The first people who came to Alaska thousands of years ago saw an area much different than what we see today. Rather than being static, Alaska’s geography is constantly changing. Dramatic tectonic convulsions from earthquakes and volcanoes are matched by subtle changes in climate, and plant and animal distributions. The size and distribution of Alaska’s population is constantly changing as are the nature and character of the structures they build and the resources they harvest.

Geography’s challenge is to describe and analyze what is where in Alaska and to make sense out of distribution and interconnections of things.

We will start out by looking at Alaska’s location, where it is relative to other places and also look at exactly where Alaska is located.