SURVIVE!

Many people look to Alaska as a place to run to in case the world falls apart. Worries about government collapse, war, nuclear attacks and the need to survive in a post apocalyptic reality drive people to us thinking they can survive better up here, off the grid, away from the troubles to come. They see our lands as a frontier with limitless possibilities much as many of our ancestors saw the northland as a place of wealth and treasure during the gold rush and oil boom days.


Much like those who came before them though, they fail to see the reality...the Arctic is not for wimps.


The Arctic Warrior blog will endeavor to present the reality of what life would be like if world war three struck and you end up trying to survive in the arctic lands of Alaska. Contributions by real life Sourdoughs who live the Arctic lifestyle and Warriors who have trained and fought in Arctic environments will build realistic scenarios of what you can expect if you ever become a real Arctic Warrior.


Thursday, October 11, 2012

A few facts about Alaska




Making your way in any land requires not only knowledge of how to survive, but general knowledge of where you are trying to live. The factors of the land and environment can be as much an ally or enemy as a friend or an invading army. Here are few basic facts about Alaska that can make a difference.

1.  Alaska is the largest state in the union. From north to south Alaska is approximately 1,400 miles long and 2,700 miles wide from west to east, it is over 586,400 square miles in land size.
2.  Alaska has the longest coastline of any state. The Alaskan coastline runs for 6,640 miles, more than all the other states' coastlines combined. That’s not including the coastlines of all its islands. Including them, Alaska has 33,904 miles of shoreline.
3. Alaska has more than 3,000,000 lakes
4. Alaska has over 100 volcanoes and volcanic fields.
5. An estimated 100,000 glaciers cover almost five percent, over 25,000 square miles of the state. There are more active glaciers in Alaska than in the rest of the inhabited world combined.
6. Alaska’s population is over 710,000 people with a density of 1.2 inhabitants per square mile.
7. Alaska contains 17 of the 20 highest mountain peaks in the U.S. Mount McKinley rises 20,320 feet above sea level and is the tallest mountain in North America. Its native and preferred name, "Denali", means the "The Great One" which it surely is.
8. Most of Alaska, including the capital in Juneau, is not accessible by roads. Alaska has about 12,000 miles of public roads including all highways (there are no freeways) and smaller roads and streets both paved and unpaved. By comparison New Jersey about 1/75th the size of AK has over 39,000 miles of public roads and California 1/5th the size of AK has over 2.3 million miles of paved roads alone.
9. At its closest point, Alaska is less than 3 miles from Russia.
10. Alaska is the only state to have coastlines on three different seas, the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea.
11. The interior of Alaska regularly experiences summer temperatures in the 80s and even 90s. The interior also gets as cold as -70 in the winter and often sits at -50 for days or weeks at a time.  South Central Alaska has milder temperatures, with winters seldom getting below 0f, but it gets considerably more snow and rain. Southeast gets very little snow, but makes up for it with almost daily rain or drizzle, about 160 inches a year.