At 656,425 square miles, Alaska is the largest state in America, twice the size of Texas and one-fifth the size of the United States. With a population of only 700,000 people and limited road systems, the best way to travel in the 49th state is by airplane. Alaska has six times as many pilots and 16 times as many aircraft as the lower 48. Bush pilots are a celebrated part of life in the Last Frontier and opportunities abound for aerial flightseeing. This chapter contains many of my favorite aerial scenes. 

 

Anchorage is fascinating area explore from the air. The city is situated on a flat plain backed by mountains to the east and surrounded by the waters of the Turnagain Arm and Cook Inlet. Mudflats and river deltas flowing into the ocean are fascinating subjects, and the surrounding mountains provide an excellent backdrop for photography.

 

Soaring above the breathtaking granite walls and ice falls of Denali National Park is an astounding experience and photographs cannot convey the scale. 

 

The Wrangell-St. Elias National Park is the largest national park in the USA and also the least visited. The park is a wonderland of snowy mountain peaks massive ice fields and glaciers.

 

The Knik Glacier in Southcentral Alaska is, in my opinion, the most beautiful of all the glaciers with its abstract ice formations.

 

The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes in Katmai National Park is by far the most unusual of parks. With the remains of the Novarupta volcano in 1912, the entire valley is a landscape of deep gorges, wide canyons, and rivers of volcanic ash.

 

I hope you enjoy this aerial tour. Fasten your seat belts!