background and location

• covering nearly 2 million square kilometres, the US state of Alaska borders canada and the arctic and pacific oceans
• alaska is in the north west of the north american continent
• the upper third of alaska is within the arctic circle
• the whole of alaska is classed as being within the tundra biome
• alaskas indigenous peoples include the inupiat and yup'ik tribes. they are a part of a larger group of native americains found all over the arctic region known as the inuit
• since the 1800s, around 100,000 inuit have been joined by more recent permanent settlers, mainly from europe, increasing the population to almost 750,000
• alaska is one of the most sparsely populated areas in the world. it reflects the lack of economic opportunities in this extreme environment. nearly half of the residents live in the city of Anchorage