The “Far” North & Alaska

Physical Geography

• Three physiographic provinces:– The Northwest

• An extension of the high mountain Cordillera and the Pacific coastal mountains

– The Laurentian Shield• Gentle relief; few hills

– The Arctic, including Greenland• Gentle relief; few hills; Expansive views

Physical Geography

• Terrain– Permafrost– Laurentian Shield

• Ice-scoured plain; low-lying relief

– Arctic• Includes LOTS of different landforms• Many lakes

– Greenland• Craton > 3 billion years old!

Physical Geography

• Basic characteristics of the Region:– Cold temps, long winters, thin soils, poor

drainage, low precipitation

• Climate– Subarctic (Dfc), Tundra (ET), ice cap (EF)– Long winters, short & cool summers– Variable precipitation distinct biogeographic characteristics

• Biogeography– Taiga

• Boreal forests

– Tundra• Lichen, mosses, tiny

things

– Global climate change

Physical Geography

} Defined by treeline

Historical Settlement

Aboriginal Peoples• Four main

cultural groups:– Algonquin-

speaking Crees and Ojibways

– Athabascan cultures

– Aleut– Inuit (eskimos)

Historical Settlement• Early Europeans

– Scandinavian Norse (“Vikings”)

Igaliko, Greenland(built on 1000 year-old Viking ruins!)

Historical Settlement

• Early Europeans, Fur and Fish– French fur traders and trappers in the

Northeast (16th & 17th centuries)– The Hudson Bay Company focused on the

Northwest– Both used water transport and built military

forts to protect their interests

• Alaska’s purchase

Current Settlement

• Aboriginals no longer rely totally on hunting, fishing and gathering

• Often occupy bottom rung on the social and economic ladder

• Native American = in the interior; Inuit = along the coasts and in the Arctic

• Native land settlements key issues

Traditional Political Economy

• Aboriginal people lived off the land, rivers, and the sea, relying on hunting, gathering and fishing to achieve sustenance

• Euro-Americans looked for three things: animals, minerals, trees

• Farming available, but very slim

• Fishing

• Logging/Forestry– The largest area of uncut forest in North

America– Lumber, pulp and paper operations dot the

region from Quebec to Manitoba– The spruce forests south of Hudson Bay are

the prime source for most paper mills

Current Political Economy

Current Political Economy:

Mining

AlaskanPipeline

Current Political Economy:

North Slope Oil

• Hydroelectricity– Provides 70% of all Canada’s power– Cheap & abundant– Sells surplus to New York and New England

states, competing with the coal-burning power plants of the Ohio Valley

Current Political Economy

Current Political Economy

• Tourism – Major attractions

• Parks and national forests• Wildlife (big game)• Sport fishing

– The areas closest to the US border receive most of the pressure

Denali, National Park

Grizzly Bear Relaxing

Fly Fishing, Denise Lake

Alaska, a Political “Island”

Relative Location

Struggle for Alaska’s Land

• Continuous controversies:

– Developing natural resources

– Safeguarding the last frontier

– Protecting and preserving traditional native population’ way of life

– State’s rights to pursue economic development through exploitation of its natural resources

Chronology of Key Events• 1867: US acquires Alaska from Russia• 1884: Alaska Organic Act: victory for Aboriginal

People• 1959: Year of statehood• 1959: Alaska Statehood Act annexation of 104

million acres, without regard of Aboriginal claims• 1968: Petroleum discovered at Prudhoe Bay• 1971: Alaskan Native Land Claims Settlement

Act, providing one billion dollars and 44 million acres

• 1980: Conservation Act: 104 million acres of parks and refuges and 57 million acres specified as wilderness

Aleutian Islands

Integrating Alaska into

North America and the World

Resource Management Strategies

• Preservation:– Removing from or limiting use, saving it for the future

• Conservation:– Balancing use with protection

• Exploitation:– Full or unlimited use

• Multiple Use• Wilderness• Boom and Bust Economy

– Cyclical rapid growth and catastrophic decline

Final Thoughts

• Transportation• (Eco)Tourism• Retirees?

Readings

• San Francisco Chronicle: Greenland likes global warming

• Mayer, Audrey, Pekka E. Kauppi, Per K. Angelstam, Yu Zhang, and Paici M. Tikka. 2005. “Importing Timber, Exporting Ecological Impact,” Science 15 (April): 359–360.– An intriguing cultural & political ecology of the Far North.

• Rundstrom, Robert A. 1990. “A Cultural Interpretation of Inuit Map Accuracy,” The Geographical Review 80 (2): 155–168.– Very cool article on how Inuit peoples use “maps” with

incredible accuracy!

Discussion QuestionsHow does continued Euro-American settlement

influence the once-balanced lifestyle of the Inuit people?

The Arctic Explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson says the “Far” North & Alaska will become a densely settled and fully-integrated region. Why would he say this? Is it really possible? How and why (or why not)?

What kind of effects will occur in the “Far” North & Alaska as the Earth attempts to balance its temperature? Will they be beneficial? Disastrous? Non-effective? Why (or why not)?

Related Books• Berton, Pierre. 1988. The Arctic Grail: The Quest

for the Northwest Passage and the North Pole, 1818–1900. New York: Viking.– The elusive 100-year search for the Northwest

Passage.• Bone, Robert M. 1992. The Geography of the

Canadian North: Issues and Challenges. Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford University Press Canada.– A geographical look at life and landscape of the

region.• Haycox, Stephen. 2002. Alaska: An American

Colony. Seattle: University of Washington Press.– Divided nicely into Russian exploration and the

American period of settlement.

WebSources

• All Things Arctichttp://www.allthingsarctic.com/countries/canada.aspx

• Greenland!!http://iserit.greennet.gl/bgbw/attractions.html

• Extreme Points of North Americahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_points_of_North_America

• Tourism, Parks and Recreationhttp://www.uphere.ca/

• Indian and Northern Affairs Canadahttp://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ch/rcap/sg/sj26_e.html