Tales of the Coast
America's Coasts

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Alaska Coast

The coastal geology of Alaska is incredibly complex, having been shaped by fault tectonics, volcanism, glaciation, fluvial processes, sea level changes and annual sea ice.

The southeast portion of the coast is characterized by rugged, rocky coastal areas with sheltered fjords. It remains mostly ice-free.

The volcanic Aleutian Mountains trend southwest from Anchorage, Alaska, to form the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands that extend some 2,200 km (1,370 miles) forming the border between the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea.

Rising above the coastal plain with mountains over 1,000 meters, the Seward Peninsula, with Norton Sound and the Bering Sea to the south and Kotzebue Sound and the Chukchi Sea to the north, provides a great contrast to the adjoining coasts. North of Kotzebue Sound, barriers and cuspate forelands similar to those of North Carolina border the coast. The first cuspate foreland is the unusual Point Hope. Three more cuspate forelands extend along the coast terminating with Point Barrow, the most northern point of Alaska.

Map of United States showing Alaska

Source: NationalAtlas.gov

Alaska Coasts

Barriers, fjords and volcanoes are only some of the coastal features found along Alaska's shores.