Northern Lights, Trapper Creek, Alaska
Photograph by Thomas J. Abercrombie Spectacular sky shows brighten the long winter nights for Alaska's year-round residents. This display of northern lights sets the horizon aglow at Trapper Creek. Stars of the Big Dipper, upper left, wheeling through the December sky, show as streaks in this ten-minute exposure. Residents of the region witness dozens of auroras yearly; those in the Point Barrow area farther north see as many as a hundred. (Photo shot on assignment for "Nomad in Alaska's Outback," April 1969, National Geographic magazine)
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska, 2003
Photograph by Frans Lanting Seen from above, a network of countless tributaries gleams like molten metal in Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Larger than Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts combined, the park protects more than 13 million acres (5 million hectares) of mountains, tundra, forests, ice fields—and solitude. (Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Alaska's Giant of Ice and Stone," March 2003, National Geographic magazine)
Calving Glacier, Matanuska Glacier, Alaska, 2007
Photograph by James Balog It takes ice about 250 years to travel the 24 miles (39 kilometers) from the origin of Alaska's Matanuska Glacier to its terminus, where icebergs like this one calve into the Matanuska River. (Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Big Thaw," June 2007, National Geographic magazine)
Spawning Salmon, Alaska, 1999
Photograph by Karen Kasmauski Salmon en route to spawning grounds struggle up an intertidal stream on a stretch of Alaskan coastline once fouled by millions of gallons of crude oil from the infamous Exxon Valdez. Today, a visitor would be hard pressed to find evidence of the spill. But studies show lingering effects to regional wildlife. (Photo shot on assignment for "In the Wake of the Spill: Ten Years After Exxon Valdez," March 1999, National Geographic magazine)
Rainbow, Denali National Park, Alaska, 2001
Photograph by Joel Sartore A double rainbow plunges into a gorge in Alaska's Denali National Park. Although they appear to exist at a definable point in the sky, a rainbow's position is actually dependent on the location of the observer relative to the sun. (Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Grizzly Survival: Their Fate Is in Our Hands," July 2001, National Geographic magazine)
Whale's Tail, Frederick Sound, Alaska, 1999
Photograph by Michael Melford Commercial hunting of humpback whales, like this one flashing its flukes in Alaska's Frederick Sound, reduced their population to just a few thousand worldwide in the 1960s. But an international whaling ban has helped them rebound, and new census numbers show the North Pacific population alone could be more than 10,000 and possibly as many as 25,000. (Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "A Wilder Passage," May/June 1999, National Geographic Traveler magazine)
On Board the Observer, Alaska, 1998
Photograph by Michael Melford Observer, a wooden-hulled, World War II-era minesweeper that has been converted to a 12-passenger cruising yacht, glides through glassy water in Alaska's Inside Passage. This meticulously restored boat takes tourists through the heart of Tongass National Forest, 500 miles (800 kilometers) of sky-blue glaciers, grizzly bear tracks, wild beaches, bald eagles, spruce trees, and deep, mountain-ringed fjords. (Text from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "A Wilder Passage," May/June 1999, National Geographic Traveler magazine)
Jellyfish, Alaska, 1998
Photograph by Michael Melford Jellyfish drift in the frigid waters of Alaska's Inside Passage. These waters flow through Tongass National Forest—a rich, shadowy, complex place fecund with life. Among its riches: thick carpets of mosses and ferns, streams jet-black with salmon, more bald eagles and brown bears than anywhere else in North America, and trees that can live for 500 years and reach 225 feet (69 meters) into the sky. (Text from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "A Wilder Passage," May/June 1999, National Geographic Traveler magazine)
Glacier, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska, 2002
Photograph by Frans Lanting A crumpled ice field forms at the confluence of two massive glaciers in Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. These glacial rivers snake together among the park's mountains and form ice complexes that cover hundreds—sometimes thousands—of square miles. (Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Alaska's Giant of Ice and Stone," March 2003, National Geographic magazine)
Glacier, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska, 2003
Photograph by Frans Lanting Streams of ice flow together like rivers, forming glacier complexes that cover hundreds—sometimes thousands—of square miles in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Covering more than 13 million acres (5.2 million hectares), Wrangell-St. Elias is the largest national park in the U.S. Nearly six Yellowstones could fit within its borders. (Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Alaska's Giant of Ice and Stone," March 2003, National Geographic magazine)
Red Fox, Denali National Park, Alaska, 2001
Photograph by Joel Sartore In Alaska's Denali National Park, a red fox opens wide for a yawn. Foxes are masters of adaptation, allowing them to thrive despite environmental pressures. They live in forests, grasslands, mountains, deserts, and even human environments such as farms and suburban areas. They are solitary hunters that feed on rodents, rabbits, birds, small game—even fish, frogs, worms, and garbage. (Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Grizzly Survival: Their Fate is in Our Hands," July 2001, National Geographic magazine)
Aerial View, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska, 2002
Photograph by Frans Lanting The jagged University Range in Alaska's snow-draped St. Elias Mountains blushes red in the Arctic twilight. Many peaks in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park remain unnamed—and unclimbed—more than 20 years after the park was established. (Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Alaska's Giant of Ice and Stone," March 2003, National Geographic magazine)
Gull Island, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, 1998 Photograph by Michael Melford Gull Island, off of Alaska's Kenai Peninsula, is a refuge for hundreds of seagulls. One of Alaska's most heavily trafficked areas, the Kenai Peninsula abounds with postcard views—snowcapped mountains, rivers that roil with spawning salmon, an abundant supply of moose, bears, eagles, and puffins, four active volcanoes, and a gigantic, otherworldly icescape, Harding Icefield. (Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Taking on the Kenai," May/June 1998, National Geographic Traveler magazine)
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