Alaska Panhandle

The Alaska panhandle is the coast of the American state of Alaska, just west of the British Columbia province of Canada. In many places, the international border runs along the crest of the Pacific Range of mountains.

The Panhandle includes the Tongass National Forest, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska's Inside Passage, and a myriad of islands.

Wildlife includes grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, Sitka deer, humpback whales, orcas, five species of salmon, bald eagles, harlequin ducks, scoters, and murrelets.

Major cities are Juneau and Ketchikan. Other towns are Sitka, Petersburg, Metlakatla, Haines, Wrangell, Yakutat. There are many tiny towns, such as Pelican, Tenakee Springs, Port Protection, Hyder, and Gustavus.

On August 20, 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt established the Alexander Archipelago Forest Reserve, which formed the heart of the Tongass National Forest.