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Seward

(Encyclopedia)Seward, city (1990 pop. 2,699), Kenai Peninsula borough, S Alaska, on Kenai Peninsula, at the head of Resurrection Bay; inc. 1912. It was founded in 1902 as the ocean terminus of the Alaska RR (built ...

Katmai National Park and Preserve

(Encyclopedia)Katmai National Park and Preserve kătˈmī [key], at the northern end of the Alaska Peninsula on Shelikof Strait, S Alaska, comprising Katmai National Park (3,674,530 acres/1,487,664 hectares) and an...

Family Compact, in French and Spanish history

(Encyclopedia)Family Compact, several alliances between France and Spain in the form of agreements between the French and Spanish branches of the Bourbon family. The first of the three compacts, the Treaty of the E...

Coast Ranges

(Encyclopedia)Coast Ranges, series of mountain ranges along the Pacific coast of North America, extending from SE Alaska to Baja California; from 2,000 to 20,000 ft (610–6,100 m) high. The ranges include the St. ...

Kenai Peninsula

(Encyclopedia)Kenai Peninsula kēˈnī [key], S Alaska, jutting c.150 mi (240 km) into the Gulf of Alaska, between Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet. The Kenai Mts., c.7,000 ft (2,130 m) high, occupy most of the ...

Palin, Sarah Heath

(Encyclopedia)Palin, Sarah Heath pāˈlĭn [key], 1964–, U.S. politician, b. Sandpoint, Idaho, as Sarah Louise Heath, grad. Univ. of Idaho (B.S. 1987). Her family moved to Alaska not long after she was born. In 1...

Kuskokwim

(Encyclopedia)Kuskokwim kŭsˈkōkwĭm [key], river, c.650 mi (1,046 km) long, rising on the northwest slopes of the Alaska Range, central Alaska, and flowing SW to the Bering Sea. The shores of the river are mostl...

Lynn Canal

(Encyclopedia)Lynn Canal, natural inlet, c.90 mi (145 km) long, 7–12 mi (11–19 km) wide, SE Alaska. It connects in the S with Chatham Strait and Stephens Passage and thrusts north between mountains to break fin...

Chilkoot Pass

(Encyclopedia)Chilkoot Pass chĭlˈko͞ot [key], alt. c.3,500 ft (1,070 m), in the Coast Mts., on the British Columbia–Alaska line. The Chilkoot people long used it to pass between the Pacific coast and the Yukon...

Pavlof Volcano

(Encyclopedia)Pavlof Volcano, active volcano, 8,177 ft (2,493 m) high, W Alaska Peninsula, SW Alaska, on the W shore of Pavlof Bay. It and its neighboring twin volcano, Pavlof Sister, 7,028 ft (2,142 m) high, are l...