Alaska - America's Northern Frontier (1965)

half of the land is permanently Frozen below the surface as deep as 200 ft fewer residents than the city of Omaha Nebraska its vast unsettled Wilderness areas are America's Northern Frontier let's see how Alaska's location makes the state and its people unique additions to the United States Continental Alaska is separated from the Soviet Union only by the bearing straight narrow passage of about 53 Mi the northern part of Alaska lies within the Arctic Circle a long low Sun period gives the northern and the central region winters of little daylight and subzero temperatures Southern and Southeastern Mainland areas are comparatively moderate Alaska is not all Frozen Wasteland as people once imagined in the Southeast or Panhandle region summers are cool and Winters are no colder than in New York City for example but like the Pacific Northwest this southern part of Alaska is wet with rainfall ranging from about 60 to 150 in annually only the very high mountain regions have snow and ice the year round falling moisture continually adds to the great snow fields around the Peaks their tremendous weight pressure forces the ice down the high valleys forming glaciers that are often 2,000 ft [Music] deep glaciers resemble frozen rivers and the pattern of their Falls and Rapids is clearly visible glaciers have filled these valleys since the ice ages thousands of years ago the Panhandle consists of a narrow Mainland and hundreds of islands and rocks outcropping US cities in the Southeast include Skagway Juno Sitka and katakan there are no Roads connecting them ferry boats travel these water routes between the principal Panhandle cities the ferry boats are owned by the state government they operate on regular schedules and perform the services usually hand L by railroads and trucks in other areas of the United States many tourists come to Alaska by this route as a trip along the inner Channel offers some of the most spectacular scenery in the [Music] nation even the capital city Juno is a mountain locked City approachable only by sea or air the state capital building is in downtown Juno the city derives much of its income from federal and state government payrolls from tourists from lumbering and most of all from the fishing industry for many years the waters off Southern Alaska have been the world's greatest source of salmon and they are rich in other edible fish as well as shrimp and crab many fishermen and caner workers from other states come to work in Alaska during the summer during these months more than a 100 fish canaries along the coast are at their peak of [Applause] activity in this mountain area there is no level land suitable for large-scale farming like 2/3 of Alaska it is covered by ever Green Forest dams built across rushing Mountain Streams Supply Power for operating saw mills and with the building of plywood and paper mills the people are beginning to utilize their Timber resources the southern Coastal area around the Gulf of Alaska is warmed by Pacific currents and is protected from the north by mountains in the uan range and the Alaska range Anchorage the state's largest city and major sea port is located here Anchorage is an international Crossroad for more than a dozen InterContinental Airlines these passengers may be on route from Chicago to Tokyo or they may have come from Sweden flying the great circle route over the North Pole Anchorage is a busy modern city with the theaters supermarkets department stores and other features of urban Living in America a large percentage of the population is in military uniform United States Army Navy and Air Force bases are maintained nearby Alaska's Global position as America's Northern Frontier is so important to National Defense that military spending is the state's major source of income the Denali fault a Fisher in the earth's rock structure causes severe Tremors in this region and in 1964 a major earthquake caused extensive damage and [Music] Anchorage the Alaska railroad which is owned by the federal government provides the major transportation link between the southern coast and the interior region Le Anchorage it runs northward through the Fertile Matanuska Valley protected from extreme cold by the mountains the Matanuska is one of Alaska's few farming regions 60% of the state's farm products are grown in this Valley dairy cattle and a wide variety of vegetables and berries Thrive here the valley has only a 4mth growing season but on summer days the sunlight lasts as many as 18 hours and crops such as these potatoes will grow rapidly to generous size continuing North the train crosses the Alaska range of mountains passing within sight of Mount McKinley the highest mountain in North America the peak of Mount McKinley is 20,320 Ft above sea level it is no wonder that the Indians called it the home of the sun between the Alaska range and the Brooks range in the north are the high plains and table lands of the central region this is the region of the drier continental climate where temper Central Area there is only one major city Fairbanks since World War II the city has increased size many times over but here too the biggest payroll is the military from nearby runways Air Force jets protect America's North soaring into Arctic Skies they can be over the North Pole on short notice a newcomer to Fairbanks finds people here from every state in the Union tourists workers Housewives Hunters fishermen farmers and students at nearby University of Alaska summer sessions are popular with students from other states who feel that the warm months are an ideal time to visit the Northland also the warmer months are the best time to travel on the Alaska highway this road which runs through Canada is the only Highway connecting Alaska with the rest of the continental United States many newcomers to Fairbanks feel that the road is leading them to the land of opportunity for some it may be but Others May find it a handicap that there are no large Industries no big steel mills or automobile factories for example and jobs for factory trained men are scarce wages are high but so are living costs food prices are generally above the national average the high cost of gasoline makes cars expensive to operate and because of the transportation distance new cars cost $4 to $500 more than in the Pacific coast states the cheapest and fastest way to cross the great expanses of country is by air almost every Alaskan Village has a landing strip numerous rivers and lakes make sea planes practical even in the interior in Winter the pontoons are replaced by skis for landing on snow and ice The Men Who fly these planes commercially are called Bush Pilots the bush pilot flies no scheduled route but will carry passengers and supplies to any remote spot where he can find a place to land for the bush pilot a distant coal mine is within easy reach of Fairbanks but transporting the coal Overland from the mine is difficult and costly many of Alaska's mineral resources are too far out in the wilderness to be mined economically even most gold dredging operations are confined to locations close to cities commercial gold dredging requires huge and expensive equipment The Dredge Scoops up tons of Earth washes out a few ounces of gold and discharges the mud and [Music] gravel to develop its vast Wilderness Alaska needs more roads such as this one being constructed to connect a farming region with Fairbanks homesteaders who come to the central region must be prepared to devote many years of hard work to develop their Farms the mother and daughter of this homesteading family do the housework and tend the strawberry patch and garden the youngest child has the chore of feeding the chickens and goats his older brothers feed the larger animals the farm must Supply a large part of the family's food requirements [Music] while the younger members of the family find plenty of opportunity for play on their homemade seesaw the older boys continue the task of clearing the homestead of trees and brush a task their father began when he arrived here 5 years before until the day the land is cleared and farming becomes profitable the father like most homesteaders works at a job job in Fairbanks their home for the first few years was a tent and a trailer now they have a house despite the problems of bitter cold Winters and Frozen subsoil many people believe the Central Area can become a region of prosperous Farms this family is intends to own one of those Farms others before them have tried and given up abandoning their homes and hopes of living off the land Indians in the central region see the Wilderness in another light for centuries they have survived here largely by hunting and fishing they hunt caribou and other wild game for meat and hides [Music] the bare skins obtained by one Indian Hunter indicate the abundance of wild animal life in [Music] Alaska only the Indian is permitted to build and use the fish wheel with this revolving device he traps salmon and other fish that swim up the Yukon River from Canada the Yukon river and its tributary Ares flow Westward toward the Bearing [Music] Sea in the Gold Rush days the Yukon was the route many Prospectors took to get through Alaska to the Klondike region of Canada it is still an important Waterway and one route by which crude oil and other products may be transported economically about a third of Alaska lies within the Arctic Circle the area north of the Brooks range is almost uninhabited except for a small Eskimo Village at Point Barrow gnome is the major seap port on the west coast and kabu is another important Eskimo Village in summer the Arctic coastlands Sparkle with pools of meltwater because of the Frozen subsoil or permafrost water from the melted snow of winter is not absorbed into the ground ice that has broken up in the bays and rivers is washed out to sea these ice flows are the summer hunting grounds of Eskimos who travel among them in boats equipped with outboard motors hunting for seal and the small white beluga [Music] whale they set up Summer Camps along the shore wherever they think the hunting will be best once the seal is caught the women do most of the work of preparing it while the men discuss the day's hunting or fishing and the prospects for tomorrow with Education and Training younger Eskimos quickly adapt to Skilled work and modern machines or fly the Arctic routes as airline pilots others work in construction at military installations such as the radar stations that scan the Northern Air approaches to our continent as part of America's early warning system the town of kabu serves as a trading post for Eskimos many of whom come here from hundreds of miles around it is also a permanent year round home for several hundred Eskimos here the younger people live in ways that are a blend of old and new cultures thus young Eskimo Girls participate in a beauty contest that is typically American where evening gowns compete with traditional Eskimo clothing many of the older Eskimos prefer to ignore the modern ways of doing things for them blubber is still an important part of the diet they carefully cut and trim the beluga whale into Choice pieces these are hung in in the sun to cure the darker pieces are fish these not only feed the family but also the huskys the sled dogs have little to do in summer except rest up for the winter hunting trips in Midsummer The Sun Shines 24 hours a day giving the children plenty of play time to make up for what they missed during the 6 weeks of winter Darkness it is not uncommon to see Eskimo children swimming in icy Arctic Waters at 10 or 11:00 in the [Music] evening by condensing 2 hours movement into a few seconds of time-lapse photography we can watch the Summer sun reach its lowest point it is now midnight in northern Alaska in all of Alaska much remains to be [Music] done America's Northern Frontier has mineral and Forest resources to be developed water power to harness for [Music] industry A wilderness to be [Music] settled Alaska's Northern location makes it a unique addition to the United States a state that more people are coming to each year some to visit and some to live