Anchorage, Alaska summers are full-time! Remember, it stays light all night in the Land of the Midnight Sun. In this view of Anchorage from Earthquake Park (right), you can look across Cook Inlet to and see the Chugach Mountains behind the city. These mountains provide a dramatic backdrop for the long, lingering summertime sunsets.

Another by-product of the long summer days is the robust flowers that spring up all around Anchorage, Alaska. Take a walk around Anchorage's colorful Town Square (below). You'll see flowers of all shapes and sizes. Stroll over to the "Log Cabin" visitor center, where you'll see a mileage chart to many other world capitals.

The Great Alaskan TourSaver is perfect for a trip based around Anchorage, Alaska. Anchorage is the hub of SouthCentral Alaska and the TourSaver has more than 90 offers in South Central Alaska. Take a look at many of the Alaska tours offered in the TourSaver.

Anchorage is located at 61°13'06" North, 149°53'57" West in South Central Alaska. It lies slightly farther north than Oslo, Helsinki and St. Petersburg. It is northeast of the Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak Island, and Cook Inlet, due north of the Kenai Peninsula, northwest of Prince William Sound and Alaska Panhandle, and nearly due south of Mount McKinley/Denali.

The city of Anchorage, Alaska is on a strip of coastal lowland and extends up the lower alpine slopes of the Chugach Mountains. To the south is Turnagain Arm, a fiord that has some of the world's highest tides. Knik Arm, another tidal inlet, lies to the west and north. The Chugach Mountains on the east form a boundary to development, but not to the city limits, which encompass part of the wild alpine territory of Chugach State Park. The city's seacoast consists mostly of treacherous mudflats.

Adjacent to the north is Matanuska-Susitna Borough (Mat-Su Valley, or just "the valley"), which is included with the MOA as a metropolitan area by the US Census. Although the Mat-Su is a "bedroom community" for Anchorage, the towns, suburbs, farms and homesteads there have varied local cultures quite distinct from that of Anchorage proper. Between metropolitan Anchorage and the valley the communities of Eagle River, Chugiak, and Birchwood, although part of the MOA, also have distinct identities.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the municipality has a total area of 1,961.1 square miles (5,079.2 km²), of which 1,697.2 square miles (4,395.8 km²) is land and 263.9 square miles (683.4 km²) is water. The total area is 13.46% water. The area of Anchorage is thus larger than that of Rhode Island.

 

Alaska TourSaver Reviews

Ten easy ways to save on an Alaska cruise
USA Today - May 30, 2007

See summer's top destinations the right way
Smarter Living - May 14, 2007

Alaska: 2-for-1 tours & vacations
Los Angeles Times - April 22, 2007

Tour book aims to get travelers off Alaska's beaten path
Alaska Journal of Commerce - December 24, 2006

150 Little Coupons Can Save up to $20,000 in Alaska
Frommer's - February 1, 2006

100's of Coupons in One Handy Booklet Offer Big Discounts
Frommer's - December 28, 2004

We Saved $4,000 in Activity Expenses in Alaska
Virtual Tourist - June 24, 2004

 

 

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