Mountains are a part of life in Alaska. They're probably the first thing visitors notice about the 49th state, whether they arrive via automobile, airplane or cruise ship.
Alaska is home to 39 mountain ranges, and the Chugach, Alaska, Kenai, Talkeetna, Aleutian and Tordrillo ranges are easily visible from different spots around Anchorage.
On clear days, Mount McKinley and other mountains of the Alaska Range are visible from downtown Anchorage and several other spots around town. One of the best places to see "The Great One" is from the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, including stops at Earthquake Park and Point Woronzof. McKinley, at 20,320 feet, is the tallest mountain in North America. It isn't the state's only great mountain. The Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve is home to nine of the 16 highest peaks in the country, including Mount St. Elias at 18,008 feet. It is the nation's second-tallest mountain.
Alaska also is home to other natural wonders. Consider:
• Alaska is one-sixth the size of the Lower 48 and has more coastline than the rest of the states combined.
• There are approximately 100,000 glaciers in Alaska. The Malaspina Glacier in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park is larger than Rhode Island.
• Alaska is home to 17 national park systems. More than 54 million acres -- 13 percent of the state's landmass -- are devoted to national parks. Wrangell-St. Elias is more than 13.2 million acres, the nation's largest national park -- by a lot.
• The 1964 Good Friday earthquake was the strongest ever recorded in North America, a magnitude 9.2 quake. Alaska has more earthquakes than any other state.
• The Aleutian arc contains 80 volcanoes, 44 of which are active. Mount Spurr, only 80 miles west of Anchorage, last erupted in 1992, covering the city in ash. The 1912 explosion of Novarupta volcano was the biggest in North America.
• At 5.6 million acres, Chugach National Forest is the second largest in the nation and is roughly the size of Massachusetts and Rhode Island combined.
• Chugach State Park (Anchorage's back yard) is one of the largest state parks in the nation, with more than 500,000 acres.
