THE NATURE OF SOUTHEAST ALASKA by...
THE NATURE OF SOUTHEAST ALASKA by Rita M. O’Clair, Robert H. Armstrong and Richard Carstensen (Alaska Northwest Books: $17.95). A complex chain of islands, peninsulas, bays, fords and mountains, the Alaska panhandle stretches 525 miles, from Icy Bay to the southern tip of Prince of Wales Island. Unlike the standard nature guides that explain how to recognize common animals, “Nature” stresses the web of interrelationships that link the regional flora and fauna. The authors emphasize that the environment of Southeast Alaska is a product of the ubiquitous moisture (rainfall in some places reaches 400 inches per year) and the aftereffects of the glaciation that ended about 12,000 years ago (relieved of the weight of the ice, some areas are rising at the rate of 1 1/2 inches per year). This affectionate examination of some of North America’s most spectacular surviving old growth forests will delight both backpackers and armchair naturalists.
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