Introduction
Alaska, which spans 20° of latitude and 50° of longitude, has a coastline about 10,686 km in length. Because of its position and shape, it faces three distinct bodies of water, the Arctic Ocean on the north and northwest, the Pacific Ocean on the south, and the smaller, semi-enclosed Bering Sea on the west.
Alaska occupies the northwest extension of four of North America’s major physiographic divisions (ÂWahÂrhaftig 1965): the Interior Plains, the rocky Mountain System, the Intermontane Plateaus, and the Pacific ÂMounÂtain System (Fig. 1.1.1 ). All of these physiographic divisions extend across the Alaskan coast and each has an important bearing on coastal geomorphology and geology (Fig. 1.1.2 ) and coastline character (Fig. 1.1.3 ).
Physiographic divisions of Alaska.
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Walker, J., McGraw, M. (2010). Alaska. In: Bird, E.C.F. (eds) Encyclopedia of the World's Coastal Landforms. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8639-7_2
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