 ** FILE ** An iceberg from the Portage Glacier is locked in the frozen Portage Lake south of Anchorage, Alaska in this Jan. 6, 2004 file photo.  The glacier, which is a major Alaska tourist destination near Anchorage's southern edge, has retreated so far it no longer can be seen from a multimillion-dollar visitors center built in 1986. Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich is hosting conference Saturday through Monday in Girdwood, Alaska for leaders from 17 states to get a firsthand look at the effects of global warming on the northern landscape. Mayors will spend three days discussing how they can reduce their cities' contributions to warming and how cities can adjust to changes scientists predict will spread to other states. (AP Photo/Al Grillo)

Glacial beauty

An iceberg from the Portage Glacier is locked in the frozen Portage Lake south of Anchorage, Alaska in this Jan. 6, 2004 photo. The glacier, which is a major Alaska tourist destination near Anchorage's southern edge, has retreated so far it no longer can be seen from a multimillion-dollar visitors center built in 1986.

Al Grillo / AP
Alaska's favorable climate makes ice carving a popular activity and spectacle for visitors.

Artistic awe

Alaska's favorable climate makes ice carving a popular activity and spectacle for visitors.

Tom Melius, with the Fish and Wildlife Service, left, Lisa Pajot, second left, and Gary Bullock, second from right, with the Bird and Treatment and Learning Center, and Pat Lampi, with the Alaska Zoo release a bald eagle in Anchorage Alaska Saturday Sept. 25, 2006.  The eagle was cared for by the Bird and Treatment and Learning Center after it lost its tail feathers and was released after the feathers grew back. (AP Photo/John Gomes)

Flight of freedom

Tom Melius, with the Fish and Wildlife Service, left, Lisa Pajot, second left, and Gary Bullock, second from right, with the Bird and Treatment and Learning Center, and Pat Lampi, with the Alaska Zoo release a bald eagle in Anchorage Alaska Sept. 25, 2006. The eagle was cared for by the Bird and Treatment and Learning Center after it lost its tail feathers and was released after the feathers grew back.

John Gomes / AP
Two snowmobiles collide, knocking one rider off, as they race around the track during the Fur Rendezvous Sno-X races in Anchorage, Alaska, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2005. The 17-day winter festival includes the World Championship Sled Dog races, dog weight pull, snow sculptures and other events to break up the long Alaska winter. (AP Photo/Al Grillo)

Snow-plowed

Two snowmobiles collide, knocking one rider off, as they race around the track during the Fur Rendezvous Sno-X races in Anchorage, Feb. 26, 2005. The 17-day winter festival includes the World Championship Sled Dog races, dog weight pull, snow sculptures and other events to break up the long Alaska winter.

Al Grillo / AP
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