Southcentral Alaska (russian: Юго-Центральная Аляска) is the portion of the U.S. state of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...

consisting of the shorelines and uplands of the central Gulf of Alaska. Most of the population of the state lives in this region, concentrated in and around the city of

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring ...

. The area includes

Cook Inlet Cook Inlet ( tfn, Tikahtnu; Sugpiaq: ''Cungaaciq'') stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage. On its so ...

, the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, the

Kenai Peninsula The Kenai Peninsula ( Dena'ina: ''Yaghenen'') is a large peninsula jutting from the coast of Southcentral Alaska. The name Kenai (, ) is derived from the word "Kenaitze" or "Kenaitze Indian Tribe", the name of the Native Athabascan Alaskan tribe ...

, Prince William Sound, and the Copper River Valley. Tourism, fisheries, and petroleum production are important economic activities.

Cities

The major city is

. Other major towns include Palmer,

Wasilla Wasilla ( Dena'ina: ''Benteh'') is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, United States and the fourth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the s ...

Kenai Kenai (, ) ( Dena'ina: ; russian: Кенай, ''Kenay'') is a city in the Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is one hundred and fifty-eight miles by road southwest from Anchorage. The population was 7,424 as of the 2020 c ...

, Soldotna,

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

, Seward, Valdez, and Cordova.

Climate

The climate of Southcentral Alaska is

subarctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Genera ...

. Temperatures range from an average high of in July to an average low of in December. The hours of daylight per day varies from 20 hours in June and July to 6 hours in December and January. The coastal areas consist of temperate rainforests and alder shrublands. The interior areas are covered by boreal forests.

Mountains

The terrain of Southcentral Alaska is shaped by seven mountain ranges: *

Alaska Range The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 600-mile-long (950 km) mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest endSources differ as to the exact delineation of the Alaska Range. ThBo ...

* Talkeetna Mountains * Wrangell Mountains *

Chugach Mountains The Chugach Mountains of southern Alaska are the northernmost of the several mountain ranges that make up the Pacific Coast Ranges of the western edge of North America. The range is about long and wide, and extends from the Knik and Turnaga ...

* Kenai Mountains * Tordrillo Mountains * Aleutian Range Southcentral Alaska contains several dormant and active volcanoes. The Wrangell Volcanoes are older, lie in the East, and include

Mount Blackburn Mount Blackburn is the highest peak in the Wrangell Mountains of Alaska in the United States. It is the fifth-highest peak in the United States and the twelfth-highest peak in North America. The mountain is an old, eroded shield volcano, the se ...

Mount Bona Mount Bona is one of the major mountains of the Saint Elias Mountains in eastern Alaska, and is the fifth-highest independent peak in the United States.This counts both the North and South Peaks of Denali (Mount McKinley), which is not a universal ...

Mount Churchill Mount Churchill is a volcano in the Saint Elias Mountains and the Wrangell Volcanic Field of eastern Alaska. Churchill and its higher neighbor Mount Bona about to the southwest are both large ice-covered stratovolcanoes, with Churchill being ...

, Mount Drum,

Mount Gordon Mount Gordon is a cinder cone in the Wrangell Mountains of eastern Alaska, United States, located between Nabesna Glacier and the stratovolcano Mount Drum. It is the most prominent of a group of Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referre ...

, Mount Jarvis, Mount Sanford, and Mount Wrangell. The Cook Inlet volcanoes, located in the Tordrillo Mountains and in the north end of the Aleutian Range, are newer, lie in the West, and include Mount Redoubt, Mount Iliamna,

Hayes Volcano Hayes Volcano is a stratovolcano in southwestern Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, 135 km northwest of Anchorage, that was not discovered until 1975. It is responsible for a series of six major tephra layers in the Cook Inlet region of Alas ...

, Mount Augustine,

Fourpeaked Mountain Fourpeaked Volcano is an active stratovolcano in the U.S. state of Alaska. The Alaska Volcano Observatory rates Fourpeaked Volcano as Aviation Alert Level Green and Volcanic-alert Level Normal. It is nearly completely covered by Fourpeaked Gla ...

and Mount Spurr. Most recently, Augustine and Fourpeaked erupted in 2006, and Mount Redoubt erupted in March 2009, resulting in airplane flight cancellations.

References

{{Coord, 60, -150, scale:10000000, display=title Regions of Alaska Tourism regions of Alaska

Cities

Climate

Mountains

See also

References