A GEOGRAPHM ANALYS£S OF SURFACE TRANSPORT IN ALASKA Thesis for the Dogma d Ph. D. QWCHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY ManHWeinheub 229263 0-169 This is to certify that the thesis entitled A GEOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF SURFACE TRANSPORT IN ALASKA presented by Alan Weintraub has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for fl/iu/ {Wat “4L Major professor Date ”‘1 I I ’¢‘3 U , A LIBRARY Ll Miehigan State University COPYRIGHT 1963 By Alan Weintraub ABSTRACT A GEOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF SURFACE TRANSPORT IN ALASKA By Alan L. Weintraub The purpose of this study is to show how the pat- tern of surface transport within three regions of Alaska has materially influenced and is integrally related to the physical and economic elements of the Alaskan scene. The necessity for a flow of adequate traffic has particular significance for Alaska. This region occupies one-fifth of the land area of the United States and great distances within the state separate areas of production and consumption. Alaska focuses upon the production of materials destined for distant markets and relies upon distant sources of consumer goods. Transportation has therefore played a decisive role in the economy of the state. The adequacy and extent of this system in turn reflects factors of location, economics, and physical fea— tures. Economic develOpment in Alaska occurred in two stages. A first phase was introduced by the discovery of gold in the interior in 1896. This caused an influx of Alan Weintraub prospectors and miners. After a period of fluctuation in pepulation, a stabilized mining industry flourished. Until recently, mining-—along with fishing--was the basis of the economy. The advent of World War II and recognition of the importance of Alaska in the national defense initi— ated another stage of growth in the area. Substantial government expenditures for the construction of military facilities, combined with the demand for service industries to serve the large construction forces, resulted in rapid growth, far exceeding that of the mining industry. In the first stage, the transport pattern of South Central and Interior Alaska expanded to serve the needs of the mining industry. Routes were determined by valleys and plateaus, mountain passes, and water—level lines. Rugged tepography made construction of highway and rail lines costly. The Coast Ranges presented a formidable barrier to the more productive areas, creating needs for expensive grades and tunnels. Natural water-level routes were found solely in the Susitna and Cepper River valleys. The Alaska Range further blocked and complicated transporta- tion. Water routes offered some solution: ocean and in- land waterways saved the region from complete isolation during its pioneer period. During the mining period reliance upon surface transport routes limited activities to the immediate Alan Weintraub proximity of the land and water transport network. This pattern still exists today. Movement of men and freight into the Interior was accelerated with completion of the Alaska Railroad in 1925. By permitting the shipment of larger and heavier equipment the railroad provided a stimu- lus to the region's economic growth. However, with mining as one of the two major basic industries, economic develOp- ment was still limited in sc0pe. Military needs led to expansion and improvement of the roads. The Alaska Railroad was reconstructed and mod- ernized. The transportation network brought to the area various types of economic develOpment, spurring recent heavy gains in pOpulation. Increase in population during the military period fostered the growth of cities in South Central and Interior Alaska. Urban activity stimulated intraregional trade be- tween urban and rural areas. Both imports and exports in- creased in volume. The transport system fostered urban growth by lowering time and costs of both passenger and commodity movement. Most of the rail- and road-borne trade moved through the city of Anchorage. The location of the latter at the convergence of rail and road routes contribu- ted much to its dominant position. Southeast Alaska depends upon shipping. TOpography, climate, use of resources, and location of settlements all combine to impose this reliance on water transport. The Alan Weintraub water transport system played a role in the regional de— velOpment of Southeast Alaska similar to that played by the road and railroad system in South Central and Interior Alaska. North and West Alaska depend upon water and air for transportation. Land transport facilities are scarce, handicapped by sparse pOpulation, lack of deveIOpment, ter- rain, and climate. Roads generally serve the gold mining Operations and other industries added during World War II. Short stretches of road are found around pOpulated centers. Trails or winter sled routes--used mostly by natives and trappers-—connect isolated settlements by land. As a re- sult, much of the area is inaccessible during most of the year. The conclusion reached by this study is that the geographical character of Alaska has been greatly influ- enced by surface transport. It is evident that modern transportation is indispensible to economic development and settlement. The transport network is in turn a re- flection of physical and economic factors. Expansion of the system will depend upon the character of these physi- cal and economic elements away from the core region of the state. A GEOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF SURFACE TRANSPORT IN ALASKA BY Alan Weintraub A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Geography 196} ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In the course of this work,I have obtained valuable help and advice from.members of the Depart- ment of Geography, Michigan State University. I especially appreciate the guidance and constructive criticism of Professor Dieter H. Brunnschweiler under whose direction this dissertation was completed. He worked through the first drafts, suggested beneficial changes, and generously bestowed of his time on the editing of the manuscript. It is with pleasure that I acknowledge my very great debt to my parents, Dr. and Mrs. Philip Weintraub for their long devotion to my efforts, and to my wife, Joanne, for her keen sense of perspective and under- standing that have been a constant source of inspira- tion and encouragement. 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS viii Chapter I° INTRODUCTION 1 Purpose and Method of Study The Arctic and Subarctic--An UndeveIOped Region The interests of nations in the Arctic The problem of economic deveIOpment in the Arctic The role of transportation in the Arctic and Subarctic Alaska and the Soviet Far Northeast The case of Alaska Definition of transport regions Arrangement of topics II. THE REGIONAL SETTING OF SURFACE TRANSPORTATION IN SOUTH CENTRAL AND INTERIOR ALASKA 14 The Regional Setting Physiography South Central Alaska: the Zone of Mountains Interior Alaska-~the Lowland Zone Climate: its effect on transport Population and Settlement III. THE EVOLUTION OF THE LAND TRANSPORT PATTERN IN SOUTH CENTRAL AND 7 INTERIOR ALASKA 59 The DeveIOpment of the Land Transport Pattern The Evolution of the Rail Pattern 1898-1915 iii Chapter Page 1914-1940 1941—1960 The Evolution of the Road.Pattern Tractor trains DevelOpment of River Transportation DevelOpment of Regional Trade Routes Time-Distance relationships: 1896-1960 Importance of routes: 1896—1960 Present Pattern of Land Transportation Organization of the Components of the Land Transport System IV. THE LAND TRANSPORT NETWORK AND ITS ROLE IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF SOUTH CENTRAL AND INTERIOR ALASKA . . . . . . . 78 The Regional Economy and the Land Transport Pattern Functions of transportation services The needs of the mining industry Mining in the Gulf Coast and Copper River Region Mining in the Alaska Railroad Belt Surface Transportation and Agricultural Activities Strategic Significance of the Transport System Surface Transportation and the Lumber Industry The Tourist Industry and the Transport Network Other Industries TranSportation as a Means of Livelihood V. EFFECT OF TRANSPORT ON URBAN AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Urban Centers The city of Anchorage Anchorage as regional transport center Ocean terminals Seward Whittier Valdez Cordova General comment iv Chapter Page Handling of cargo at regional ports Fairbanks Rural Settlements VI. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL TRADE AND THE SOUTH CENTRAL AND INTERIOR ALASKA TRANSPORT SYSTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 The Role of Transport in the Movement of Goods and PeOple A Comparison of Internal and External Trade Magnitude of Regional Trade Function of Various Transport Services The Alaska Railroad Competitors of the railroad Highways Inland waterways Ocean transportation Commodity Movement over the Regional Transport Network External commerce Internal commerce VII. THE ROLE OF SURFACE TRANSPORT IN THE REGIONAL ECONOMY OF NORTH AND WEST ALASKA AND SOUTHEAST ALASKA . . . . . . . 183 The North and West Alaska Surface Transport Region The Regional Setting The natural environment Pepulation The Regional Economy and Surface Transport Network The Seward Peninsula road pattern Dog sled trails Rivers Ocean transport Air transport The Southeast Alaska Surface Transport Region The Regional Setting The natural enVironment POpulation The Regional Economy and Surface Transport Network Water transport The road and rail pattern Rivers Air transport Chapter Page VIII. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . 209 State Transport Requirements Road transport Land Transport and the Regional Economy Regional economic develOpment APPENDIX . O O O O O C O O O O O O C O O O O O O C O 225 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228 vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Growth of Population in South Central and Interior Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . 53 2. Alaska POpulation, Military and Civilian, 1959-1956 . . . . . . . . . . . 57 5. Relative Efficiency of Alaskan Means 0f Transport 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 64 4. Freight Rates, Seattle or Tacoma to Selected Alaska.Point, 1925 . . . . . . . 65 5. Distances between Communities in South Central and Interior Alaska by Each Mode of Transport . . . . . . . . . . 71 6. P0pu1ation of the Leading Cities of South Central and Interior Alaska . . . . 125 7. Cargo and Mail Flown to, from and within Alaska by U. S. Commercial and Military Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 8. The Alaska Railroad, Revenue Freight Traffic, 1957‘1958 o o o o o o o o o o o 0 l6]. 9. Freight Rates, Seattle to Fairbanks for Selected Commodities, February 4, 1958 . . 168 10. Truck Traffic toamnifrom Alaska, 1954-1959 . 171 11. Motor Vehicle Registrations and Fuel Consumption in Alaska . . . . . . . . . . 171 12. Growth of Population in North and West Alaska and Southeast Alaska . . . . . 187 vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. Alaska Transport Regions (Map) . . . . . . 2. Physiographic Provinces (Map) . . . . . . 5. Oblique View of South Central Alaska (Map) 4. Oblique View of Interior Alaska (Map) . . 5. Alaska——Precipitation and Temperature (Map) . . . . . . . . . . . 6. Glacial and Permafrost Map of Alaska (Map) 7. Population of Alaska, 1880-1957 (Graph) . 8. Pepulation of Alaskan Regions by Indigenous and Nonindigenous Races, 1959, 1950, 1956 (Graph) . . . . 9. Development of Rail Transport System: 1898-1925 (map) 0 o o a o o a o o o o o 10. Development of Rail Transport System: 1924-1960 (map) 0 o o o o o o o o o o c 11. Development of River and Road Transport System: 1800-1960 (Map) . . . . . . . . 12. Land Travel Time from Fairbanks-Circle (map) 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 15. Rank Order of Major Land Routes According to Volume of Traffic: 1896-1960 (Map) . 14. Paved and Unpaved Highways in South Central and Interior Alaska (Map) . . . 15. Percentage Distribution of Annual Average Values Produced from Alaskan Natural Resources, 1954-1957 (Graph) . . . . . . viii Page 11 15 17 21 25 25 52 56 41 51 62 67 69 80 Figure Page 16. Major Mineral Deposits of Gulf Coast and Copper River Region (Map) . . . . . . 85 17. Principal Mineral Deposits of Alaska Railroad Belt (Map) . . . . . . . . . . . 87 18. Present and Potential Agricultural Areas (Map) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 19. Roads of the Matanuska Valley (Map) . . . . 96 20. Alaska Defense System and Location of Military Establishments (Map) . . . . . . 105 21. Forests of South Central and Interior Alaska (Map) . . . . . . . . . . 105 22. Alaska Passenger Movements, by Sea, Land and Air, 1955 to 1959 (Graph). . . . 110 25. Percentage Distribution of Average Monthly Employment in Alaska, by Industry, 1954-1957 (Graph) . . . . . . . 115 121 24. Population Distribution in Alaska (Map) 25. POpulation in Urban and Rural Settlements, 1939. 1950, 1956 (Graph) . . . . . . . . . 122 26._ Anchorage Harbor (Map) . . . . . . . . . . . 125 27. Alaska Railroad and Highway Traffic FlOW (map) 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 129 28. Port of Seward (Map) . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 29. Port of Whittier (Map) . . . . . . . . . . . 156 50. Landform Map of Gulf of Alaska Area (Map) 159 51. Oceanborne Commerce at South Central and Interior Alaskan Ports, 1947-1958 (Graph) 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 141 52. Fairbanks and Vicinity (Map) . . . . . . . . 147 55. Alaska.Railroad Traffic, Total, Commercial, and Military, 1958- 1959 (Graph). 0 e o o e o o o o o o o o o 163 ix Figure Page 54. Alaska, Traffic Flow on Principal Highways, Average Daily Traffic, 1958 (Map) . . . . . 172 55. Major Mineral Deposits of Seward Peninsula (Map) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 56. Scheduled Airline Routes in Alaska (Map) 194 57. Landform Map of Southeast Alaska (Map) . . . . 196 58. Highways to and within Alaska-- Existing and Proposed (Map) . . . . . . . . 215 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Purpose and Method of Study The vital issue of transportation in the Arctic and Subarctic is a problem causing concern to governments with possessions in polar regions in which they are trying to increase productivity. The problem is important to the United States.’ Alaska, the 49th state, is one-fifth the size of the entire United States. It is also separated by a vast distance from the other 48 states, with their centers of economic activity. It is the purpose of this study to examine the ac- tivity of surface transportation in Alaska, particularly in the South Central and Interior region. The study fur- ther inquires into physical and economic factors affecting the growth of transportation routes, and the relation be- tween land transportation and these conditions. A study on regional geography contains the follow ing:1 Knowing the number of miles of railroads in . . . [a country] is less important than knowing the patterns of distribution and interrelation which the railroads reflect and stimulate . . . the role of railroads in thoads Murphey, An Introduction to Geography (Chicago: Rand McNally and Company, 1961), p. 52. 1 2 the regional economy, and the part which these pat- terns or factors may play within the whole of the . . . regional unit. In the present study, surface transportation in Alaska is not considered an autonomous segment of the economy, arti- ficially isolated from its environment for purposes of an- alysis, but rather, an intimate part of the local pattern of living. Addition of a functional element to patterns of dis- tribution adds a perspective which results in better under- standing of the function of a particular region in Alaska's economy, and gives meaning to patterns of activity within homogeneous regions. An examination of surface transport patterns, then, is basic to geographic understanding of particular regions and the interrelationship between areas. Alaska is one of the last American "frontiers" re- maining to be developed. Forethought concerning future developments will affect future ventures. The problems of Alaska are similar to those in other parts of the Arctic. Consequently, before attention is turned to the particular case of Alaskan transport, it is desirable to view the topic against the background of the problem of Arctic economic development in general. The Arctic and Subarctic—- An Undeveloped Region The arctic and subarctic regions comprise thousands of square miles of unattractive land. The area is immense; 5 the climate is generally inhospitable; building is hindered by the presence of frozen ground; and great distances sep- arate the region from major centers of development. These factors produce an environment that is unattractive to settlement. Dense p0pulation is not to be found anywhere. Agriculture and manufacturing are seldom found. The pro- vision of even minimal transportation services is costly and difficult. The arctic regions are characterized by such physical and economic hardships that they must be classified as unfavorable to human progress. Despite all this, much has been done already in advancing the northern frontier. The interests of nations in the Arctic.--The eco- nomic and strategic potential of the Arctic region gave it new significance in the middle of the 20th century. De- pletion of natural resources, particularly minerals, raised the value of high-quality supplies from remote areas, and increased interest in the high-latitude regions. This was accompanied by accelerated develOpment of techniques suit- able for "far north living," and for efficient conduct of industrial enterprises. The strategic importance of the area was advanced by rapid progress in aviation and long- range aircraft after 1940. The great circle course for airplane traffic obviated the difficulties of climate and terrain, giving impetus to military and commercial enter- prises. During World War II, air bases in Greenland, and 4 in the Alaskan, Canadian, and Soviet Arctic were developed. Routes were pioneered, and weather stations established. Starting in the 1950's, planes were used regularly to gather data about the weather; air traffic between Eurasia and America grew rapidly. Concepts of global war aided new evaluation of the Arctic. The International Geophysical Year of 1957-1958 found scientists from sixty-six nations working on the study of glaciers, permafrost, magnetism, northern lights, and weather. Other research was undertaken by governmental and private agencies throughout the world. The Problem of Economic Deve10pment in the Arctic In spite of numerous efforts by individual coun- tries to develop the polar regions, problems of the Arctic and Subarctic remain. There is still insufficient capital for full deve10pment. Industrialized sectors of both con- tinents must still provide the basic materials for in— dustry. Large-scale manufacturing is retarded by inac- cessibility, limited resources, labor, and absence of mar- kets, as well as competition from more favorably situated areas. Agriculture is limited by poor soil, ground frost, and a short growing season. The high dependence on ex— tractive industries, such as mining, lumbering, and fish- ing, has not disappeared. The climate continues to im- pose seasonal fluctuations in trade and industry. 5 The population remains small. The psychological handicaps of long winters continue to be difficult to overcome. 'Wealth is drawn off to other parts of the earth that are more mature economically. Trade is limited be- cause of the short shipping season, the small pOpulation, the high cost of living, the remoteness, and poor trans- portation facilities. Transport costs are still high be- cause of distance, terrain, and climate. Federal funds still supply most of the capital for the expansion of the transportation network; private investors are not attracted to such limited profits. It is unlikely that even new ambitious construction projects will do much to solve the transportation problem. The role of transportation in the Arctic and Sub— arctic.--The significance of the transportation problem is explained by Stone in the followingzl Only the northwestern continental parts of it have year—around sea transport available, so most of the region is dependent upon more expensive (in money and time) methods of moving goods and people. Rail- roads and roads within the region, and connecting it with the mid—latitudes, are best develOped in the Fenno—Scandian mainland part, and the European Soviet part is probably second best. River traffic is most significant locally and seasonally in Siberia, and throughout the region it is of minor significance in solving the problem of regional isolation. Throughout the Arctic Region private and commercial air travel is of considerable local value, and regionally it is of increasing importance; LKirk H. Stone, "The Arctic Region," in Militar Aspects of World Political Geography (Alabama: Air Uni- versity, Maxwell Air Force Base, 1959), p. 200. 6 but the region is still largely a "fly-over" area for most international flights. The greatest need of the Arctic is that for trans— portation, by rail and road. Millions of dollars are being invested in the improvement of transportation routes of the region.1 These may be sufficient, if put to ef— fective use, to bring development of resources in the Arctic and Subarctic. Alaska and the Soviet Far Northeast.--In attempt- ing to make an appraisal of the transport network and economic development within this undeveloped region, Alaska is often compared to the European Arctic, which it closely resembles both in climate and terrain. The American north is, however, better compared to the Soviet Far Northeast, with which it shares a large portion of the Arctic region. A brief note on Northeastern Siberia must also be added if only because the Soviet Arctic is 1According to some geOgraphers military consider- ations may be the only basis for developing the transport network in the Arctic: "Canadian control of the Northland and the extension of communications and transportation routes in that direction are also uneconomic. However, they must be considered in the light of political geography rather than judged by the criteria of physical geography and economics. An uncontrolled northern frontier would be a threat, not only to Canada, but to the safety of the whole North American civilization." Donald E. Putnam (ed.), Canadian Regions, A Geography of Canada (New York: ThomasY} Crowell Company, 1952), p. 570. The military value of this area was also noted by S. B. Jones, who stated: "A real- istic appraisal of the northern high latitudes must place military considerations in the forefront." S. B. Jones, The Arctic: Problems and Possibilities, Memorandum No. 29 (New Haven: .Yale Institute of International Studies, 1948): P0 240 7 so often mentioned in discussions of northern development. The Soviet Far Northeast is in many ways the counterpart of Alaska. Immediately across the Bering Strait from Alaska and fronting the Pacific, it stretches from the Lena—Alden River past the Sea of Okhotsk and the Kamchatka Peninsula to the Chukchi Peninsula. This enor- mous district is the least developed in transportation facilities and the most sparsely populated in the Soviet Union. In many respects it is much more underdeveloped than Alaska. The only main road runs north from Magadon, on the Sea of Okhotsk and at the same latitude as Anchorage, to the Upper Kolyma mining district. It acts as a supply base and transshipment center for the interior. Winter roads lead west from it to Yakutsk. Yakutsk, with a posi- tion similar to that of Fairbanks, is the service center for the vast interior of Northeast Siberia. A road, 620 miles long, connects Yakutsk with the Trans-Siberian Railroad, forming the only outlet for communication between this huge area and rail transportation. Air transport is therefore of vital importance, connecting south with north, and the mainland with Kamchatka. As to water transportation, navigation of the North American Arctic Ocean by surface vessels is possible in the summer for only a short period, and only south of the polar ice-pack. On the Siberian coast, navigation is much easier than along the Arctic coast of Alaska: the 8 ice-free belt is wider, and the Soviets can navigate the route from two to four months during the summer. Many of the large rivers flow north. The Lena, Yana, and Indigirka are all navigable in summer by boats which utilize the Northern Sea Route. These rivers allow penetration far into the interior. Like the Yukon they serve a region otherwise isolated from surface transport. Permanent towns and cities have been founded along the Asian sector of the Arctic in recent years. They are transfer points for local exports and imports. Most are at or near the mouths of rivers, and their commerce is mainly of Arctic origin.l Northeast Siberia is one of the least well de— veloped regions within the Soviet Union, but the whole area has both strategic importance and rich natural re- sources in the zones already explored. Inaccessibility, however, will continue to impede develOpment as is the case in Alaska. The case of Alaska.--In 1959, Alaska became the 49th state of the United States and greater attention was lPorts not serving river systems on the Pacific are also of considerable importance. The port of Provideniye Bay is one of the three most important points on the Arctic route, serving the whole Chukchi Peninsula as a center of distribution. South of Provideniye is the port of Anadyr. It is also a distribution center for a large area. Further south the Soviet Union has an ice- free area for naval operations-ePetrOpavlovsk; but the port lacks overland connection with sources of supply. George H. T. Kimble and Dorothy Good, GeOgraphy of the agithlands (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1955), pp.480, 9 focused on the economic importance of this area. The de- velOpment of the North American Arctic has been more than matched in the Eurasian Arctic. However, because of cer- tain basic differences development of Alaska and utiliza- tion of its potentialities must follow its own course. The immensity of the area, the climate, the difficulties of transportation constantly hinder progress. Despite all this, much progress has been made in the development of Alaska. However, it will require strong economic incen- tives to produce any major increase in population in the area. People will not undertake the hardships of pioneer life until better markets and transportation facilities are provided. Transportation--or lack of it--has had a great influence upon the inhabitants of Alaska. In a region of vast distances which is moreover somewhat removed from the Pacific Northwest states to which it is bound by eco— nomic and cultural ties, this is inevitable. The peOple of Alaska depend heavily on steamship lines, highways, and airways for contact with other states, as well as for that between points within the state itself. A map of pepulation distribution shows how the peOple cling to de- velOped routes (Fig. 52).1 1One of the major differences between Alaska and other states is that of size. This factor dominates spa- tial relationships of the entire state. The fact that much.more of the Alaskan populace has utilized the small airplane, as compared with other places in the world, is 10 Definition of transport regions.—-In order to analyze Alaska's transport pattern and to better evaluate the role of transportation in the state's develOpment, I have divided the study area into three regions, all ex- hibiting some degree of functional unity (Fig. 1). Each<fl? these transport units is demarcated by a specific type and pattern of transport. Waterways dominate one region, a railway and highways the second, and airways the third. Besides differing in types of transportation the three areas also differ in their stage of road and rail penetra- tion. Distinctive physical settings, points of focus, and economic activities have influenced and in turn have been influenced by transport, further emphasizing the division of the above delimited areas. The designation "South Central and Interior Alaska" refers to that area which lies south of the Brooks Range, 1 and east of longitude 151°. The total area comprises 205,500 square miles-~an area slightly larger than that of a direct result of this factor. The sheer size of geographically homogeneous areas further illustrates this aspect peculiar to the Alaskan landscape. For example, the Cook Inlet Basin is approxi— mately 500 miles long and varies between 50 and 100 miles in width. This is nearly two—thirds the size of the Great Valley of California, which is approximately 400 miles long and only 40 to 75 miles wide. The significance of these relative sizes is illustrated by the fact that the Cook Inlet Basin represents less than 5% of the total area of Alaska whereas an equivalent portion of the Great Valley of California covers approximately 15% of the State of California. 1It will henceforth be referred to as the "Area." The geographic boundaries of the area approximately coin— cide with census districts in order to facilitate the col- lection of data. H oWHm Sal \ ! ‘ \ aaaaaaaaa .............. uuuuuuuuuuuuuu a. ......... ......... ..... coo ..... ..... ..... ..... o. ecu. oo- o ac ..... ..... ooooo ...... on. oooooo l.-.|4|al‘l.-IPI C O C . w ' I I O I -0 . I--- eeeee IIIIII an. or. ...... nee vice-I on: u o c u o o l o o a c u n o n a -C .- o . a o( c c . a u u 0‘. A. , ,2 . n.6, . / .. |\\ . .lmfi . 1.. a n u o o o u a e o a a u o a n c u oooooooo ccccc I a ...... a o o a a u o a n a I o o o u o e o a a s o a ..... o c u . a ..... uuuuuuuuu nnnnnnn e a a .o oo- ..o o..- .o. no... ‘ nu -- no a n one. a o o ccccc ..... a... ..... a c u . o . u e a o n a u eeeee n u a u u ooooo u c u a v o 12 Illinois, Iowa and Missouri combined. The South Central and Interior region, the economic core of the state, is the area in which most of the nonindigenous population live and where the greatest economic develOpment has oc- curred. A good road and rail system exists. The highway portion of the pattern spreads east and south, from Fair— banks to Anchorage and the South Coast. It links the major urban centers. The western section is served by the Alaska Railroad which runs from Seward and Whittier, through Anchorage to Fairbanks. The Yukon and Tanana rivers serve the north of the region and act as feeders to the rail and road system. The economic-unity of the region is furthered by the fact that the principal defense estab- lishments are located there. Rail and road lines determine the boundary of North and West Alaska. In dealing with North and West Alaska we are concerned with an area north of road and railhead, a fact which in itself imparts distinctive char— acteristics and problems to the area. North and West Alaska is still a pioneer region with a small pOpulation. Only a few resources are exploited. The limits of the Southeast area consist of the territory immediately accessible by the coastal waterway. Southeast Alaska exhibits the highest degree of regional vunity in physical features, natural resources, and economic development. 13 Arrangement of topics.--In the following analysis of the geography of transportation in Alaska, particular attention will be paid to the following topics: a) b) o) d) f) How natural conditions and human needs have tended to influence the construction and maintenance of the pattern. Stages in the develOpment of the present surface transportation system. Scale and direction of economic growth in individual regions in relation to the evo- lution of the land transport pattern. How Alaska functions as a producing and con- suming area as revealed by analysis of commodity movement. Relation between the growth of Alaskan rail, road, and river freight and the technical renovation of the land transport pattern serving the region. Plans for future development of roads and railways as related to economic development within Alaska. CHAPTER II THE REGIONAL SETTING OF SURFACE TRANSPORTATION IN SOUTH CENTRAL AND INTERIOR ALASKA The Regional Setting Physiography The history and economic development of this large area is affected by the physical factors of the landscape. Without an understanding of the Area's chief physical features, it is difficult to appreciate the evolution of the transport pattern. The purpose in this section is to sketch the principal physical features emphasizing those which directly affect the land transport pattern. South Central Alaska: the Zone of Mountains.-- A vast mountain zone occupies most of South Central Alaska (Fig. 2). The broad belt of high glaciated moun- tains and intermontane plateaus contains the Alaska, Chugach-Kenai, Talkeetna, Wrangell, and St. Elias Ranges. The highest elevations in the United States are found in the Alaska Range: Mount McKinley rises 20,520 feet above sea-level, while Mount St. Elias in the St. Elias Range attains an elevation of 18,008 feet. I. C. Russell led an expedition attempting to scale Mount St. Elias in 1891. His description of the 14 l5 ARCTIC OCEAN CHUKCI‘I BEAUFORT SEA 3 Ancnc cosuL / ~‘Ivr. .1 . 7/ P L am / ARCTIC f0 ”11.: ‘\ ‘ FOOTHILLS YUKON LOWLAND / ALASKA PHYSIOGRAPHIC PROVINCE S -‘ - neuron". I." "A'ILU _R°AD WMLROADS ............. ROADS UNDER CONSTRUCTION SCALE 0 50 I00 ISO nil. |__1___1 Fig. 2 16 area follows:1 I expected to see a comparatively low forested country, stretching away to the north, with lakes and rivers and perhaps some signs of human habita— tion. What met my astonished gaze was a vast snow- covered region, limitless in expanse, through which hundreds, perhaps thousands of bare, angular, moun- tain peaks projected. There was not a stream, not a lake, and not a vestige of vegetation of any kind in sight. A more desolate or utterly lifeless land one never beheld. Vast, smooth snow surfaces with- out crevasses stretched away to limitless distances, broken only by jagged and angular mountain peaks. The relief of the coastal region of South Central Alaska makes it impracticable to build and maintain high- ways or railroads in many parts of the area. Mountains around the Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound are cut by deep fiords with precipitous walls rising thousands of feet high. The deltas of streams and the offshore islands offer the only flat land. Transportation is limited to boats and planes. The tOpography of the coastal region is so rugged that land routes cannot be considered: only a limited number of access routes reach into the interior. The route through the Kenai Peninsula and the Susitna-Cook Inlet lowland is the most significant one (Fig. 5). The route along the Cepper River is increasing in importance for the develOpment of Interior Alaska. Coastal land lHowel Williams, ed., Landscapes of Alaska, Their Geologic Evolution (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1958), p. 58. axes: 33sec snacm no an; 3330 .m .wam . I ... f, 5.. 521532 I f «3 ,IRU.‘ . /. ,. a...» 30 .. , . I .\ hits]- IJIAI» New a 18 connection between the two routes is cut off by mountains.1 Communities have grown up at the coastal termini of these routes. While relatively isolated from one another, the economy of each community relies heavily on transportation services. The mountains of South Central Alaska rise sharply from the coast. Streams draining into Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska cascade in falls or cataracts. There are no ready avenues for water traffic inland. Only the Susitna and Cepper Rivers are navigable by shallow- draught motor launches. In flood periods, traffic can ascend the Copper River 150 miles. Regular service is not practicable because of silt accumulation, vagaries of the river course, and the turbulent current. On the lower reaches of the Susitna River, traffic can move for 70 miles. To the north is a mountainous region with an east- to-west trend. With the exception of a few lower passes which have been utilized for roads or railroads there are no feasible routes across this mountain belt. Where passes are high or non-existent, routes form actual switchbacks for trains and trucks. The 65-mile line from Portage Junction on the Alaska Railroad south to Seward crosses the Kenai Mountains with steep grades 1Transportation routes are shown on Fig. 14, and distances between local communities and other points over established routes by each mode of transportation are given on Table 5. 19 on both sides. In one district the track makes a complete 100p in climbing to the summit of the mountains.1 The general latitudinal trend of the mountains subjects the passes to dangers from landslides and rock— falls. That pattern of east-west ridges is indicated in the following:2 A striking feature of this segment of the Alaska Range, particularly noticeable from the air, is the pattern of parallel east—west ridges, about 15 miles apart, separated by long narrow valleys. Strangely enough, the drainage does not follow these valleys but has a dendritic pattern roughly at right angles thereto, the rivers cutting directly across ridges and valleys alike. In some places the parallelism of the northward-flowing streams is as conspicuous as that of the ridges and valleys perpendicular to them. Each river as a consequence crosses the range alternately across a lowland in a broad ter- raced valley and then plunges into a narrow gorge. This makes north-south travel along the rivers much more difficult than east-west travel along the longi- tudinal lowlands. Hence, except for the A1aska.Rail- road, which follows the Nenana River, all roads and highways, such as the McKinley Park Highway, follow east-west valleys. The Alaska Railroad crosses the high ridge between McKinley Park Station and Healy in one of the most spectacular gorges along its route, and so is subject to the danger of land- slides and rockfalls. Interior A1aska--the Lowland Zone.--North of the Alaska Range plateaus and lowlands are drained by the upper reaches of the Yukon River and its tributary, the Tanana. The plains through which the rivers flow vary in 1Department of the Interior, The Alaska Railroad, "Operating Conditions on the A1aska.Railroad" (Anchorage: Traffic Division of the Alaska Railroad, mimeographed). 2Williams, p. 52. 2O elevation from 2,000 feet at the Canadian border to 200 feet at the junction of the two rivers. These low- lands are flat "muskegs" and support growth of stunted spruce and birch, with occasional willows, alders, and poplars. The rivers are aggrading and flow in braided channels. Navigation of the rivers is hazardous. Pilots operate from years of experience. Upstream movement of freight is limited, traffic being slowed by the rapid river current. In contrast to South Central Alaska terrain has not much affected location of roads in this area. How— ever, long straightaways found at newly-designed sec- tions--such as one from Big Delta to Tok Junction on the Alaska Highway--are not common. Roads built before 1942 run along high ground, the builders evidently preferring curves and steep grades to swamps and the danger of floods. Diversification is the chief characteristic of the physical landscape. The intricate physical setting has rendered arduous and costly the task of transport. It has produced a checkered pattern of human settlement, increas- ing the difficulties and expense of transport. By road and rail, transport services serve productive districts only at the cost of crossing, with great difficulty, un- productive tracts with no prospects for remunerative traffic. mxmwa< Hownode mo an; 2.330 .1. .mam I|\|../If).\u\\ A 8 5.9.5 13.4 f . I I t. I. v I v .,.? I . . \\f§ I H. \NtIgas.‘ .. I as l~.. v. , I I, If .\.’ Ir, .eww/MMFWH. _ u N f I we [cull-1.4.1 é. ...H,_r(\.u.. .4I 5 I / II 9 I mac—O I\.)l( \\ fI, . III. 11...»... . . . I /. . r . I I fix .. , \w v u . cu .L->w.u\ _ . . 21 .\ \ I)l . U» 1": n5»... 4 smelt» S: v A . . a. I. I \ \ . . I I. .4 A INN-r I \ I . .I: 7 t .I {I I b/\ «r. , ll _ z . / .u t I. U . l . s I 4 b ). A» . toLEuz . . . I .0 x\ [I .r s I f b r 41., I 4: I I .I . . x? . II. 4.3).5: 4 . 4. t .,. 4Q EJXJVWI ucdzo us (I ILA$I ,\ I 1 l I //LIp II I z ; \. .U. (/Ifi. I. f I I I p . I.4\\ .,.,I a. . I V, I s. . fl {Hildb .,. . I I 4 o . 4. if .. . I. «(MIA r n I . 4 .I .. t I I .1}. / \\ HA3I’414. [)le III! . . I n I‘M-vI.... _ . ”If. I . I ,Illfl,. x» We. v/III/ . . . . I ._ I , \ _ umu__l> ftn< ,1. Q/V~ . . I .\\.x .. 18’.)va . .l L I t p 1/ 1. I)‘ fl 1‘ In. I. Jae—QDCULU ’ '1“ 2 I r I 22 Climate: its effect on transport.l--Climate in- ‘terferes with local transportation media. Heavy rains in.the coastal region of South Central Alaska cause flash ;floods. Lakes impounded behind glacial barriers are sud- 0 owawau .52 m¢w¢¢ 330.45 wauemng D >0 Oumw>ou mdwmq oaoom 2956 Q ”0 .MMWA WUnzz ca \\ NJ(Um we? Va .. AS A @9thng a. Read 26 subjected to seasonal freeze and thaw in its upper layers, hinders engineering projects in arctic areas. It affects ground—water supply, structures, agriculture, mining, for- estry, roads, railroads, and airfields. Permafrost pre- vents normal drainage of surface water. Removal of the insulating cover of vegetation causes melting of perma- frost and consequent slumping. Surface thawing and freez- ing provides a shifting, unstable base for road and rail construction. Gravel roads corrugate in dry weather, dirt roads become impassable mud channels after rain. Even surfaced highways cannot withstand extremes of tem- perature and shatter. The preparation of foundations for structures in permafrost areas poses problems which require special treatment. This consists of controlled thawing and con- solidation prior to construction, or complete prevention of thawing by insulation, or use of mechanical refrigera- tion. Road builders generally use the stage-construction method. Some work is done each summer until the project is completed. The frozen areas are thus exposed over a number of years to permit thawing. The road bed, in time, is made to conform with regular specifications. However, constant regrading, rebuilding, realigning, and even aban— donment of sections are necessary. Maintenance of railroads poses even greater prob— lems in permafrost areas. Great care must be exerted in 27 leveling and realigning rail track. Maintenance is very expensive along stretches of the Alaska Railroad underlain by permafrost. Mountain highways and railroads suffer from snow- storms, both because of physical problems presented and shortness of the working season.l Glaciers constitute a threat if sufficiently close to highways and railroads:2 Beginning in September 1956 and continuing in Feb- ruary 1957, the front of Black Rapids Glacier moved forward a distance of almost four miles, threatening to overrun the Richardson Highway, which at that time was Fairbanks' only land link with the outside world. Had this forward movement continued the highway along a one- to two-mile front would have been overridden and obliterated. ‘Water rising behind the dam of ice would have created a lake, inundating several addi— tional miles of highway. Had this happened it would have been necessary to relocate the highway by moving it onto the steep mountain side. Such locations in the Alaska Range are at best rather precarious and extremely difficult to maintain because of the danger of landslides caused by spring thawing of the deeply frozen soil. 1Total annual snowfall at Thompson.Pass, on the Richardson Highway, averaged fifty feet during a nine year period. In the winter of 1952-53 a record 975 inches was recorded on the Pass. 2Dyson, James L., The World of Ice (New York: Alfred A. KnOpf, 1962), p. 55. The COpper River Highway, which follows the COpper River, and Northwestern Railway must cross the valley numerous times to avoid Childs, Miles, and Ellen glaciers. All experienced one or more advances during the early part of the century. Had they overrun the COpper River and Northwestern Railway, the region's most important industry--mining-—would have ceased since no other route existed between the mines and coast. Glaciers also border the Richardson Highway and A1aska.Railroad. The latter must go through a long tunnel to avoid a valley blocked by Portage Glacier. 28 South Central Alaska ports on Prince William are ice-free. Seward is the northernmost ice-free port in Alaska, while Anchorage and ports northwest of it on the Bering Sea are closed part of the year. However, water transport in Southcentral Alaska is subject to the hazards of climate also. Ice forms in winter in some sheltered inlets of Prince William Sound, impeding small-boat prog- ress. Glaciers discharge ice into the fiords of the sound. But conditions do not interfere with coastal steamers. Mean range of tide in the sound is 9% feet. Insufficient depth and strong currents make some passages navigable at only favorable stages of the tide. Heavy fogs are trouble- some, and violent winds an occasional threat.l Cook Inlet is hampered by floating ice from Decem- ber to late March. Even when large vessels reach Anchorage in winter, strong tidal currents and large ice floes hamper cargo handling. In mild weather, ships can reach Anchorage to unload cargo on lighters. Any new transportation lines in Alaska will be strongly influenced by physical features. The extent of this control will wane with progress in technolOgical de- velopment. Turbulent glacial rivers and mountain barriers 1U. S. Department of Commerce, Coast and Geodetic Survey, U. S. Coast Pilot: Alaska, Cape Spencer to Arctic Ocean (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1956). 29 no longer present insoluble difficulties.l Each stage of advancement in technology will give man greater power in surmounting the physical obstacles encountered in the Area. POpulation and Settlement The distribution and growth of population in the area has been influenced by the nature of the land, the various economies, and changing surface transport routes. POpulation has had, in turn, an effect on the land trans- port network. It is the purpose of this section to show the interrelationship between the pattern and trend of population and the land transport system since the coming of the white man to Alaska. Russians were the first explorers and settlers in the area.2 They crossed easily from Siberia, investi- gating the area for the establishment of trading centers. The enormity of the shoreline and the broken character of lBernt Balchen, "Engineering Problems in the Arctic," The Military Engineer, XLIV (November-December, H. A. Stoddard, "The Problems of Alaska Road- Builders," Western Construction News, XXVI (February, 1952). pp- 7I-75- 2For a comprehensive description of this period in Alaska's history see: C. L. Andrews, Story of Alaska (Seattle: Lowman and Hanford Company, 1958). Ernest Gruening, The State of Alaska (New York: Random House, 1954). Clarence C. Hulley, Alaska 1741-1955 (Portland: Binsford and Mort, 1955). 50 the Pacific seaboard with its fringes of islands, harbors, and deep waters encouraged exploration and settlement. Furthermore, the coastal waterways, except for parts of Cook Inlet were ice-free throughout the year. In con— trast to this southern coastline they found the even shores of North and West Alaska inhospitable with their few harbors and shallow waters, locked in ice most of the year. Because of these conditions, the Russians established only one northern settlement--St. Michael, for the Yukon fur trade. The first Russians encountered a few small native settlements on the Pacific coast, a region bountiful in furs and fish. The new settlers founded trading posts for dealing with the natives for furs. Since Indians did most of the trapping, trading posts were set up near native concentrations. Kodiak and Kenai were the major Russian centers. They were abandoned when Russian atten- tion turned to Southeastern Alaska. No system of transportation to the interior was devised. Not even trails were built, though Indian routes were used by the Russians. The mountain barrier of South Central Alaska closed the interior to direct penetration. The valleys could be ascended only with great difficulty by the Russian boats. The Susitna.River afforded more favorable conditions, but because of the difficulty of navigating the Upper Cook Inlet, was not adopted as an 51 inland route. Thus the landforms of the area effectively limited settlement and greatly influenced the early trans— port pattern.l For many years after the purchase of Alaska in 1869, no attempt was made by the United States to develop the coastal area. In 1889 salmon canning was begun, but it was the beginning of the gold rush in 1898 that brought the first sharp increase in pOpulation; the effect con- tinued through 1910 (Fig. 7). Towns near the gold mines grew, but did not prosper long. Ports of entry to the Klondike region flourished, and continued to function as ports after the gold rush. The decline of the gold rushes brought a decrease in population, as Fig. 7 shows. The relative decline was less spectacular and the subsequent upswing more con- spicuous in South Central and Interior Alaska than in North and West Alaska or Yukon Territory (Table l). The stabilizing factors were several: fisheries, exploitation of minerals other than gold immediately after the gold rush, construction of the A1aska.Railroad between 1914 and 1923, expansion of building by the Army and the A1aska.Road Com- mission, and the settlement of the Matanuska Valley in 1The Russians, however, explored and exploited areas in the lower Yukon and Kuskokwim valleys. The penetration remained ineffective because the upper por- tions of both rivers were unnavigable. m .mE 32 Nmm; l 03 > oooroo ooorom /, 1 000.00. x% >153: %/ ooodm. oood! 7/” 295388 I] is? 000.02 00060 _ oootoom 53 1955.1 TABLE 1 GROWTH OF POPULATION IN SOUTH CENTRAL AND INTERIOR ALASKA 032::8 Population 1880 5,580 1890 6.959 1900 20,200 1910 24,724 1920 169984 1950 18,272 1940 23.427 1950 71.435 1960 158,110 Sources: U. S. Bureau of Census,Tenth to Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1880-1950, Population; Alaska Resource DevelOpment Board, jPopula- tion Estimates of Towns in Alaska, 1957," Financial Data Regarding the Incorporated Towns and Cities of Alaska, 1992. Thus mining and transportation were controlling factors in population fluctuations during the period. lWorldWar I and opportunities for employment af- forded in continental U. S. during the period probably ac- counts for a decline in the 1920 census. This condition remained practically unchanged until the depression of the early thirties, when attention again turned to Alaska because of the advanced price of gold. Marginal gold properties abandoned became profitable and attractive to mining interests and prospectors. 54 Military activity from the advent of World War II accounts for recent deve10pments in Alaska. World War II caused a complete change in economy and population. Alaska's military importance was recognized by the U. S. government, which spent large sums of money annually to build military establishments. Construction and main- tenance of military bases, airfields, and roads have played a dominant role in the economy since that time. Increase in population and service industries still con— tinues. Most prosperous are the towns located in the "defense heartland" of Alaska from Ladd airfield near Fairbanks to Elmendorf airfield near Anchorage.l During the military period communities gained significantly in population because of the ubiquitous need for defense. Population increases are largely the result of immigration. Military personnel and their families account for the increases, as do the workers involved in the construction and maintenance of military, railway, and highway projects (Fig. 7).2 lDefenses established during World War II in North and West Alaska were abandoned after the war since hostile planes could cross the Bering Sea or the Arctic Ocean too rapidly to permit warning. The time required to cross the 500 miles of relatively empty terrain be- tween the coast and the defense line in South Central and Interior Alaska is supposed to allow for preparation. 2The 1959 census shows a total population in the region of 25,427 of which 17,079 were white, 6,548 na- tives. The 1956 census totals 158,110, or a growth of 114,685 in the past 27 years. According to the 1959 census, the indigenous pepulation constituted 27.1 per 35 The needs of military construction, attendant service industries, and increased population have forced cent of the population, while the proportion of whites accounted for 72.9 per cent. In the 1956 census the in— digenous population numbered 6,500 or 4.7 per cent of the total population, while the proportion of nonindigenous races numbered 151,610 or 95.5 per cent of the total. The classification of total pOpulation by indigenous and non- indigenous races demonstrates the heavy dependence of population increases upon migration from outside (Fig. 8). A study of the total employed labor force for the years 1956 and 1957 estimated that of a monthly average of 85, 800 persons employed, government accounted for 65% of total employment (military for 48%, civilian government for 17%) and private employment only for 55%. For all three regions of Alaska the number of military increased from the 500 reported in 1959 to a monthly average of 9,000 during the year 1941. Military personnel reached a monthly average of 152,000 during the year 1945. With the cessation of hostilities it dropped to 18,000 in 1946. The years since saw a rapid and sus- tained recovery in the military economy, military per- sonnel being close to 50,000 for most of the period (Table 2). The population implications of the shift to guided missiles and electronic detection barriers is not yet clear. Alaska will undoubtedly continue to be an im- portant outpost of hemisphere defense. However, construc— tion may not continue at the relatively high levels of the past twenty years and the labor—saving aspect of the new technology of warfare cannot be overlooked. "Military Alaska" may pass its final peak in the near future with associated reduction of military personnel and out-migra- tion of civilians. This may be partly offset by continued large natural increase. Data used in this section have as their source the following: U. S. Bureau of the Census, Tenth to Seventeenth Census of the U. S., 1880—1950, Population (Washington: Gov ernment Printing Office, 1882—11952). Alaska Resource Development Board, "Population Estimates of Towns in Alaska, 1957, " Financial Data Re— gardingithe Incorporated Towns and Cities of Alaska, 19952 (Juneau, 1958). Bureau of Vital Statistics, Alaska Department of Health, Estimated Population of Alaskan Cities—-1 (Juneau:_ Bureau of Vital Statistics, June46, Alaska Rural Development Board, Alaska Village Census--l (Juneau: Alaska Resource Development Board, Jan. Igsgg. 56 uIIIILE ImamssmeasHflg 33.26.88 9533269 Hesse. mammfiiommflumofifio smAmMH< mo sowpwasmmw sopwsflpmm.MWHmom mo #soEthmoQ wmmma< .moa mdpmpm as a so smossmwsOprAsmom.Dmmalowma.mopmvm sopfisb , esp mo mSwsoo npsoovsobom and nssoopwam.m5msoo mo sachdm.m.bumooh50m oo. oo oo 3. 3 on 0* on cm 0. o thumwm ___u .dud *1-4 ~_d‘fi.__q __u_ .u__ _u—- d-—- uquq 5w; 1. 1.5.02 SEW—.2.» ._o - hzuihxm oz< zOFHEE amaze... E 2m> s. sz<¢ u_.1u OH 0251002 wEbOI QZf the taxes which support the interstate program. The Alaska Omnibus Act, passed in 1960, provides ITor'Alaska to be treated as are the other states. It will <=0me under the full land area formula rather than the one- tlrtrd formula. This will mean Federal aid of 357 million a :year to which Alaska must contribute 15%% in matching fyuads or 35.7 million. The total for road building then Wldll be $42,700,000 annually. U. S. Congress, House, QEngretion of the Alaska Road Commission, Hearings before a ESubcommittee of the Committee on Government operations, {VFLh Cong., lst Sess. (Washington: Government Printing OffiISice, 1955); U. S. Congress, Senate, Federal—Aid Highwgy 42:5; of 1960, Hearings before a Subcommittee of the Committee On Public Works on H. R. 10495, 86A Cong. 2d Sess. (Wash— 1n§g;ton: Government Printing Office, 1960 , pp. 45—76. /\ CHAPTER IV THE LAND TRANSPORT NETWORK AND ITS ROLE IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF SOUTH CENTRAL AND INTERIOR ALASKA The Regional Economy and the Land Transport Pattern A chronological review of the establishment of the first main routes of penetration into the Area shows that the two chief factors influencing the initial progress of regional intercommunications were the physical landscape and the mining industry. In contrast to the early phase of transport de- velopment, the after 1940 was growth of regional transport facilities caused by economic and political pressures, which can be grouped as follows: I) the 2) the 5) the 4) the 5) the strategic significance of the Area. non-indigenous settlement. expansion of agriculture. promotion of tourism. develOpment of forestry. Functions of transportation services.--After a network of communications has been established in a given region, the various transportation services perform 78 79 multiple functions. Regional transportation services ac- celerate internal and external distribution of produce and the mobility of persons. Such services also affect raw material and agricultural production, the growth of urban centers, and of rural areas. The transport industry employs a segment of the labor force, providing a stable source of income. Finally, transport is valuable in time of war. The following discussion is concerned with these relationships between the regional economy and the land transport pattern. The needs of the mining industry.--A1though World War II slowed down mining activity in the Area, the indus- try continues to be a strong influence on the economy of Alaska. Between 1949 and 1955, mining accounted for 27.1 per cent of total production of natural resources; between 1954 and 1957, it accounted for 29.5 per cent (Fig. 15). Stone, sand, and gravel, with a valuecfl?$5,544,000, constituted about one-third of the Area's total mining product of 1949 to 1955, the total averaging $15,155,000. The total 1954-57 production was 318,556,000, including mineral production valued at 812,521,000--most1y gold and l coal-~and sand and gravel valued at $6,215,000. The 1The value of "mineral products" and "stone, sand and gravel" are commonly grouped together in statistical summaries and general articles on Alaska's mineral industry. They have been separated in this study since sand and gravel are the source of various road— and rail-building materials and have been and are an important factor in the evolution 80 PERCENT VALUES PRODUCED ‘FROM ALAS KAN NATURAL PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION R OF ANNUAL AVERAGE l954-57 ESOURCES, INTERIOR J NORTH s- WEST ' SOUTH CENTRAL or T S A E H T U 0 S 500mm .2 .m:.....:u_m0< -r fl}- w— ‘- ..m>> . DIED. was“. Fig. 15 81 demand for metals and the availability of risk capital have accelerated interest in Alaskan minerals. There were 276 mining operations in the region in 1958. Considerable tracts of land are still to be thor- oughly explored.l Government research began early in the present century. However, mineral investigations were of the present road and rail system. Data for the years under consideration have been published by the U. S. Bureau of Mines in annual area reports entitled Mineral Production in Alaska, Preliminary Annual Figures, Mineral Industry Surveys, Area Report A16 (Washington: Government Printing Office): Report of the Commissioner of Mines, Department of Mines, State of Alaska (Juneau, Alaska); Bureau of Mines, U. S. Department of Interior, "The Mineral Industry of Alaska," Minerals Yearbook, Vol. 5, Area Report (Washington: Government Printing Office, Annual). 1The extent of the resource base in Alaska is .unknown. In 1950 only 0.5% of the State had been mapped at a scale large enough to permit detailed analysis of geological conditions and other data relevant to the de— tection of mineral ocCurrences. An additional 5.2% had been mapped with greater detail, and 51% of Alaska had not been geologically mapped at all. Although large por- tions of the State have been geologically mapped since 1950, far from a complete inventory of the State's re- source base is available. U. S. Geological Survey, "PO- tential Alaskan Mineral Resources for Pr0posed Alaskan Metallurgical Industries" (Juneau: December, 1950). In spite of limited knowledge about the Area mineralization seems to have been widespread as indicated both by mines now in production and potential mineral resources. "Altogether about 100,000,000 acres in Alaska are classified as geologically favorable for the presence of oil, and private interests are spending about $500,000,000 for exploration alone. Yet it is estimated that less than 1 per cent of the land has been explored for minerals. Several American companies are active, while the Japanese have shown interest in iron ore, coal, mercury-producing cinnabar, and other minerals.” 223 Christian Science Monitor, January 10, 1961, p. 11. 82 deterred by the vast and rugged terrain.1 Exploitation was also delayed by the prospect of costs of transporting the ores. Few bodies of ore would lend themselves to exploitation profitable enough to warrant a capital in— vestment in a rail line or road--which would be a prime requisite for a continuous flow of ore from the mines and supplies into the mining works.2 Production from the region's mines has been charac- terized by high value-—low volume mineral products such as gold and platinum which can be concentrated into mar- ketable form at the mine. Gold is the leading mineral, but coal, Oil, base metals, non-metallic metals and con- struction materials promise to increase mining output, as the following indicates:3 Gold, $754,652,000 of which has been mined in Alaska in eighty years, seems on the point of being overtaken by coal as the state's most productively valuable mineral . . . Alaska's gold production last year was valued at $5,558,000. In second place was coal, valued at $5,485,000. Sand and gravel, at $5,100,000, ranked third. 1S. H. Lorain, "Government Assistance to Mining in Alaska," Second Alaska Science Proceedings (College: American Association for the Advancement of Science, Alaska Division, 1955), pp. 175-178. 2Alan M. Bateman, "Geographic Factors in the Uti- lization of Mineral Deposits," Proceedings of the United Nations Scientific Conference on the Conservation and Utilization of Resources, U. N., Department of Economic Affairs (New York, 1951), pp. 15-16. 3New York Times, September 11, 1960, p. 52. 85 Mineral traffic would be desirable for regional railroads and roads, minerals having the advantage of uniformity of character, high value in relation to bulk, and absence of seasonal variations. It is unfortunate that distance delays mining until pertinent rail and road extensions will be made. Only large mineral-bearing areas with high concentration of metal, formerly too remote to attract mining capital, have been or are now being brought within reach of highway and rail transportation. Mining in the Gulf Coast and COpper River Region.-- The COpper River region is known chiefly for the cOpper- bearing lodes mined in the Nizina district. These lodes were extensive and exceptionally high grade, averaging 8 per cent copper. The volume and quality of the ore warranted construction of the Copper River and Northwestern Railroad between 1906 and 1911. The Kennecott prOperties provided most of the ores until 1956, the ores being sent to the seaport of Cordova for shipment to a smelter in Tacoma, Washington. Operations ceased in 1958 after ex- haustion of the principal mines. Until 1958 the railroad jhad supplied the major means of access to the Copper River :region and was the principal factor accounting for the gnrowth of Cordova, its ocean terminus and headquarters. Low-grade copper deposits have since been dis- Ccrvered.in the Nebesna district.l Lack of adequate trans- —._ . 1U. S. Department of Mines, Bureau of Mines, Mirieral Yearbook, Vol. III, 1957, p. 96. 84 portation prevents the working of the properties. With the continued improvement of transportation facilities, development of some of these deposits should become eco- nomically feasible. A recent improvement in transport is the construction of a road between Cordova and the Richardson Highway following the route of the old rail- way mentioned above (Fig. 16). Other minerals from the COpper River region are Coal, oil, gold, and silver.1 No additional laying of rail or road has been carried out thus far for the exploi- tation of these deposits. The main bodies of gold and silver were both discovered close to existing transporta— tion. Oil was produced and refined at Katalla, on Prince William Sound, eliminating the need for surface transport. A large prOportion of the refined product was used 10- cally, with only small quantities shipped to Cordova for redistribution. In 1955, the refinery was destroyed by fire and operations ceased. In the Bering River area southeast of Cordova, coal deposits were discovered in 1910. The western deposits are subbituminous, whereas ‘the eastern are anthracites. Inaccessibility and badly :faulted coal veins, resulting in excessively high mining (Hosts, have prevented large scale develOpment. lIbid., 1959, p. 96. 2U. S. Geological Survey, A Review of the Geology .flgfil Coal Reserves of the Bering River Coal Field, Alaskg, CLJ?cular 46 ((Washington: Government Printing Office, Nowr., 1951), pp. 1-11. m, Vi JI nnrORD ./WWMBRAMAZED KE NECOT ,- cGARTHY NIZINAg flea V11. y ”VII/5319112 E 0 heavily MINEMEDM W1 A 0. . WAXELL HANG E - -—.—-—-—-—,BERINGR. BITUMINOUS i PROPOSED ANTHRACITE COAL FIELD KATELLA RD.l ’/ Ble/I/G .51?” KATELLA /’ I OIL COPPER R. va. w ETIISTINE. ROADS ”0-0-0- PROPOSED ROADS ----- COPPER R. RR. RIGHT~OFWAY COAL ... OIL G-OLD SILVERA CHROMITE COPPER LEAD Z_INC a NICKEL MAJOR MINERAL DEPOSITS OF GULF COAST AND COPPER RIVER REGION SCALE a MILES Fig. 16 86 The availability of coal for commercial purposes is being examined by private companies in the Bering River area. The intended market is Japan. Direct loading from mines to ship is under study. This method would possibly make economically feasible the exploitation of the Bering River coal deposits.l Mining in the Alaska Railroad belt.—-The Alaska Railroad was built after the gold strike. It was not laid specifically for the need of the gold mining area surround- ing Fairbanks. After 1910 a continual decline of gold, the scattered character of the gold mining sites, and the erratic develOpment by small companies and single opera— tors were already evident. Unlike large concerns these small Operators could not assure the railroad a steady revenue. As the fields were worked more intensively the shallow, richer deposits were exhausted. However, exten- sive gold-bearing gravels, frozen to great depths, were still available. Completion of the Alaska Railroad in 1925 enabled mining companies with heavy modern equipment to develOp vast low-grade deposits which could not be worked.by individual miners. These companies, in turn, promoted the growth of roads into the gold belt north of 1U. S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Mines, Mineral Yearbook, Vol. III, 1958, p. 94. Alaska Interna- tiDnal Rail and Hi hway Commission, Transport Hearing, Anchorage, Alaska Washington: Government Printing Office, 1959), P. 26. 87 LIVINGOOD ‘23:“ A TANANA. , I V ‘ r + .,0 Kr A O ‘(UKON 0 HOT SPRIN°5 )9 a 6 MANL @TA ” ' NA 9 a NENANA V o KANTIsI-INA 7??" (D HEA ‘ ’ I . all”. “mun M1: MCK|NLEY ’ .u\\“'tl' ‘HH\\‘ 'I' NATIONAL “c ' W? I...” “..I "IV“ 41:.” PARK .. VT”; ,1“ ‘I ‘ 0°“ " *\\\\‘ $P _4 I'd D P9 ._ . F» €va . ‘ g M ' 2 - " ”2:: TALKE‘ETNA MTS. . .,. W W L ‘U “ co» NEAESNA I,” “ ‘ / {I \1U‘A\“OMATANUSKA COAL FM 93“” "’- my. ‘ , _ ’. ' / :2 ~§ ’1’ 3:32." é’é’;/ “I ANTHRACITE COAL éfz'm' WWII“ , FIELD’ - r“, Hw ‘ I 0),, Q ”‘6"? "v... «A PRINCIPAL MINERAL .a DEPOSITS OF ALASKA ' '13; RAILROAD BELT 7], COAL ’- ‘~-« OIL COPPER 'GOLD 'SILVER LEAD ‘ ZINC MOLYBDENUM ANTIMONY NICKEL GULF OF ALASKA CHROMITE TIN BDDDUUGOO TUNGSTEN W ALASKA RAILROAD MAIN HIGHWAYS SCALE IN L ’4' ‘5‘ MILES Fig. 17 88 Fairbanks. The slow rate of gold recovery provided a fairly stable basic industry which, up to 1940, had been the prime factor in the growth of Interior Alaska. Coal, a major resource of the Rail Belt, was one of the resources that made the Alaska Railroad and its principal branch lines possible. The original report of the Alaska Railroad Commission assumed that coal would furnish tonnage for export, and that a railroad would result in rapid settlement of the area. Neither assump— tion was borne out by ensuing events. Coal is found in a number of areas along the Rail Belt. The most intensively worked beds are in the Matanuska Valley and.the Nenana Fields near Healy on the Alaska Rail- road between Fairbanks and Anchorage.l Other fields occur along the Susitna River (northwest of Anchorage) and on the west side of the Kenai Peninsula,the latter presently in- accessible by rail. The Rail Belt and the western side of the Kenai Peninsula are estimated to have lignite and sub- bituminous coal reserves of almost 25 billion tons, 2% bil- lion tons of bituminous and a billion tons of coking coal. The Alaska Railroad consists of 485 miles of main— line with 60 miles of branch lines to coal fields and air lFarrell F. Barnes and Daniel Sakol, "Geology and Coal Resources of the Little Susitna District, Matanuska Coal Field, Alaska," Geology Survey Bulletin 1058-D, Geo- logical Survey, Department Of the Interior (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1959), pp. 121-158. 89 bases. The most important of these branch lines is 19 miles long and leads from Matanuska to Sutton at the edge of the sub-bituminous fields. The following branches ex- tend from this branch line: from Sutton to Jonesville 2.9 miles; from Sutton to Eska 2.5 miles; and from Moose Creek to Premier 5.8 miles. The coal is shipped to the city of Anchorage and to the military forces stationed in the Area. A 4.4 mile spur leads from Healy to Suntrana in the Nenana coal district. Short feeder roads in the vicinity of Healy are also used to move coal from the mines to the Alaska Railroad main line. The Nenana mines supply Fairbanks and the two adjacent air bases.1 Limited shipments go to Anchorage. The Kantishna mining district is in the Railroad Belt north of the Alaska Range and is served by a road running from Mt. McKinley Park railroad station to Kantishna. Antimony and gold have been mined, copper and zinc lodes are known to exist. Near the northern end of the Alaska Railroad, the Fairbanks placer district is served by trucks using the Steese Highway, and the Livengood—Eureka section of the Elliott Highway, the latter serving the placer mines in 1U. S. Congress, Senate, Alaska Coal Lands, Hear- ings before the Subcommittee on Territories and Ifisular Af- fairs of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs re- lating to Secretary of the Interior's alleged failure to build the Alaskan railroad spur, 84m Cong., lst Sess. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1955), pp. 110-195. 90 the Hot Springs District. The Fairbanks placer district contains deposits of numerous minerals, but several factors hamper commer- cial exploitation. Known deposits of minerals in the Fairbanks district are of small size and of poor grade. Only small quantities of minerals have been extracted so far, because of the great distances to smelters. To over- come Operating expenses most were mined in conjunction with other minerals. Antimony is one of the few minerals mined inde- pendently. Sporadic shipments have been made from several mines in the Fairbanks district. Silver, tin, and tungsten have been produced with gold from placer Operations. Out- side market prices usually determine the amounts shipped from placer operations. Lead and zinc also occur in the district but develOpment has been slow because of low grade ore, high cost of transportation, and absence of a local smelter. In the same district, building materials--lime— stone, sand and gravel, granite, brick, clay, and pumice-— have been develOped. The Bureau of Mines studied limestone deposits at Windy, at the edge of Mt. McKinley National Park, to determine their usefulness for cement.1 Such a plant would provide the Alaska Railroad with a much-needed 1U. S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Mines, Mineral Yearbook, Volume III, 1954, p. 77. 91 back haul to the major market around Anchorage. High production costs, distance to markets, and rail rates en- couraged substitutes or imports instead. Cement manu- factures have considered installing cement bins at Anchorage for bulk shipments from Washington. This could save 25% of present costs on cement shipped from Windy.l An adequate deepwater port at Anchorage would aid in solution of the problem. At the same time, it would dis- courage future develOpment of limestone deposits along the railroad. Coarse riprap for the Alaska Railroad is provided by granite quarried in the region, and sand and gravel are used in construction of roads and airfields.2 How- ever, the transport network has not been influenced by the distribution of building material. Sand and gravel are widely distributed and require little processing. High ocean rates have further encouraged use of local construction material. The pattern of mining develOpment within the area has not only materially shaped but is integrally related to land transportation. This was brought out clearly by lIbid. 2F. A. Rutledge, R. L. Thorne, W. H. Kern and J. J. Mulligan, Preliminary Report: Nonmetallic Deposits Accessible to the Alaska Railroad as Possible Sources 0 New Material for the Construction Industry, (Washington: Government Printing Office, March, 1955), pp. 11-129. 92 an early Alaskan historian as follows:1 The extra-ordinarily rich gold deposits of the Klondike and later those of Fairbanks, Nome, and other camps made possible certain industrial ad- vancements, but these constituted no permanent prosperity. It is only the construction of railroads and roads which has led to the develOpment of the resources of inland regions other than the rich placers. Surface Transportation and Agricultural Activities Three areas of South Central and Interior Alaska can be considered as agriculturally developed: the Matanuska Valley near Anchorage, the Tanana Valley near Fairbanks, and the Kenai Peninsula (Fig. 18).2 The growth of agriculture in Alaska is closely related to land trans- portation because it has been influenced by and has in turn exerted some influence on the surface transport pattern. One of the purposes of the Alaska Railroad was to aid in the development of agriculture and settlement of land. In 1929, the railroad instituted a colonization project and brought 100 families to the Matanuska Valley. 1 2Annual average value of agricultural produce from this land totaled 81,840,000 during the period 1945-55 and 32,750,000 during the period 1954-57 (Fig. 15). 'Value of agricultural products in the area is based on reports in R. S. Andrews, H. A. Johnson, Farming in .Alaska, Bulletin 20 (Alaska Agricultural Experiment Sta- tion, Palmer, Oct. 1956); and other periodic releases Of the Station giving reports on the annual value of agricultural products by areas. Brooks, pp. 599-400. 95 I5. 151' |H5° N“ ' \“° oyocgow R I I E ”I; / omaag a ~ t”’ 5 ’ , , ’7. 5’94 A, , - — r ‘ ._ 1'21”. 599}. l _ F253,.“ ° —*- ' " ' we ../ ‘ . CIRCLE / °‘ \ III IOTT ~4- 1 . . I E I- €59 9" C5,,“ a; \d ‘ XVI?!" <2“ ¢ 0" ° ‘3 AGL my “OF9V‘ a E g .I‘” TANANA VALLEY 1 DP‘ " T I ~. 5 4‘ ~ I- }, 8 9 | < i \ 5" HWY :2 we" we 5 ,w-ees \' / ° ~'J‘l. A!” ¢ w '. 3 mcfi'flw‘ I , (f VALLY' ‘ _ 03 ‘ N (1" . a,“ ( , gk VA \ 1n couflnflm I n “m \ . . \ 0 c0“ 0V $.00: /— ‘ I 0;. ' *‘vv \ \r a . . .él,' «I 0 “ATA- A 0 I ‘ 0 I £4 PRESENT AND POTENTIAL NON-AGRICULTURAL EXCEPT FOR LOCAL SITES I FIELD caop EMPHASIS POTENT A Y A a I LL VAILABLE FOR AGRICULTURAL EXPANSION AGRICULTURAL AREAS .PRES ENTLY AVAILABLE FOR AGRICULTURAL EXPANSION LIVESTOCK PRODUCT ‘ EMPHASIS SCALE ‘0 m b MILES Fig. 18 94 In 1955, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration was aided by the railroad in settling 895 colonists from Minnesota, Michigan, and.Wisconsin.l They were subsidized by the government in a colonization project intended to relieve national unemployment and, at the same time, de- velOp agricultural resources in Alaska. Served by a branch line from Palmer to Sutton they were expected to furnish freight and passenger traffic. In 1958, however, many colonists returned to the states and financial sup- port was withdrawn. During the period of the Matanuska project, 4.5 million dollars was supplied to clear 8,000 acres and construct necessary buildings, serviced by an extensive road system. Prior to the project the homesteaders had no roads. Improvements and natural endowment have made the valley the most important agricultural region in the state. About 12,000 acres of the 518,000 acres in the Matanuska Valley have been cleared.2 Potential farm land totals several times this amount (Fig. 18).3 Farm products lKirk H. Stone, "Populating Alaska: The United States Phase," Geographic Review, Vol. XLII (July, 1952), pp. 584-404. 2U. S. Department of Agriculture, Land, the 1958 Yearbook of Agriculture (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1958), p. 455. 5U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Agri- cultural Economics, Some Economic Aspects of Farming in Alaska.wi§h Chief Attention to the Matanuska Vallpy (Wash- ington: Government Printing Office,l950), pp. 27-28. 95 come from dairying and poultry, and the cultivation of vegetables and potatoes. The Matanuska Valley has access to one of the largest market areas in the State.1 A branch line of the Alaska Railroad to Sutton passes through the com- munity center. The valley is linked to Anchorage, forty miles to the south, and to the Alaska Highway by the Glen Highway. A network of gravelled roads offers every settler direct access to a road in the main settled portion (Fig. 19). Most of the agricultural products are marketed through the Matanuska Valley Farmers' Cooperative. Fluid milk, butter, cheese, eggs, and fresh produce are furnished to military establishments, the valley communities, and Anchorage. The workers at the mines are within easy trucking distance and also use produce of the valley. The expansion of farming has been limited by the offer of high wages in other fields of work, especially thise connected with military activity and construction. High tranSportation costs and the short growing season have also been limiting factors. Markets are therefore lThe Matanuska Valleyw-Anchorage area supplied 67 per cent of the gross value of farm products of Alaska sold in 1957; the Tanana Valley, 16 per cent; Southeastern Alaska, 9 per cent; the Kenai Peninsula, 4 per cent; and Kodiak and the Aleutians the remaining 4 per cent. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Land, the 1958 Yearbook of Agriculture, p. 454; and periodic réIeases of the Alaska Agricultural Experiment Station. 96 ma .wae 24 OPIII 84.65 .m .1 ($54 modem mug II $23.19: 2.42 l >w.3<> $632542 wrh do @0401 97 restricted to the Anchorage area. Since a merchant must provide for his needs with produce from outside sources during most of the year, he hesitates to upset his source of supply. Because the quality of local produce may be inferior, some farm products are often flown in from states to the south.1 Although freight rates for imported goods provide a kind of tariff protection for the Alaskan farmer, the advantage is diminished as transportation from the other states improves, and freight rates decrease.2 The Tanana Valley in the Fairbanks area ranks next to the Matanuska in agricultural importance, although only 2,400 acres are cleared for cultivation.5 A network of gravel roads serves the area. Most settlers live close to the existing transportation lines. Agriculture is relatively unimportant now because of environmental conditions, the small market, and the great distance and poor transport facilities to distant markets. The region is noncompetitive as a source of agricultural products for all but the small local market. Tanana farmers depend largely on the Fairbanks market. lw. F. Eiteman and A. B. Smuts, "Alaska, Land of Opportunity Limited," Economic Geography, XXVII (January, 1951), p. 58. 2Ibid.; Kirk H. Stone, "Alaskan Problems and Potentials," Journal of Geography, L, No. 5 (1951), p. 185. 5E. Willard.Miller, "Agricultural Development in Interior Alaska," Scientific Monthly, Vol. LXXII (Oct., 1951), p. 248. 98 Military bases and mining camps purchase some provisions from local farms. The town of Nenana, sixty miles from Fairbanks, receives goods for steamboat shipment on the Tanana and Yukon Rivers (Fig. 27). Air freight serves communities lying beyond the reach of surface transport. Farmers in the Tanana Valley face marketing prob- lems similar to those in the Matanuska Valley. Various studies indicate that Tanana'Valley buyers perfer com- peting products from outside Alaska.l In addition, com— petition from imported products increases with improved transportation service. The greater distance and re- sulting higher transport costs, however, afford more of a theoretical protective tariff to the Tanana Valley farmers than to those in the Matanuska Valley. Large areas of potential farm land lie on the west coast of the Kenai Peninsula. Very little develop- ment has occurred because of the lack of transportation and markets. The former has limited the market to the level of local needs. The Sterling Highway was built recently along Cook Inlet to serve both the Kenai farms and the rapidly expanding oil industry. The highway connects peninsula communities with Anchorage, providing 1U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Agri- cultural Economics, Markets for the Products of Cropland in Alaska (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1950). ‘Ui S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Marketing and Transportation Situation (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1956). 99 an outlet for farm products. It has increased the demand for agricultural land and large areas have been withdrawn for colonization purposes. Other potential crOpland lies in small non-contigu- ous tracts interspersed with lakes, streams, and swamps. The number of roads required and low yields obtained have not justified an expanded transport system. Homesteading is improbable in areas not served by highways or access roads. Many potential farm areas have not been developed because of dependence on air trans- portation or seasonal river navigation. Costs of air- freighting machinery and tools to homestead sites are prohibitive. If homesteaders should overcome these ob- stacles--as some have in isolated farm valleys--then, again, the cost of transporting harvested crops to markets is restrictive. Building and maintaining good roads require great expense. Small population, great distances, and unfa— vorable environment are obstacles to road—building and the farming activity that could follow it. This is why agriculture is unimportant now and will probably continue to be so. Strategic Significance of the Transport System Government investment greatly influences the lOO economy of the Area.1 Future military expenditures are likely to remain of substantial magnitude, making the future economic growth of the Area dependent upon its strategic status. From 1954 to 1957 wages paid in construction, primarily for defense establishments, averaged better than those in salmon canning.2 Total Federal government obligations during the same period totaled five times the value of products from the fisheries, which consti- tute Alaska's major natural—resources industry (Fig. 15). High wage scales for government employees delayed develOpment of resources, increasing labor costs. How- ever, permanent benefits did result from the military program: improvement in communication and transporta— tion, and added permanent military payrolls. Kimble and 1During the seven—year period ending June 50, 1954, the Federal Government's obligation in Alaska totaled 2.98 billion dollars. ‘During the period the develOpment programs (primarily construction) of the Department of Defense alone totaled 1.17 billion dollars. The govern- ment spent 105 million dollars on defense in 1955, 95 million dollars in 1956, and 96 million dollars in 1957. U. S. Department of Commerce, Alaska, Its Economy and Market Potential (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1959), P0 19- 2Wages from all of Alaska's fisheries, salmon can- neries, lumber and pulp mills, mines, and farms were ex- ceeded by military payrolls, equalled by wages paid in service industries, and just above that arising from the single industrial classification "construction." U. S. Department of Commerce, Income in Alaska (Washington: Government Printing Office, 196Qk U. S. Bureau of the Budget, Projection of the Alaska Economy (Washington: Government Printing Office, NovemBer 24, 1958). 101 Good contribute the following:1 The benefits of her strategical status accrue to Alaska in two ways: first, by creating a demand for the expansion of the military establishment, with consequent employment, improvement of facili- ties valuable also to civilians, and stimulation of local resource exploitation; and second, by focusing attention upon the demands of Alaskans for statehood, a step that would insure her develOpment by giving her a voice in Congress and more revenues from her own industries and properties. In return, this would enhance Alaska's strategic value. Military needs were a.major factor in the con- struction and improvement of port, highway, and rail fa- cilities during World War II.2 Rapid expansion of military installations result- ing in a large influx of military and civilian p0pu1a- tions engaged in construction increased the demand for highway facilities to coastal ports. So did the function of these ports as transshipment centers. The demand for transportation facilities resulted in larger annual federal appropriations for the construction of highways and ports. Growing military and civilian traffic and need for alter- nate transport routes hastened reconstruction of the Alaska Railroad. Growth of population after construction of the transport network was primarily due to activities 1George H. T. Kimble and Dorothy Good, Geography pf the Northlands (New York: The American Geographical Society and John Wiley and Sons, 1955), p. 512. 2John R. Noyes, "Transportation's Role in Alaska," National Defense Transportation Journal, XII (March- Aprll, 1956), p. 5. 102 in connection with transportation into the interior of materials for both military and civilian use. Mobility of forces is dependent largely on roads. Construction of the Alaskan Highway through Canada aided mobility during the early part of World War II. The military has used the highway since completion for move- ment of troops, equipment, and supplies.1 TrOOp movements within Alaska are restricted to the State's few existing highways and thus are confined to the area of South Cen- tral and Interior Alaska. Rapid deployment of troops and equipment to any other point in Alaska must be by air or slow-moving barge, steamer and tractor trains. In the roadless areas, mass build-up of troops is not feasible, because of the lack of a primary road-system connecting all major Alaska regions. The position of coastal settlements as trans- shipment centers for all waterborne cargo has made their industries sensitive to changes in the economy of the in- terior, and more particularly to activities in the mili- tary sector. Estimates of future growth of coastal set- tlements are based on the expectation that the military build-up and p0pu1ation in the Interior will increase in the future. lEdwin M. Fitch and Colonel Thomas Weed, "The Forty-Ninth State," National Defense Transportation Journal, VI (Sept.-Oct., 1950), p. 10. 105 om .mam cz.zu(>>o ..OnkzOu Helium? flmzoisisxasou 0.93. Nut? ut1>> 6 1.9.5.5 ouz.zm(>> «(05. ~23 Zmo (IL 259m umzmamo (vimH5a oammmhe Homsommmm wxmwamq mohdomom mxmmaguoohdom _.¢02lhao kszwBZIz. aimzfipm 35029.3 W/fl mmzjmz Z mmm. 2 one E4 2.5 o_2 mmwzmmmg <>>O§m . w ..:J. 1J1 ..E 00. On 0 UJ(UW _ CUDZ: U m0<0m I O. Oh _D wo 0.. I 00 \ I % x4 Hmon<>I o. 58' 3.: #223 5.. mzommum £39.. §w<4< c_ .‘ O. 4&3 - so:.:uwm.___«......H. 4 I o . ...... 2323.5."— 122 .PmmH $20.33. H0 833 28 8309 33.8285 map quchumm ER: HmHostHm ..bmmH wxmmH< RH mszo 0 mo msH mm ROH w 590 Psosmoam>m_ ooHfiomom w mm . _ mHIoamH mcpmpm UOPHRD map Mo nausea RPRo0#no>0m and SPROOPNHm. nausea mo swonsm. m. D. moondom PZwummm 00. OO 06 Oh 00 On O¢ On ON 0. O .H.____H____ __.H_.__ ...H __._____ .1.~H_. ...mm; A. IEOZ «6.13.2. r .25.sz 1.50m 5m :58 m3 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ E; . IEoz SEEQEEO :58 5E :58 . AWN. \\\_\\\\\\\_\\\\\\_\\\\\\\_\\\\\\A\\\\\\\_\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ an; . Emoz §§§ moEEzEEEmo :58 55 :58 cool z £528 x. 20.0mm 82 Iowa. Se EEEES imam oz< z43 “ SCALE IN MILES FAIRBANKS FLON MAD HIGHWAY TRAFFIC ...... ............... A -PRODUCTS OFAORIOULTURE I: - PRODUCTS 0F FORESTS M - PRODUCTS 0F MINES 'M+M - MANUFACTURES AND MISCELLANEOUS WIDTHS OF MAJOR FLOW LINES ARE IN APPROXIMATE RATIO TO TONNAGE .. u." o 2" J4 SCALE IN MILES Fig. 27 150 primarily to the southeast and northeast. The heaviest intercity freight volumes move from the city to the Matanuska Valley, and to settlements along Turnagain Arm. The bulk of this freight consists of manufactured goods, Afood, and oil received in the city by rail, road, and water transport. Agricultural products from the Matanuska Valley arrive by road. Valdez and the Kenai Peninsula receive less highway traffic from Anchorage than eastern communities along the Glenn and Seward-Anchorage highways. The heaviest freight volumes move southwest to the city from the coal district around the Matanuska Valley, and north from Whittier and Seward. Northern traffic by rail is of less importance. Nonetheless, the connection with Fairbanks and other northern points by rail is second only to the traffic immediately southeast and northeast of the city. The Alaska Railroad route to Fairbanks serves as a supply link between settlers within the Area and Anchorage. While Fairbanks shows almost equal traffic densities in all directions, Anchorage is primarily a collector and distribu- tor of goods for rural communities along Knik and Turnagain Arms. The situational qualities which have made Anchorage the state's most outstanding commercial center are reflected in the pattern of truck and rail traffic converging on the city. It taps the resources and trade of Alaska's leading 151 agricultural and mining regions. That the proportion of many commodities received by truck is not greater is due to the city's excellent rail connection rather than to inaccessibility by motor carriers. Nonetheless, highway carriage of manufactured and agricultural goods has made deep inroads into traffic once moved exclusively by rail. The Seward-Anchorage Highway has become one of the major competitors of the Alaska Railroad because motor freight movement is cheaper and faster than that by rail. This route is especially favorable for the transportation of perishables. Thus the highway has gained in tonnage at the expense of the railroad.1 Anchorage's position as a hub of rail and truck transportation is due in large part to its areal cen- trality. In both distance and time, Anchorage is physical- ly closer to all major urban centers of the region than are Fairbanks, Valdez, or Seward, its leading rivals as transport centers. Over 70% of the p0pu1ation of Alaska has settled within a 500 mile radius of Anchorage. These locational factors are given special relevance by the fact that Anchorage has become a junction or transfer point between waterborne, airborne, and overland movements of 1In recent years, the Alaska Railroad has reduced rates by as much as fifty per cent, hOping to encourage traffic. Department of the Interior, Annual Report of the Governor of Alaska (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1955—1958). 152 goods and people, and hence the business, wholesale, and distribution center for the State. The importance of the position of Anchorage, with the expansion of port facili- ties, will increase over such secondary centers as Seward or Valdez. Anchorage shipments will be carried to prin- cipal markets throughout the region almost entirely with- out subsequent interline transfer, while freight from other coastal ports must, in many cases, undergo the in- evitable delays accompanying one or more cargo interchanges before final destinations are reached. Ocean terminals.——The growing importance of South Central Alaska's economy stems mainly from the transfer of supplies from ocean carriers to land carriers at ports located within the Area. Such ports are the termini of the principal routes of the internal transportation system. They are therefore of primary importance to the interior. Although other industries may be of more importance to the individual local communities, transportation provides the link between the economy of the coastal towns and the en- tire area here considered. Until 1942, transport to Alaska was by steamship, mostly from Puget Sound. Port facilities at the termini of inland routes were develOped for transfer of cargo and passengers to the interior. Seward became the major port and transfer point, with connections to Anchorage and Fair- banks. Similarly, Valdez and Cordova develOped as the 155 ocean termini of the Richardson Highway, and the COpper River and Northwestern Railway, respectively. Seward.+-Seward, on the Kenai Peninsula, with a population of 1,891 in 1960, was the original seaport for the Alaska Railroad. The town owes its economic life to the railroad, receiving incoming traffic from the ocean, and sending passengers and goods into the interior by rail. Much of the military and most of the civilian cargo goes through Seward to Anchorage, Fairbanks, and certain Yukon towns. Completion of the railroad cutoff to Whittier re- sulted in a declining commerce for Seward. A new avenue of development was opened, however, by the new Seward— Anchorage Highway, with its feeder roads from the Kenai Peninsula. Threatened abandonment of the rail section be— tween Seward and the Whittier Junction would again bring loss of traffic to Seward.l Whittier.-4Whittier was established in 1942 to serve as an alternate terminus of the Alaska Railroad, thereby augmenting the facilities at Seward for the trans- fer of cargo. The port has almost exclusively military functions. The small civilian population is composed of 1The people of Seward have fought the abandonment of the rail for a number of years. Many congressional hear- ings are filled with their pleas. As an example see: Congress, House, Alaska, 1955, Hearings before the Sub- committee on Territorial and Insular Affairs of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs on House Resolution 50, 84k Cong., lst Sess. (Washington: Government Printing Of- fice, 1956), pp. 85—108. 154 of Alaska PORT OF SEWARD SCALE IN FEET 600 800 Fig. 28 155 sawmill employees and service personnel for the railroad. The town is surrounded by high mountains. It can be reached only by water and rail. The railroad approach- ing from Portage reaches Whittier via two long tunnels.l The rugged Chugach Range not only hinders the movement of goods to the interior, but limits port facilities to an area five miles long and one mile wide. The port is deep and anchorage is difficult. It is beset by strong winds, heavy rains, and snow. Because of these conditions, the army has considered closing the port and diverting traffic to Seward or perhaps later directly to Anchorage. Valdez.--Valdez, on Prince William Sound, is lo- cated near the natural gateway closest to interior Alaska. In 1898, it was used as a port of entry by gold prospectors. Later, a military trail was constructed from Valdez to the Yukon to avoid crossing Canadian territory or entering via the long Yukon River route. The original camp grew with the development of the original trail into the Richardson Highway. The population of the town was 555 in 1960. The p0pu1ation and the economy are related to the develOpment of transportation and road construction and have fluctu- ated with the amount of freight being sent into the in- lWhittier tunnel, 14,140 feet long, and Portage tunnel, 4,905 feet, were completed on Nov. 20, 1942. In winter, the railroad tunnels are heated to prevent the ac- cumulation of ice. TO retain the heat, enormous doors seal the tunnel ends and must be Opened for each passing train. 156 '. CANAL PORT OF WHITTIER W RAILm «w GLACIER - ROADS 0 h l 2 mi. 157 terior.l The town was an important break-in-bulk point until 1958. With increasingly larger freight volumes sent through Seward and Whittier the port function of the town became less relevant and the p0pu1ation of Valdez decreased. The p0pu1ation and economy of Valdez will no doubt continue to be determined, as will that of other ports in South Central Alaska, by events beyond the control of the local population. Cordova.—-Rich copper ores were discovered in the Chitina Valley in 1898. In 1911, construction of a rail- road to the ore bodies brought an outlet to the sea. Population within the region began to expand. Cordova was the coastal terminus and headquarters of the COpper River and Northwestern Railway. The population rose from 175 in 1900 to 1,152 in 1910. The rich Kennecott ore was exported from the port. Interior communities grew also: Chitina, Kennecott, and McCarthy. Their combined p0pu- lation in 1920 was 800. They were either centers for min- ing or railroad facilities. In 1959, the copper mines closed, rail service was discontinued, and interior towns became nearly deserted. lYear-round traffic until 1958 was hindered by an average snowfall of more than 20 feet. After 1958, Thompson Pass, 20 miles north of the port on the Richardson Highway, was kept Open by a constant snow-plowing program,and traffic increased. 158 POpulation loss at Cordova was slight, thanks to a rapidly developing fishing industry. The town is now the largest fishing center in the state west of the 141st meridian. In 1960, the p0pu1ation of Cordova was 1,128. The town is not served by highways. Attempts were made to achieve a connection by road to Chitina over the COpper River and Northwestern right-Of-way.l Although only one— third of the mileage was built by 1958, completion was ex- pected by 1962.2 The completed road would serve tourist trade, and permit development of a heavily mineralized area. Cordova may eventually establish itself as the fourth major regional outlet (Fig. 50). General comment.--Census data for the 1940-1960 period show that South Central Alaskan ports--Valdez and Seward--increased in population by almost 1,000 persons (Table 6). The increase is suggestive of the function of the ports as break-in-bulk points and termini of year- round routes into the interior. They also illustrate the p0pu1ation's rise and fall in direct proportion to the extent routes are used for freighting to the interior. Valdez declined before Seward since most of the freight lAlaska International Rail and Highway Commission, Transport Hearing, Anchorage, Alaska, 1959, pp. 9-21. 2AlaskaResource DevelOpment Board, Biennial Re- pprt of the Alaska Territorial Highway Engineer and Super- intendent of Public Works, 1957-1958 (Juneau). W RAILROAD ROAD GLACIER ALAS KA Landform Map of Gulf of Alaska Area Fig. 50. 140 passing through Valdez earlier in the decade was passing through Seward. With plans for the construction of the port Of Anchorage, the growing importance of Whittier nearer the major population centers, the decline of mili- tary activity in Interior Alaska, and the threat of aban— donment of the Seward-Portage track, Seward suffered a population decline from its 1959 peak of 5,000 by 1,172 persons. The fluctuating population of both ports illustrates the uncertainty which besets the areas communities whose prosperity is determined by conditions beyond the control of local inhabitants. Handling of cargo at regional ports.--The coastal ports are the gateways to South Central and Interior Alaska. The volume of commerce needed for maintenance and growth of this great hinterland flows through the ice-free ports of Seward, Whittier, and Valdez. It is out of pro— portion to the degree of settlement and develOpment within the coastal region.1 Seward and Whittier lead as pivots of transportation in annual tonnage of shipping (Fig. 51). In both, imports have been in excess of exports since 1942. 1 1See following maps, tables and graphs in Weintraub, "Water Transportation in Alaska's External Trade": Table 5, Waterborne Commerce of Alaska: Major Ports, 1955, p. 128; Table 7, Trips of Vessels at Ports, 1955, p. 150; Map (Fig. 11), Total Traffic, Principal Alaskan Ports, 1955, p. 129; Graph (Fig. 5), Alaskan Trade with the U. S. by Region and Port, 1955, p. 27. 141 I. .ImmmH we mHé east measpm soap mo oohoaaoo Oshophmpma mHmORstm m8 mghoo. m. D. oohdom 021-2%. why—On. Z<¥w<4< mOEmDZ. Qz< ..>mw 000.00. 3008 I Emit—1; ooooom Deacon ooodom OOOdo¢ OOOOOV 00060m oooOOm 000.000 000.000 m. m . 0 w ooo.oo~ um. I 08.02 I. mo 000.com M < 03.0% S I 0EuOnEOU 45.9 000.com. _ ooodOa 31 Fig. 142 This is true also of Valdez and Anchorage. New economic develOpment prOgrams are responsible. Equipment and other supplies move through these terminals for rehabilitation of the Alaska Railroad, the enlarged program of the Alaska Road Commission, the added installations of the Civil Aeronautics Administration, and for the increased activi- ties Of the military. Cordova, with no major programs for the development of its hinterland, preserves a balance between imports and exports. The bulk of the civilian commerce passes through Seward. It is served throughout the year by Alaska Steam— ship Company vessels, tugs, barges, and tankers. Port capacity is estimated at about 4,000 tons per day.lIn 1958, the port is reported to have handled 450,705 tons, of which about 85 per cent were imports consisting of foodstuffs, manufactured goods, construction materials, and petroleum products. “The Army port of Whittier handles only military cargo. Port capacity was estimated at 2,600 tons per day. In 1958, the port handled 129,969 tons of cargo from car— riers transporting for the military.2 The Military Sea Transportation Service also handles a substantial portion lTonnage figures are based on the Army Corps of Engineers reports. 2This figure includes tonnage moved for the mili— tary on commercial vessels, but excludes tonnage moved in Department of Defense vessels. 145 of the military tonnage to Alaska. Shipments are dis- charged and warehoused at Whittier and later shipped to military establishments along the rail belt. Military water-bornecargo during the year ending June 50, 1958 totaled 170,000 (short) tons. Besides controling overseas trade, Seward and Whittier act as entrepots for domestic coastwise trade. Since direct land routes between coastal settlements, except between Whittier and Seward, are impractical, a large number of fishing boats and other small craft Operate in the local trade. These vessels visit both ports regu- larly and accounted for about 15,000 tons of local traf- fic in 1957. Valdez is the southern terminus of the Richardson Highway. The port is served by Alaska Steamship Company, barge service, Standard Oil, and Union Oil tankers. Over 1,000 tons of cargo can be worked daily at this port. The Corps of Engineers reports a yearly average cargo of 90,000 tons since 1950, virtually all imports. Except for supplies used locally, all water—borne cargo is shipped inland by truck. Traffic is fostered by the fact that this is the northernmost ice-free port on the American continent. The port of Cordova handles only local cargo, since it is not reached by any surface transport. A highway un- der construction at present will connect Cordova with the 144 main Alaska road system. At that time traffic is ex- pected to increase. In 1957, port traffic at the com- munity totaled 21,000 tons. Capacity is estimated to be 1,000 tons daily. Half of the present tonnage consists of fish landings and exports of fish products. Fairbanks.--The only important increase in p0pu- 1ation among the areas of interior Alaska has occurred within and adjacent to the city of Fairbanks. The city first served as a supply and distribution center for mining districts. Its initial importance was due to its position at the head of navigation on the Tanana and Chena Rivers. Supplies were brought in by boat from the Yukon and Tanana Rivers and the town developed as the trade center of the interior. By 1904 Fairbanks was the most important center in Interior Alaska, eclipsing Circle, Eagle, Fort Yukon, Tanana, and other interior towns.1 Between 1905-1906 Fairbanks was a mail distribution center for the interior and such distant points as Nome.2 Additional impetus to growth was provided by the termination of the Alaska Railroad and the Richardson Highway, and by con- struction of the Ladd and Eielson Air Force bases near the 1L. M. Pindle, The Gold Placers of the Fortymile, Birch Creek and Fairbanks Region, Alaska Geological Sur- vey, U. S. Department of the Interior, Bulletin No. 251 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1905), p. 69. 2U. S. Congress, House, Mail and Pack Trails in Alaska, House Report No. 5875, 59m Cong., lst Sess. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1906), p. 25. 145 city. The p0pu1ation of Fairbanks in 1960 was 15,511. POpulation growth continues, because the city is the northern terminus of the rail and highway system, and the air transport center for North and West Alaska, except for two areas--the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands-~which focus on Anchorage (Fig. 56). From Nenana, a Tanana River port on the Alaska Railroad near Fairbanks, river boats take supplies to remote points on the Tanana and Yukon Rivers. Finally, Fairbanks is the southern terminus of the Steese and Elliott Highways. As such, . . . . . 1 it serves an extenSive placer mining region. A geographer 1The area northwest of Fairbanks provides an ideal location for one of the largest potential hydroelectric installations in the United States. At Rampart Canyon, on the Yukon River, a power dam could have an installed capacity of nearly 5 million kilowatts. It would create more power than Grand Coulee and provide all the power needs of Interior Alaska. If built, it would impound 1.5 billion acre feet of water and form a lake 150 miles long and 50 miles wide. Climatologists indicate that this lake would modify the climate of Interior Alaska. Both temperature and precipitation are expected to rise. Under Optimum conditions, the Corps of Engineers estimates it can begin to produce energy by 1972. They contemplate two years to design the dam and then 8 years to bUild it. Fairbanks, located approximately 100 miles from the Rampart Canyon Dam site, would be greatly affected by construction of this dam. The dam would supply the city with an abundant source of low-cost power and speed es— tablishment of industry. During construction, workers and allied business enterprises would increase and sub- stantially change the character of the economy. Inter- view with an official of the Corps Of Engineers, Janu~ ary 28, 1965. 14s mm .mHm N. ...w. d OI! 51......- .. tuna? DJ“...— ZOme; :? HAUON HM N . o . mud.) Z. uJ._._Z_U_> ... mxz . S. n < 5.0%.? . 4v. 431 av .... *0 O 0 . $6 \ HI I I I. WON amusfigzj .. A“ x _ Mr.“ \\ -_ s _ 134.0 _ ... A _ I 9) VV. $.94 ..— Jr. 4 . taxi ... Md .0 _ .r H r .2 _ .P .FI I I I ll I.III L 147 drew attention to the interrelationship between the growth of Fairbanks and develOpment of transport as follows:1 The centrality of Fairbanks has made it possible for this small interior city of 15,000 (with an estimated 50,000 within a ten—mile radius) to cap- ture the distribution function of much of the Alaskan interior. Constant improvements in access facilities and in types of carriers have been of marked assistance in the attainment of this role--entrepreneur for the habitable Northland. In the early stages of settlement, when river boats provided the bulk of cargo movement, only the richer mining claims could be worked economically; with the addition of the Alaska Railroad, large scale operations on lower value claims were possible, thus raising the level of employment and augmenting the economy. Improved roads, an increase in road mileage, better trucks and cars, additional air fields, and better planes all appeared about the same time. De- fense activities which expanded sharply during the war have continued to the present; in addition to military construction now under way in the area, fifty-one Air Force and five Army projects were scheduled for 1960. The functional significance of Fairbanks as an Alaska center, as always, continues to exceed its status when measured by p0pu1ation alone. Rural Settlements Small dependent communities have developed around the cities. Most of them have arisen through the develOp- ment of local natural resources. In Prince William Sound are the cannery towns of Ellamar, Tatitlek, and Latouche, and the Indian villages Chenega and San Juan. These small settlements, all with less than fifty inhabitants, grew 1Robert L. Monahan, "The Role of Transportation in the Fairbanks Area," Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers, XXI (1959), pp. 20—21. 148 up around fish canneries at the mouths of streams. Here pools could be entered at high tide, thus offering some degree of storm protection. Away from the coast, small communities develOped along the roads and railroads. They furnish meals and lodging, fuel, and supplies to tourists, miners, construc- tion workers, and military personnel. Settlements of this type are Glenallen, Gulkana, and Tok Junction. Other com- munities, such as Copper Center and Chitina, which were old trading posts, outfitting centers, or mining towns, have assumed renewed activity by catering to local needs. Nenana, with a population of 206 in 1960, is a typical break-of—bulk point at the confluence of the Tanana and Nenana Rivers. It was first settled as a construction camp for the northern division of the Alaska Railroad. Highways did not bring the development their ad- vocates predicted. The effect on people living in the country has not been great because only a small number of peOple lived there. There are towns at both ends of major roads and small centers at intersections, but few settle- ments along the highways. Some are wholly outgrowths of the highways. They usually deve10p from early maintenance camps and repeater stations for telephone lines. They usually stretch for about a mile on both sides of the highway. Residents cater mostly to the tourist trade. In addition to the dwellings of the local residents there 149 are gas stations, cafes, hotels, motor courts, and small stores. Most highways were built for military purposes or for specific mining localities. In planning routes, little thought was given to the resources that lay between the outlets of the region and the highway objective. The future need is for branches from the main routes to re- sources and their population concentrations. Unless traf- fic is large and development permanent, cost of construc- tion will remain a limitation. As the mapped pattern shows (Fig. 14), few branches were built, primarily be- cause of the small size of the presently active mining areas. Only a possibility exists that rich mineral dis- coveries will be made along this region's highways. Also, any future development of lumbering and agriculture seems unlikely because of the inferior quality of the forests and the subsistence character of farming. The tourist traffic, however, will increase, and with it tourist busi- ness along routeways. CHAPTER VI INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL TRADE AND THE SOUTH CENTRAL AND INTERIOR ALASKA TRANSPORT SYSTEM The Role of Transport in the Movement of Goods and People The first objective of this section is to present the pattern and character of the freight transporting facilities of the region; a second to analyze the freight traffic associated with these media of tranSportation. For a clear understanding of the regional movement of freight an examination is first made of the general charac- ter of the Area's external trade and the volume and com- position of movement through the region's ports. A Comparison of Internal and External Trade The economy of all Alaska is more dependent on transportation than that of most other American regions appears to be. In the southern states, for example, the pioneers develOped an agricultural system that became self- sustaining, while Alaska imports foodstuffs. Other im- ports are construction materials and manufactured goods; they must be brought great distances from the developed 150 151 sources. Although major improvements are being made in transportation routes, the area considered is still remote from supply centers. The canning of fishery products was the extent of manufacturing and processing activities in the early his- tory of Alaska. The organization of the transportation services was based on the principle of outward and inward flow of overseas freight. Raw materials were moved by feeder roads and trails to the nearest railhead or river navigation terminal. They proceeded by rail or water-and- rail to the ocean terminal for shipment to overseas desti- nations. A reverse process functioned for imports. Intraterritorial exchanges remained on a small scale. In parts of the territory in which transportation facilities were available, services operated with natural handicaps and frequent breaks of bulk. External trade, in particular, export, was the strongest feature of regional commerce until the Opening 1 of the Second World War. Then the economy of the region lAlaska's external trade during the 1931-1940 dec- ade, for example, had average annual out-shipments totaling $58,758,000 of which the three leading items were canned salmon ($52,582,000), gold and silver ($15,904,000) and furs and skins ($2,607,000), all other outshipments ac- counting for only 15% of the total. The average annual value of in-shipments was less than half the value of out-shipments ($28,410,000). Again the northward trade was specialized and revealing as to the nature of Alaska during this period. The three leading commodities were tin cans (35,219,000), petroleum products ($2,679,000) and alcoholic beverages ($1,968,000). Weintraub, pp. 11-22. 152 changed. From reliance on mining and fishing, it was sup- ported strongly by government construction. Construction materials and supplies for naval and other military in- stallations became heavy imports. By 1942, imports ex- ceeded exports for the first time. Although gold mining was resumed after the war, its effect on regional economy was dwarfed by federal ex- penditures for continued construction of military facili- ties, bringing an influx of p0pu1ation and materials. Im- ports continue to exceed exports. In 1958, statehood stimulated interregional and intraregional commerce to greater activity. Increased manufacturing of goods became especially evident in South- east Alaska. In South Central and Interior Alaska, manu- facturing was less important than agriculture, coal mining, and forest industries. An attempt was made by the two regions to be self-sufficient. Domestic consumption in- creased as immigrants arrived. These were military con- tingents stationed in the State, with the civilian p0pu- 1ation associated with their activities. However, because of various factors operating against the growth of industry and agriculture, commodity movement still remains predomi— nantly external. Magnitude of Regional Trade The magnitude of the traffic carried by the regional 155 transportation system will be presented here in terms of total tonnage or the value of trade flowing over the net- work.1 Regional commerce consists of external trade--im- ports and exports, internal trade--intraregional and inter- regional, and transit trade.2 lData used in this section have as their source the following: Sources for rail statistics: U. S. Department of Interior, Alaska Railroad Reports; U. S. Department of Sommerce, Alaska, Its Economy and Market Potential, pp. 25- 4. Sources for highway statistics: U. S. Department of Commerce, Report on Extension of National System of Interstate and Defense Highways within Alaska and Hawaii (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1960); State of Alaska, Department of Public Safety Releases; Alaska Re- source DevelOpment Board, Biennial Report Of the Alaska Territorial Highway Engineer and the Superintendent of Public Works (Juneau). Alaska Road Commission, Annual Report of the Alaska Road Commission (Juneau). Sources for water-borne statistics: U. S. Corps of Engineers, Waterborne Commerce of the U. 8., Part IV, Waterways and Harbors: Pacific Coast, Alaska and Pacific Islands (San Francisco, California). U. S. Department of Commerce, U. S. Bureau of the Census, Monthly Summary of Foreign Commerce of the U. S. (Washington: Government Printing Office). Alan Weintraub, "Water Transportation in Alaska's External Trade," Unpublished Master's thesis, University of Chicago, June, 1957. Other statistical sources: Alaska Resource De- velOpment Board, Alaska Passenger Traffic Survey (Juneau, Annual); U. S. Department of Commerce,Maritime Administra— tion, Docket No. 881, General Increases in Alaskan Rates and Charges'(Unpublished Data), prepared by Statistics and Special Studies Office, Cargo Data Branch, June, 2Any attempt at a complete analysis of the over- all weight or monetary significance of the regional trans- port system is, however, defeated by the absence of of- ficial figures as to the value or tonnage of intraregional transfers. Hence one must resign oneself to assessing the traffic of the transport services chiefly from the point of view of foreign trade. 154 The annual inward and outward flow of goods totals almost 1.5 million tons.1 Only a small part of this repre— sents commercial exchange with Canada. The great prOpor- tion of external trade is with the southern states, reached by ship, plane, or the Alaska Highway. The regional trans- port system also aids the interregional transfer of pro- duce between South Central and Interior Alaska, Southeastern Alaska, and North and West Alaska. It was noted earlier that total freight movement in and out of the area is about 1.5 million tons, with two-thirds imports and one-third exports. Most of this traffic moves to and from the coastal sections.2 Freight tonnage, excluding coal, brought into Fairbanks from the coast by the Alaska Railroad and Richardson Highway, is limited. Freight movements to the coast from this region are also limited. Major freight movements of land re- sources are handled by shipping over the shortest land lPassenger movements are mainly by air, with a fair portion by highway, and a small portion by water. During the year 1959 the Alaska transport network carried 195,128 peOple into and 195,962 out of the State. 2The most recent study by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers shows that approximately 70 per cent of the Seward freight handled by the Alaska Railroad is consigned to the Anchorage area. U. S. Congress, Senate, Alaska and West Coast Transportation Problems, Hearings before the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce on Senate Resolution 15 and Senate Resolution 165, 84c Cong., 2d Sess. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1956), p. 47. 155 route, and thence to markets by water transport, rather than over the Alaska Highway route to Interior Canada and the southern states.1 The Fairbanks area generates a total of 55,000 tons of dry cargo per year, exclusive of movement of coal from Healy. About 15,000 tons are sent north by railroad; 15,000 tons by truck from Valdez; 15,000 tons are sent south by rail and highway; and 10,000 tons over the Alaska Highway in both directions. The effort of the various prime movers in the Area can also be appraised by determining total tonnage of produce moved by various transport services. Area freight movements are mostly by water and lPlans exist for the construction of a railroad or road from Interior Alaska to the White Pass and Yukon.Rail— road and southern States in the near future. Construction of these routes would change the present pattern of trade in the Area to a considerable degree. To split or take all of the freight moving to and from the South Central coast by the prOposed "short-cut" would provide only a small part of the costs of the new lines and would result in comparable reductions of the decidedly limited revenues of the trucking lines, Alaska Railroad, and steamship or barge lines now jointly serving the region. A number of studies indicate that, because of the limited traffic generated in the interior, tourism is the only major economic develOpment potential in the Area that would benefit substantially from new or improved land- transport linkages between Alaska and the southern states. Various mimeOgraphed reports of the Alaska International Rail and Highway Commission discuss this problem in con- siderable detail. See also: U. S. Congress, House, Trans- port Requirements for the Growth of Northwest North America, Vols. 1-5, Letter from the Chairman, Alaska International Rail and Highway Commission, transmitting the final report of the Alaska International Rail and Highway Commission, pursuant to Public Law 181, 84m Cong., 87m Cong., lst Sess. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1961). 156 rail. Only minor tonnage goes by air or by longhaul trucks. Freight movements have been undergoing changes over the past decade. Cargo is being carried more and more by bulk cargo barges and van-barges at the expense of large dry- cargo ships, and increasingly by highway at the expense of rail carriers. The Alaska Steamship Company and other barge lines haul 1,125,000 tons; the Alaska Railroad hauls 500,000 tons. They are the outstanding freight transportation media serv- ing the Area.1 Transportation is mainly on an inbound haulage basis (725,000 tons annually). Freight of the Alaska Steamship Company and other barge lines is landed at Seward; it is moved by the Alaska Railroad (400,000 tons annually) and truck (50,000 tons annually) to Anchorage and Fairbanks. The remainder goes by way of Valdez (90,000 tons annually) to Fairbanks and other interior points and directly to Anchorage (85,000 tons annually). Some additional tonnage is also moved by truck over the Alaska Highway and by air freight to the two principal consuming centers-—Anchorage and Fairbanks. Truck tonnage has averaged 15,000 tons annually since 1950; air freight has reached 9,000 tons Of cargo and 5,000 tons of mail 1The Military Sea Transport Service handles a sub— stantial portion of the military tonnage to Alaska and ‘ discharges it at Whittier. It is warehoused and later shipped to military establishments along the rail belt. Military waterborne cargo during 1958 totalled 170,000 tons. 157 annually between 1950 and 1959. Freight and passenger boats operate on the Yukon and Tanana Rivers during the short ice-free period mov- ing from 50,000 to 50,000 tons of freight annually. Snow vehicles carry a limited tonnage primarily for military installations.1 Function of Various Transport Services The most important inbound transportation media, on a tonnage basis, are the water carriers—-notab1y the Alaska Steamship Company and a number of tow—barge Opera- tors. Linked to these carriers are the rail and truck- ing lines. They move the waterborne commodities to in- terior points and bring much smaller quantities of export commodities back to the ports. The most important land transportation Operators handling this port traffic are the Alaska Railroad and numerous privately-owned motor carriers. Overland freight haulage via the Alaska Highway and connecting highways in British Columbia and Yukon Territory is carried on by a number of individual truckers and trucking companies. Several airlines connect Alaskan cities with major centers in Canada and in the states. Additional lines and non-scheduled charter planes serve lOfficial statistics on the volume of produce carried by snow vehicles are not available. Security reasons partially account for this lack of data. 158 the Area internally.l Finally, boats on the Yukon and Tanana.Rivers, and tractors carry passengers and freight where no other mode of travel is available or where winter conditions restrict movements. The Alaska Railroad.--Although large sections of the Area are remote from the Alaska Railroad, the majority of the people profit by its service. Approximately ninety per cent of the population live within ten miles, by road, of railway stations. All of the region's major trade centers and principal ports have good rail connections; indeed, the Area's principal rail centers are also its primary ports and commercial foci. The major economic activities, including intensive types of agriculture and large scale extractive industries, are also well served by the railnet. The railroad has a branch line into the Matanuska Valley; Fairbanks, the northern terminus, is in the center of the Tanana agri- cultural district. Although small by comparison with similar areas in other states, these two regions provide important traffic for the railroad. Until recently, the lCargoes flown within, into, and out of the region by air will not be considered in this study. This omis- sion, however, is not relevant because air carriage is not greatly patronized for movement of freight due to heavy charges (Tables 7 and 9). Passenger competition to sur- face transport facilities is, however, considerable. Pas- senger movements to and from Alaska are predominantly by air (about 60%) followed by highway (55%), and by water (7%) (Ma 22)- 159 TABLE 7 CARGO AND MAIL FLOWN TO, FROM AND WITHIN ALASKA BY U. S. COMMERCIAL AND MILITARY TRANSPORTa Traffic movement Commercial Total Total Total Year to from within grggg Alaska Alaska Alaska 9 1950 5,711 1,089 6,295 15,095 1951 7,570 1,255 10,556 185961 1952 9,180 1,456 11.375 22,011 1955 10,096 1,782 10,771 22,649 1954 9,014 1,459 14,950 25,405 1955 9.897 4.057 25.059 58.975 1956 10,461 2,671 47,944 61,076 1957 8.767 2,533 17.087 28.187 1958 8.755 2.575 14.519 25.825 1959 9,166 2,547 16,020 27,755 Traffic movement Military Total Total Total Year to from to and from Alaska Alaska Alaska 1956 5.779 4:729 10.508 1957 6,198 5,219 11,418 1958 5.954 4.799 10.755 1959 5,475 4.025 9.500 aTons units. Source: Civil Aeronautics Board from 41 quarterly reports of individual airlines: Schedule B—5 for the years 1950- 1956 and Schedule T—4 for the years 1957—1959. U. S. De- partment of Commerce, Maritime Administration, Docket No. 881, General Increases in Alaskan Rates and Charges (Un— published data). Prepared by Statistics and Special Studies Office, Cargo Data Branch, June, 1960. 160 railroad depended almost entirely on the mining industry and its attendant activities.l Mining is not, however, as important in value as the commodity group "Manufactures and Miscellaneous." A large part of this traffic is interstate in character, that is traffic which has originated in or is destined for another state. The value and character of traffic in this commodity group reveals the significance of urban and military markets in areas of large-scale construction. They are the terminal points for shipments from major in— dustrial areas of the other 48 states. Tonnage and revenue data for the Alaska Railroad are summarized for the years 1957-1958 in Table 8. These figures indicate that a substantial proportion of the total service consists of cartage for the United States Govern- ment. More than half of the total traffic carried is U. S. Army freight. It is noted that military carload traffic in 1958 represented 56.7 per cent of total tonnage, and 41.8 per cent of total revenues. In both tonnage and revenue, the important commodities moved for the military by railroad are "Products of Mines," mainly coal. In 1957 lIn point of value gold is the chief metal produced, but in 1958 approximately 726,801 tons of coal were mined in the Healy River and.Matanuska fields, nearly all of which was moved by the Alaska Railroad. In 1959, production drOpped to 602,000. U. S. Bureau of Mines, Mineral Yearbook, Vol. III, Annual;State of Alaska, 1959 Report of the Division Of Mines and Minerals, Preliminary. 161 TABLE 8 THE ALASKA RAILROAD, REVENUE FREIGHT TRAFFIC, 1957-1958 Category Tons Revenue 1957 Commercial Freight Products of Agriculture 4,180 3 69,752 Animals and Products 809 15,776 Products of Mines 185,822 597,690 Products of Forests 25,460 529,150 Manufactures and Misc. 400,054 5,145,765 Other Traffic 59,664 704,658 Total 655,969 6,860,771 Military Freight Products of Agriculture 957 $ 14,221 Animals and Products 46 870 Products of Mines 565,157 1,856,261 Products of Forests 4,514 57,020 Manufactures and Misc. 162,842 1,821,455 U. S. Army Class "A" Freight 15,578 409,479 Total 748,694 4,159,504 1958 Commercial Freight Products of Agriculture 5,495 $ 58,056 Animals and Products 242 6,945 Products of Mines 179,652 594,184 Products Of Forests 18,212 217,722 Manufactures and Misc. 550,784 4,510,059 Other Traffic . 40,592 661,594 Total 592,960 5,858,558 Military Freight Products of Agriculture 489 3 8,292 Animals and Products ... ... Products of Mines 675,656 2,241,708 Products of Forests 2,715 59,199 Manufactures and Misc. 151,955 1,620,075 U. S. Army Class "A" Freight 9,512 290,947 Total 820,085 4,200,221 Source: U. S. Department of Interior, Alaska Railroad Reports; U. S. Department of Commerce, Alaska, Its Economy and Market Potential, pp. 25-24. 162 the railroad carried 564,608 tons of coal with a revenue of $1,827,655; in 1958 it carried 671,552 tons with a revenue Of 32,208,824. This constitutes almost the total military requirement for coal, which has averaged between 600,000 and 800,000 tons annually for the past several years. The transports are significant in the light of total coal production. In 1958, 70 per cent of coal pro- duced was sold for heat and power to Ladd and Eielson Air Force Bases near Fairbanks and to Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Bases near Anchorage.l Continued rise in coal production reflects the Railbelt's strategic position. It is doubtful whether the Alaska Railroad's haul- age for the military will continue to increase with fur- ther expansion of military bases. It is noted that traf- fic volume in terms of tons and revenues declined between 1954 and 1957 (Fig. 55) with only a slight rise in 1958. The railroad suffered tonnage losses in 1957 when 35.5 million in revenue was diverted by the construction of a military Oil pipeline from Haines to Fairbanks.2 Cutbacks 1U. S. Department of Mines, Bureau of Mines, Mineral Yearbook, Vol. III, 1959, p. 87. 2Colonel George Warren, "The Alaskan Pipeline," The Military Engineer (Nov.-Dec., 1955), pp. 460—465; Janes W. Dalton, "Survey of the Future Growth of the Petroleum Industry in Alaska and Its Impact on Anchorage," (Greater Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, Anchorage, Aug., 1958). 165 mm .mHm com. www— m .<_om me. kfi=2 Nam. 0mm 2...... new v3. O¢m_ ”A. .,.? ........... .. .. , d...“ , Jase New. 1; _\ \\\\ 200\ s\\ QCQOoq_ \\ \\ 000.com. oEudmh 4426 gw>< ,..(/ - .. 623.10.: 22.02.22 20 129:. ,a..p.wa 2582 0mc8 6C 0UJO.IU> 1.2.223. 52. . x ._3...._. ... \ \3 \\ . 03.32 . .....xm\k!\llzflta> J, UJU‘fiv / a 17 $07, ,. . . .... . ... .. . .. . .. . . . ... ... ...... .,. , ..... . . 1'73 in 1958 between Fairbanks and the Canadian border-~a dis- tance of 296 miles--was estimated at 250 vehicles. Density ranged from a high of 5,000 vehicles a day near Fairbanks to a low of 150 a day near the Canadian border. Between Anchorage and Fairbanks, the 1958 daily traffic was about 100 vehicles per day, a figure suggesting stronger ties by road with outside areas rather than between the two cities. Traffic volumes are higher near Anchorage, with a decrease in traffic as distances increase from it. The city exceeds Fairbanks in number of average daily vehicles entering and leaving its borders. The latter is nearly equaled by the Palmer area among regional centers. Be- tween Anchorage and Fairbanks and the two major ports of Seward and Valdez, traffic averages 120 vehicles per day. The small increase in volume around these ports indicates their transshipment function and small population.1 The routes given above are the longest within the region. However, vehicles using them cover only a small portion of their total length. Travel centers around the two largest cities. About 550 miles of highway serve the major portion of the p0pu1ation. This accounts in part for the heavy traffic within the zones around Anchorage and 1The data upon which these statements are made in- clude all types of traffic and do not differentiate between tractor-semitrailer traffic and the less important passenger autos and single-unit farm and delivery trucks. 174 Fairbanks-—both small by comparison with the total size of the region but of large prOportions considering the size of both cities. William S. Siddall elaborates on the in- fluence of these two cities as follows:1 The larger towns in Alaska exist almost wholly to serve their hinterlands as central places. . . . Anchorage clearly holds the top urban position for southern coastal Alaska, and within a short distance there is a substantial number of smaller towns and settlements . . . Fairbanks is, without contest, the ranking central place for interior Alaska and has the largest hinterland area of any town in the Territory. The role of the surface transport network in the develOpment of large hinterlands of both cities is apparent from a consideration of Southeast Alaska:2 In the Panhandle two towns vie for the dominant position, Juneau and Ketchikan, and nearby are nu- merous smaller settlements. These settlements are not joined to one another by an overland means, air and water being the only connections. Apparently this lack of easy communication has been one factor permitting the second and fourth largest towns in the Territory, so closely alike in size, to grow up so closely together in space. Inland waterways.—-Inland waterway transportation is limited to the Yukon.River and its tributaries during the ice-free period. Service includes local transportation, as well as that to localities otherwise accessible only by air. Movement of freight on the inland waterways is essential to 1William R. Siddall, "Seattle: Regional Capital of Alaskaf Annals of the Association of American Geographers, XLVII (September, 1957), pp. 278—279. 21bid., p. 279. 1’75 regional interchanges, since river shipping services col- lect and distribute local produce and imported goods in districts not served by rail and road. River shipping is an internal tranSportation network not unlike the networks of rail and highway routes. Its growth has been less sig— nificant than that of rail or road transport, fluctuating more than the other two, possibly because travel by water- way is more seasonal. Further, the direct rail line from Seward to Fairbanks absorbs most of the increased traffic offering. DevelOpment of services on the Yukon and Tanana Rivers has, on the other hand, been checked by natural handicaps, such as shallow depths and shifting navigation channels. The Yukon River system has been replaced by the railroad and road systems as the principal means of freight transportation. Since l925--the year the Alaska Railroad was completed--mining camps and small settlements along the Yukon and Tanana Rivers have been served through the rail— to-river transfer point at Nenana. Before 1955, Alaska Railroad-owned steamers handled the major part of the tonnage carried on the river. In that year, the railroad leased its river boats and facilities to a privately owned transportation company Operating down- stream to Marshall and upstream to Whitehorse. The latter is of limited value and seldom used. River boats formerly 176 made scheduled trips between Whitehorse and Nenana. When aviation and highway connections developed, traffic along the route declined. This trend is likely to continue with the completion of a road parallel to the Yukon River from Circle to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory (Fig. 58). A few boats still Operate. They are mostly cargo steamers bring- ing supplies to isolated settlements along the river. Between 1950 and 1955, tonnage of railroad vessels was more than 5,000 tons annually. The highest tonnage was carried during World War II, the peak year having been 1944, with 17,000 tons. Private operators now provide summer service on the rivers. Data on individual movements are not available. However, unofficial sources indicate movement of freight on the rivers is assuming increased im- portance. Average annual tonnage in recent years is esti— mated at 50,000 to 60,000 tons, predominantly for the mili- tary. Petroleum products accounted for two-thirds of the cargo carried by Alaska Railroad-—owned vessels between 1950 and 1955, and appear to be still the major portion Of the traffic for private carriers. The rivers offer cheap water transportation for mining equipment and supplies, and for limited export of minerals and furs from interior points. Deliveries before the construction of the Alaska Railroad were seasonal and extremely slow. The ice-pack 177 did not recede from the mouths of the rivers until nearly mid-summer. The railroad made possible the earlier de- livery of goods. To minimize the difficulties of winter freighting, alternative methods have been developed: com— binations of river movement to staging points and tractor- train or truck haulage into the interior proved effective. When rivers are frozen, they can be used for dog—sled, foot, tractor train, and truck traffic. A hazard is the danger of delays due to poor trafficability in muddy spots if movements occur too early in the spring or too late in the fall. Ocean transportation.--The Area depends upon water transportation for over 90 per cent of its food and other supplies. Major ports are served by two steamship lines Operating on a schedule from the West Coast of the United States. Competitive carriers also serve some of the ports as traffic dictates. Anchorage is not yet a major port, but is used by tankers, barges, and motor vessels for small tonnage hauls. The principal steamship line serving the Area is based in Seattle; the other line Operates from ports in California and Oregon. Barge lines, tankers, and Army trans- ports are additional carriers. Since direct land routes between coastal settlements except between Whittier and Seward, are not practical, many fishing boats and other small craft Operate in the local trade. Annual tonnages 178 shipped by commercial transport to and from South Central and Interior Alaska amount to 1,125,000 tons. Although Alaska is interested in the rapid im- provement of land transportation, water traffic will con- tinue to offer the best means for conducting trade with the outside world. Commodity Movement over the Regional Transport Network Most of the commodities of the Area are produced for distant markets. Food, raw materials, and manufactured goods come from distant sources of supply. At the same time, efforts are made to reduce imports by the develOpment of local resources. One result of such efforts is the increase in intraregional movement of goods, particularly coal. About 1,500,000 tons of cargo pass through the ports of the region annually.l Some of this traffic moves by 1Another 15,000 tons or less per year moves over the Alaska Highway, which provides direct motorcarrier trans- portation between the southern states and Alaska (Table 10). A number of motor carriers operate over the highway. The exact number is not ascertainable. The quantity of freight trucked is small. About 50 per cent is traffic of the U. S. Government, much of it military. Trucking rates of 7 to 11 cents per ton limit movement to perishables and a re- stricted number of high value items (Table 9). Over short sections of this highway, in British Columbia and Yukon Territory especially, higher tonnages of petroleum, zinc and lead concentrates, and asbestos are trucked. Over 120,000 people entered and left the area via the Alaska and Haines Highway in 1959. This is the most important means of access and egress by surface transport 179 truck, but most of it is handled by the Alaska Railroad. Of the 1,500,000 tons Of cargo moved annually by the rail- road, one-third is external and two-thirds intraregional. Of the annual average, 80 per cent or 800,000 tons of in- traregional traffic consists of products of mines—-mostly coal, sand, and gravel. Coal is the most important product moved over the Alaska Railroad. External commerce.--Dry cargo traffic is mostly a one-way northbound movement from the Pacific Northwest. It consists of staples for domestic consumption, industrial and military construction materials, and commercial sup- plies of all kinds. Tanker traffic is almost exclusively north-bound, originating from California ports. "Products of Manufactures" and "Products of Mines" dominate regional imports and figure prominently in the in— ward haulage of freight, either by rail or road. Manu- factured goods constitute a high-rated, profitable traffic with strong competition between rail and road carriers. The cargo consists of iron and steel products, construction and mining equipment, and vehicles needed to implement local develOpment programs. It exceeds mineral products in value, but not in tonnage. Petroleum products are the most im- since the Alaska Steamship Company discontinued passenger service in 1954. Were it not for the highway's gravel and dusty surface this figure would be larger. However, these surface conditions have little effect on truckers who pre— fer unpaved over paved roads because of all-weather and heavy load-bearing characteristics. 180 portant in the mineral group. In the last decade, move- ment of liquid fuels has increased to satisfy the demands of the growing motor traffic and to supply the A1aska.Rail- road diesel locomotives. Military forces have also in- creased fuel shipments. In 1958, the Alaska Railroad car- ried nearly 97,000 tons of petroleum products valued at $761,580 for the military. In addition, tank farms at major ports store oil for visiting ships and fishing boats, and for redistribution by small tankers to fish canneries along the South Central Alaskan Coast. Imports of coal have decreased because of expanding production within the region. The movement of coal, the major com- modity shipped by the Alaska Railroad, is intraregional in character. It exceeds in tonnage the total external traffic of the Alaska Railroad. Land transport plays its part in moving agricul- tural products from the coast to inland centers of p0pu- 1ation. Only 8 per cent of local needs for products of agriculture can be provided within the region. The principal commodities of coast-bound traffic have not changed much since Alaska became a Territory. South—bound cargoes are canned fish, minerals, furs, lumber, and processed goods, the two most important items being minerals and processed goods. Land transportation has played a small role in the movement of forest products. Dense forest growth is limited to coastal areas, with 181 forest products moved by water freight and short lOgging roads. Land transport facilities do not serve the fish— eries, since their location makes water transport con- venient. Internal commerce.—-It is difficult to determine to what extent commodities are moved by the various means of surface transportation. Urban centers, such as Anchorage and Fairbanks, depend upon motor deliveries from rural areas within a 40-mile radius for daily supplies of meat and milk. By the same routes, urban centers supply rural areas with bakery goods, processed wood, newspapers, and other locally produced items. Intraregional circulation of minerals, particularly coal, is facilitated by rail transportation service. Most of the coal comes from the Matanuska and Nanana fields. The former is 45 miles northeast of Anchor- age, the latter 75 miles southwest of Fairbanks. Anchorage and the local military forces provide the major market for the Matanuska coal. A limited market also exists throughout the southern coastal sections, especially in canneries and fishing villages. The chief market for Nenana coal is the Fairbanks area. Coal supplies power and fuel for both cities and various military installations, as well as for mining and smelting operations. Shipments from the Nenana field to Anchorage are limited, but the market there is important, providing the Alaska Railroad with a back haul. 182 Convenient access to coal fields was required to meet the fuel needs of the Alaska Railroad. For many years the railroad was the chief customer of the fields. With the introduction of the diesel engine, the railroad transports coal only to meet actual market demands within the territory served by the railway. CHAPTER VII THE ROLE OF SURFACE TRANSPORT IN THE REGIONAL ECONOMY OF NORTH AND WEST ALASKA AND SOUTHEAST ALASKA Alaska is served by various forms of transport. The extent and adequacy of the transport facilities vary because of physical limitations and limited p0pu1ation. A connected network exists only for sea and air transport. The highway and rail transport systems of the individual regional units of the state are not joined, except for a link from Haines in Southeast Alaska to the Eastern border of South Central and Interior Alaska. For all practical surface transport considerations, the three areas demar— cated on Fig. l are separate units. The transport network will be examined here in two areas that differ from South Central and Interior Alaska in their transport facilities and stage of road and rail penetration. One area is North and West Alaska, ex- periencing at present complete isolation with respect to rail and road transport, but served by a well-develOped air network. The other area, Southeast Alaska, is semi- isolated, with only a short rail and road penetration 185 184 along its northern and southern edges. It is completely dependent on water transport. The North and West Alaska Surface Transport Region A fundamental problem in the utilization of natural and cultural resources of underdeveloped regions is the creation of efficient transport links between these areas and major existing centers of economic activity. This problem affects North and West Alaska, which occupies one— half of the land area of Alaska and is far from the reaches of surface transport.l This vast isolated region is charac- terized by small settlements separated from one another by immense distances. A primary network of transport is non- existent in an area of 545,400 square miles. There are only a few scattered, low-standard roads serving local industrial development. Access to this vast Area is limited to air transportation and overland freighting by snow train and dog sled during the winter season. Access by sea is limited to a short season between two and four months. Air transportation is, in consequence, of great importance. In recent years, the air network has been extended and improved (Fig. 56). Most settlements are connected with the outside by plane. lNorth and West Alaska embraces the Colville, Noatak, Kobuk, Kuskokwim and lower Yukon River basins, the Arctic slope of the Brooks Mountain Range, the Seward Peninsula, the Alaska Peninsula, the Bristol Bay drainage shed, and offshore islands (Fig. 1). 185 The Regional Setting The natural environment.--The physical environment has discouraged large-scale settlement in North and West Alaska (Fig. 2). The tOpography varies from low, marshy plains to high, rugged mountains. In Southwest Alaska the land is rugged and high. The Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Chain have several active volcanoes. The coast of the Alaskan Peninsula and the shores of the Aleutian Islands are irregular. The islands have steep shores and little flat land. Wide valleys and coastal plains are found only on the mainland. Western Alaska is drained by the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers, the lower reaches of these being flat and swampy. Shallow lakes cover much of the flatlands, making summer travel over land areas almost im- possible. Shallow waters and numerous extensive deltas are found along the Bering Sea coast. The Brooks Range, with peaks from 4,000 to 10,000 feet, dominates Northern Alaska. It separates Interior Alaska from the Arctic slope. Permafrost of varying depths exists over most of the Area (Fig. 6).1 Nearly half of North and West Alaska lie north of the Arctic Circle and is of continental prOportions. The weather is therefore rigorous and the climate poses prob— lems of considerable magnitude (Fig. 5). The remaining lWilliams, pp. 61-128. 186 land comprising the Seward Peninsula, the lower drainage basins of the major rivers, and offshore islands benefits from the influence of the maritime air masses. North and West Alaska have long, cold winters, short cool sum- mers, with light precipitation in the form of snow. The climate of the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands is thermally more acceptable, although it is wet. The skies there are often overcast and the winds high, with violent storms prevailing throughout much of the year. The climate of North and West Alaska limits forestry and agriculture and shortens the annual working season for placer gold mining.1 It also limits shipping to summer periods and hampers surface transport. ngulation.--North and West Alaska occupy 545,400 square miles. There are only 55,290 people: 20,000 in- digenous and 15,290 nonindigenous (Table 12 and Fig. 8). The preponderance of natives reflects the frontier character of the area and importance of native life in the regional economy. Eighty per cent of the white residents live in Nome, and most of them are employed in service industries. They are only indirectly engaged in such basic pursuits as mining and fishing. The census of 1900 showed 29,000 persons in North and West Alaska, an increase of 11,925 over that of 1890. 1U. S. Department of Agriculture, Land, the 1958 'Yearbook of Agriculture, p. 428. 187 The gold rush of 1900 accounted for the change. Gold min- ing declined after 1900. In 1910 and 1920, census figures indicate a decrease of over 8,000 in total p0pu1ation of the Area for the years between 1900 and 1920 (Table 12). TABLE 12 GROWTH OF POPULATION IN NORTH AND WEST ALASKA AND SOUTHEAST ALASKA North and West Southeast 052:33 Alaska Alaska POpulation Population 1880 . . . . . . . . . 20,098 7.748 1890 . . . . . . . . . 17,075 8,058 1900 . . . . . . . . . 29,000 14,550 1910 . . . . . . . . . 24,416 15,216 1920 . . . . . . . . . 20,650 17,402 1950 . . . . . . . . . 21,702 19,504 1940 . . . . . . . . . 25,856 25,241 1950 . . . . . . . . . 29,005 28,205 1956 . . . . . . . . . 55,290 54,600 Sources: U. S. Bureau of Census, Tenth to Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1880-1950, POpulation; Alaska Re- source DevelOpment Board, “POpuIation EstIfiates of Towns in Alaska, 1957," Financial Data Regardingithe Incorporated Towns and Cities of Alaska, 1957. . As a result of the rise in the price of gold, p0pu1ation increased between 1920 and 1940. The wartime activity of the years 1940-1945 brought little p0pu1ation rise in North and West Alaska. Gold mining, the chief source of income was suspended without sufficient compensating expenditure for military installations. After the close of the war in 1945, increased material and labor costs and the fixed price 188 for gold remained obstacles to the recovery of the mining industry to prewar levels of employment and production. Adversely affected by severe climate, lack of transportation and small population, the region has seen very little economic develOpment. Remoteness and isolation, however, remain the major handicaps. Resources cannot be exploited fully, nor population increase, until land trans- portation links North and West Alaska with the South Cen- tral and Interior Alaska railroad and highway system. The Regional Economy and Surface Transport Network The Seward Peninsula road pattern.——The only well- develOped road system in North and West Alaska is found on the Seward Peninsula. The development of mineral re- sources on the peninsula depends upon access to mineralized areas. Fig. 55 shows present distribution of minerals and roads. The road pattern indicates four mining districts: the Nome district, with a well-develOped system of roads; the Solomon-Council district, east of Nome; the Bunker Hill-—Taylor district, once connected with a railroad lead- ing north from Nome; and the Candle-Deering district, with roads in the Candle Creek and Immachuk River valleys.l 1Many of the present roads have developed from earlier railroads. Narrow gauge railroads were constructed in the Seward Peninsula at the turn of the century. Opera- tion continued to about 1958. At that time there were ap— proximately 124 miles of railroad in the Seward Peninsula. A road between Nome and the Taylor-Bunker Hill gold mining district replaced 80 miles of this track. 189 mm .mam mud: 2. 3.3% on ON a. 0 28 ll eggs: O Zoe 0 $35-38 a z: 4 9 532.22 om<>>mm ....o mtwonmo , is $228 . .2523 $022 A 302.60 E $ - I .. .... ...... .....0 .....0.. .... ,. ... R .. ... . ., .... . . . . ... . .. 7.4.3.2... . . ..... . ... ....T. .. e . . . :3... . . t . . .3.... .1... v . I .- cu...- . L . ...I .- ....1. . .. .6 $01.53.. (JDwZZma Qm<>>mw oo~ 00. 0 Q: ouazz z. ]IJ u..(uw ....w fill/V3 c (.../J. .1. ,. 3. we - u. o ... .... .nuvi- O ul.vt 1 -,yv O .... . I 0.. >IOp. O I a. . ...., .. . q ...... a 0-100 0 - , 1 '« "g .1”... ‘....\‘. _.A’. o .....‘t..0".. l...-» a... . 190 A stretch of road services the Port Clarence district about Teller, and another the York district at the western tip of the peninsula (these poor secondary roads are not shown on Fig. 55). Mining implements and supplies can be moved over these roads, although with the decline of gold mining many roads have deteriorated. Some are passable only by specially made vehicles and their traffic-carrying capacity has declined. It is now preferred to move heavy equipment over frozen tundra during the winter months. Major reconstruction and extension of these roads await revival of interest in gold, development of other mineral deposits, or connection with the northern termini of the existing state highway system in South Central and Interior Alaska.l Dqusled trails.--Surface transportation in North and West Alaska is not entirely lacking in spite of the poorly develOped road and rail pattern. An estimated thousand miles of trails connect inhabited areas. They follow beach lines, traverse the low tundra, and parallel the courses of streams, utilizing the low divides. In summer, many of the trails are impassable where lakes and swamps abound, but others serve as pack trails. In winter, dog sleds are used in nearly all of the Area, following established trails or frozen streams and lakes. They 1These projects are discussed in Chapter VIII and outlined in Fig. 58. 191 serve trap lines and carry furs and necessities between trading posts or native villages. Airplanes can take the place of dog teams on long trips, but are not economical for short or irregular journeys. Rivers.--Since the beginning of settlement, rivers have furnished means of transportation for North and West Alaska. Early explorers, followed by missionaries and gold seekers, used the rivers of North and West Alaska. Exploration was first carried out by ship along the Pacific Coast. Later, it was extended into the Bering Sea and the Yukon River. Inland penetration from the South Central coast came many years later. In the gold rush period, "stern wheelers" navigated parts of the Yukon River up— stream to Whitehorse. Today, native-manned skiffs pro- vide transportation to service fish wheels, government con- struction projects, and tourists. However, as a whole, the river systems are not effectively used as avenues of communication. North and West Alaska contain about five thousand miles of navigable waterways, usable during four or five months on the lower Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers, and for a shorter period on the smaller northern rivers. Although both of the rivers named have bars at their mouths, many miles of navigable waters stretch beyond, after the bars are passed. During the summer the large rivers in this Area thus provide the counterpart of the South Central and 192 Interior Alaska road and rail system. Ocean transport.-4Water continues to be the prin- cipal medium of freight transportation in North and West Alaska. Nevertheless, in contrast to South Central and Interior Alaska and Southeast Alaska, the Area is shut off from steamship service for seven or eight months of the year. The short navigation season, isolation, severe cli- mate, poor anchorage, and low volume of commerce combine to limit shipping activity. Moving equipment, materials, supplies, and products is expensive-—a major hindrance to economic development in North and West Alaska.1 The navigation period covers two or three weeks in the north, and four and a half months in the south. Even special vessels find navigation to Point Barrow hazardous; except for military movements, navigation does not exist east of the point. Among the offshore islands, the dangers lie in fog, high winds, and strong currents. Shoals and lack of harbors interfere with the discharge of cargo. Shallow water and adverse weather increase time and costs of operations.2 Distance from the Pacific lWhile mail and passengers are, for the most part, carried by airplane, movement of general cargo continues to depend upon water transportation. Practically all food— stuffs, building material, clothing, petroleum products, cannery supplies and fishing gear are imported on water. Exports consist principally of fish and ore. U. S. Corps of Engineers, Waterborne Commerce of the U. 3., Part 4, 1958. 2U. S. Department of Commerce, U. S. Coast Pilot: Alaska, Cape Spencer to Arctic Ocean (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1956). 195 Northwest supply base and major trade routes offer addi- tional handicaps to navigation. Air transport.--The airplane plays an important role in the movement of peOple, mail, and goods in North and West Alaska. Numerous airlines within the area act as feeders to the scheduled flights (Fig. 56) and provide service to almost any location. The fishing industry utilizes air transport for moving personnel. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has a fleet of planes used in enforcement of fishing regulations and control of prOpagation. Small wheel planesmake use of federal, state, and private runways and crude improvised airstrips and landing areas. They also utilize firm beaches and gently sloping river banks. Lakes abound and are often the only means of access to remote areas. Amphibious or ski-equipped planes use the lakes, without which much of the region would re- . . . 1 main inacceSSlble. The Southeast Alaska Surface Transport Region Land transportation does not pose as grave a prob- lem in Southeast Alaska as it does in other regions of the lAlaska Resource Development Board, Northwest Alaska: A Report on the Economic OpportunitIés of the Second Judicial Division (Juneau, 1949). 194 I, C. .. fl." / if . tuzzumo \ 8‘ .\ \ .820: use; I m. . ...-‘3.er .......u... . m.«.mmz.<:../ V7................nm$.1...................l.........fl....lm........ .. . bk 5.5. .. . u a on .mae $534 2. $502 uznm< 8.58:8 fiihfix‘ \9 ! Nmo . to $59. o >528 .2 2:5 mm... .. 42.5934 0 030. m. 1.... ----- Essa--89..-.vuiflg .. ..- -- £95» 59. 845mm . a. . wan-.59. ..e. ‘ \\ . \‘\ \ — .0 v 9 . ..a c a -.-........~ .. a. . .3 .u a. n A .. ......- 30mm22mu. 832 85522 xiii. (km/e1? Fm191 owmgoma IIIII. m><3zoi 02:96 luommodomd sec 02.5.6 I . $54.? 2:53 6:0 Oh 94310.: .cfl. .\ v / . x. = x4»? .amrewm \ / \ / lb \ / aw mmzozut: O 3:94.; 44.2mm. / / flame oz .102 b >35on I . . .2202- a 3625 24593. .w . l ' I I l I. {- I‘ll 11 I: I III... ...-I? 214 for driving, in an area of 586,000 square miles. The only major cities connected by road are Anchorage and Fairbanks. Of the seaports, only Seward, Valdez, and Haines have road connections with the interior. The Alaska Department of Public Works has pro- posed construction of a basic throughway system. This would include: 1) a road running parallel to the Alaska Railroad from Nenana to Willow, providing a second-- and shorter--through route from Anchorage to Fairbanks; 2) completion of a road from Fairbanks to Nome and Teller on the Seward Peninsula, really an extension of the Elliott Highway;1 5) a branch from Talkeetna via.McGrath to a junction with the Fairbanks-Nome Highway at Ruby, and another branch south to Dillingham on Bristol Bay; 4) con- nection of the Taylor and Steese Highways by way of Eagle and Circle; 5) completion of the COpper River Highway, from Cordova via Chitina to McCarthy, and east to the Alaska Highway; 6) extension of the Nabesna road to a junction with the Alaska Highway. Fjords create special problems for road construction 1Senator Magnuson, Chairman of the Alaska Inter- national Rail and Highway Commission, suggested the ex- tension of this road by way of Bering Strait into Asia in the future. An effort in this direction was made in 1865, when the Western Union Expedition began construction of a telegraph line across Alaska to be connected by undersea cable with a Siberian line. Work was suspended after the gtlantic cable was successfully laid. Brooks, pp. 242— 45. 215 in Southeast Alaska. Most of the major settlements are on islands separated by water from the mainland and from each other. No established water transportation system serves these communities. The Area can only be approached by air and water, except for the Haines-Skagway rail and road outlet. Surface transportation needs could be met by a proposed automobile ferry system, since construction of causeways or bridges would be extremely costly, even if practical from an engineering viewpoint. A ferry system with frequent and regularly scheduled runs seems feasible from Prince Rupert to Haines. With Canadian cooperation, certain towns-~Skagway, Juneau, Petersburg, Wrangell, and Ketchikan-~would be linked by road to the proposed "A" route. This route, lying just east of the Coast Range, runs from Hazelton, British Columbia, to the Alaska High- way (Fig. 58). The prOposed routes would have the following bene- fits for South Central and Interior Alaska: 1. Give the region an alternate port by connecting Cordova with the interior of Alaska. 2. Further implement movement of supplies by shortening the route from tidewater to Alaska's interior. 5. Have a definite military significance, since the routes would reduce highway mileage between defense installations by 100 to 200 miles. 4. Open a market for large stands of birch. 5. Permit more direct access to land transport for mining and other activities in the Fairbanks- Circle-Eagle triangle. 216 The proposed routes would have the following ef- fects in North and West Alaska: 1. Open access to South Central and Interior Alaska. 2. Open the potentially mineral—rich Seward Penin— sula. 5. Provide military forces with a land connection of communications to DEW line and "White Alice" sites. 4. Make stands of birch and spruce accessible. 5. Lesson the dependence of North and West Alaska on air transportation. 6. Encourage settlement and agricultural activity. 7. Open the Kuskokwim basin to oil exploration. 8. Make the fishing products of Bristol Bay avail- able to city markets. In Southeast Alaska, the proposed routes would have the following effects: 1. Stimulate further development of the mineral and timber resources, and aid p0pu1ation growth. 2. Connect communities of Southeast Alaska with one another, and to the rest of the State. lHighways, railroads, and ships are best adapted to handle the bulk freight produced by Alaska's industries. However flexibility of air routes is a distinct advantage in rapid movement of personnel during the short working season. Initial production may not justify large expendi- tures in permanent roadways. The airplane often enables developmental work to proceed to a point justifying road— ways. However, beyond this point the airplane is often a negative factor. To overcome the high cost of air trans- port only high quality ore is moved out in mining deve10p- ments. Where medium quality ore might justify the exten- sion of surface transport, low quality ore, remaining after this initial development period, has little attrac- tion for investors. 217 5. Provide an alternate route for tourists to South Central and Interior Alaska. Fig. 58 shows, however, that even this road con- struction program would leave one—third of the state--the Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak Island, the Aleutians and all land north of the Arctic Circle--inaccessib1e by automo- bile. Land Transport and the Regional Economy Furs, with fishery and mineral resources, provided the base for the economy of Alaska before 1940. Fisheries continued to be the mainstay of the economy which, however, was at the same time heavily dependent upon federal expendi- tures. Two causes are Operative against present formation of a sound economy: decline in the salmon pack, and incon- sistency of federal expenditures for military construction. On the other hand, three resources offer possibilities for industrial growth: timber, minerals, and the scenery. Some concluding statements are in order concerning the outlook of Alaska's industries to determine their prospects for economic develOpment as related to the pres- ent and future surface transport pattern. Regional economic development.—-Mining activity in Alaska at present is different from that of prewar days. Until World War II, mineral resources of the state were a major incentive for settlement, and for development of a 218 surface transport network. Since the war, the industry is not concerned entirely with gold and copper, but also with nonmetals--coal, sand, and gravel. The Alaska Rail- road has facilitated the intraregional circulation of these minerals. Construction projects have furnished the major market for sand and gravel; military installations have been the main buyers of coal. It is not economical to transport coal, sand, and gravel over great distances. Consequently, local sources must be developed. The following causes have Operated against the exploitation of these and other minerals: (1) high labor costs, (2) rugged topography, (5) a climate preventing year-round operations, (4) distance of markets, and (5) expensive and inadequate transportation facilities. Distance is the most serious problem of these. Much of the Area is far removed from the chief markets outside the state. Alaska is also characterized by vast extents of territory within its boundaries. Consequently, expen- sive transportation is the major reason for high mine pro- duction costs in Alaska. Although the road extension from South Central and Interior Alaska to the Seward Peninsula will improve the mining industry of North and West Alaska, it will not remove the distance draw-back. This disadvan- tage will exist as long as similar resources are available in more accessible areas. Size of reserves, richness of 219 ore, and ease of exploitation will have to be balanced against distance involved. Mineral resources promise more for Alaska than either the tourist potential or military installations. The economy of the state will improve rapidly if minerals can compete in world markets after all transportation costs are allowed for. Thus, improvement of the external and internal transport network may be the determining fac— tor in mineral resource development. The future of Alaskan minerals will also depend on additional exploration, re- duced costs of development, lower labor costs, and greater demand from domestic and foreign sources. Three principal areas in Alaska have proved to be commercially feasible for agriculture: the Matanuska Valley, the Tanana Valley, and the Kenai Peninsula. There is also some farming in Southeast Alaska near Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan. The suitability of any area in Alaska for agricul- tural settlement depends not only on physical resources, but also on economic factors. Large-scale agricultural settlement is not feasible at present in all areas suit- able for farming and grazing. Isolation, climate, and lack of markets deter develOpment. It may be that poorer lands near existing roads and settlements may be utilized first. Thus, land is not the main limiting factor in 220 Alaska. The three major criteria for agricultural growth, according to their importance, are: accessibility to markets, climate, and character of the land. The location of the future center of farming ac- tivity depends upon the location of centers of future p0pu- 1ation. In a new country with a dearth of transportation, agriculture develops near the markets. As industrial de- velOpment and p0pu1ation grow, agriculture is apt to fol- low to supply local demand. Demand will be for products which can be grown in a given locality with greater economy than they can be imported. If, in South Central and In- terior A1aska--the most densely p0pu1ated region—~there are millions of acres of unimproved farming land and there is not likely to be any major change in the amount of new land settled or number of farmers in the Matanuska or the Tenana in the near future, then no change will occur in agricultural production in North and West Alaska or South- east Alaska. Isolation of the regions and intervening dis— tances also set limitations on the integration of various areas, owing to high transportation costs. Unless intra- regional transportation is improved, crops must be consumed near the place of origin. If such sustenance farming is practiced, agricultural progress will be slow. It is evi- dent that Alaska cannot hOpe to compete with more favored regions in the markets of the world. 221 The relative unimportance of manufacturing in Alaska can be traced to several factors. Some of these are inadequate markets and marketing facilities, poor lines of distribution, and high labor costs. Venture capital is lacking. Manufacturing is needed to provide diversification and economic balance. In view of the dif- ficulties mentioned above, however, it is not expected that manufacturing in the state will expand rapidly.1 The vast forests of coastal Alaska are the most promising of the resources for growth of manufacturing. Two large pulp mills now exist in Southeast Alaska. The successful Operation of the Ketchikan Pulp Mill is a healthy develOpment, the first real commercial exploita— tion of forest resources on a permanent basis. Where water routes are available on which logs can float to processing plants or markets, transport costs are lowest, and the major commercial logging areas of Alaska are near water. The forests of Interior and North and West Alaska are, in contrast, far from cheap water transport. Much of this area also lies far from land transport lines and its forests are much less or not at all used for commercial timber. 1An oil refinery on the Kenai Peninsula will be completed in 1965. It will be South Central and Interior Alaska's first major manufacturing industry and may make possible a reduction in the high cost of transportation by auto and truck. 222 Many more pulp and paper industries can be de- velOped in the accessible forest zone of South Central and Southeast Alaska. Timber, water power, and cheap water transportation are available. Future develOpment will have little effect on the overall surface transport pat- tern. The operations of the industry will, however, re- quire an increased network of local roads and other im- provements in transportation facilities. Concentration of military installations along a line extending from Seward to Fairbanks stems from the central position of the area, as well as from environ- mental factors. Civilian and military workers were brought into this area to build and maintain military facilities and supply routes. The transportation network has been enlarged and improved. All major towns are now connected with one another by road or railroad. Federal government activities will probably con- tinue for the immediate future to be the most important impetus to the economy of Alaska. Attempts of the mili- tary to purchase local food and mineral products have in- fluenced the pattern of traffic flow. The military has also played a role in the develOpment of the employment pattern. In spite of these benefits, the State's economy will have to adjust to fluctuations in defense spending. If military establishments continue to be a permanent and 225 stable market, some Alaskan industries will be aided and encouraged. Recreational resources in the three major regions are numerous. Tourist facilities are increasing, with a potential for expansion dependent upon access. In the past the majority of visitors have come by steamship and air rather than by automobile. In the future highway travellers will constitute an increasing portion of the total. To encourage tourists, attractions must be readily accessible at reasonable prices. A Significant project for the develOpment of tourist trade is embodied in the trunk road system for Alaska outlined in the preceding section on future transportation develOpment. A completed trunk road system would be a strong incentive to automo— bile travel. It will help make recreation activities as- sume the prOportions of a major industry. The Federal government has given substantial finan- cial assistance to transportation in Alaska. The chief justification for this aid is the urgent necessity for over- coming the basic difficulty in Alaska, namely, the separa- tion of the various physiographic and economic regions of the state. The provision of adequate transportation faci- lities is essential in order to deve10p the large but scat— tered resources of the state and to lend unity to the area as a whole. The division of Alaska into regions is not a 224 device arbitrarily adopted by the geographer to suit his own convenience. It is a basic fact in Alaska's economic and political life. Cheap, rapid transportation is a means of offsetting the harmful effects of geographic regionalism. To estimate the possibilities for increased produc- tion in Alaska it is necessary to consider matters other than physical or economic conditions, including transport, within the state. The Pacific Northwest has an abundance of varied resources. The latter area has resources simi- lar to those found in Alaska. This being the case, earlier development is expected, since it is closer to the tradi- tional markets and transport costs are lower. Competition from the Pacific Northwest, distance from major markets, and inadequacy of external transportation facilities make individual develOpment difficult if not impracticable in Alaska. Thus, external forces will continue to have great influence on the pattern of economic develOpment within the state. Alaska's resources can be profitably used only if advances continue to be made in solving the problems of living and working in remote areas under relatively severe climatic conditions, and of maintaining cheap transport connections with markets and sources of supplies. 225 APPENDIX NOTES ON THE FIGURES Figure 7. Population of Alaska, 1880-1957.-- U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census, Tenth to Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1880-1950, Popu- lation (Washington: Government Printing Office). Alaska Resource Development Board, "Population Estimates of Towns in Alaska, 1957," Financial Data Re— garding the Incorporated Towns and Cities of Alaska, 1957 (Juneau, 1958). Alaska Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Estimated Population of Alaskan Cities--l956 (Juneau, 1958). Alaska Rural Development Board, Alaska Village Census--l958 (Juneau, 1959). Figure 12. Land travel time from Fairbanks- Circle.--Statements of individuals and statistical records in historical documents used in computing travel time at various periods. Figure 15. Rank order of major land routes ac- cording to volume of traffic: l896-l960.-—Figure 15 rep- resents the compilation of data from numerous sources in- cluding statements of individuals and statistical records in historical documents. Figure 15. Percentage distribution of annual average values produced from Alaskan natural resources, l954-1957.-—U. S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Mines, Mineral Production in Alaska, Preliminary Annual Figures, Mineral Industry Surveys, Area Report A-l6 (Washington: Government Printing Office, annual). Alaska, Report of the Commissioner of Mines (Juneau). U. S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Mines, "The Mineral Industry of Alaska," Minerals Yearbook, Vol. III, Area Report (Washington: Government Printing Office, 226 annual). R. S. Andrews, H. A. Johnson, Farming in Alaska, Bulletin 20, Alaska Agricultural Experiment Station (Palmer, Oct., 1956). Alaska Resource DevelOpment Board, Biennial Report (Juneau, 1951-1957). Alaska, Annual Report of the Governor of Alaska to the Secretary of the Interior (Washington: Government Printing Office). U. S. Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Fishery and Fur-Seal Industries (Washing- ton: Government Printing Office, annual). John L. Buckley, Wildlife in the Economy of Alaska (University of Alaska Press, 1957). Figure 27. Alaska Railroad and Highway Traffic Flow.-—Data on internal traffic flow compiled from numerous sources. Figure 55. Alaska Railroad Traffic, Total, Commercial, and Military, 1958-l959.--U. S. Department of Interior, Alaska Railroad Reports. U. S. Department of Commerce, Maritime Adminis- tration, Docket No. 881, General Increases in Alaskan Rates and Charges, Prepared by Statistics and Special Studies Office, Cargo Data Branch, June, 1960. (Unpub— lished data). U. S. Department of Commerce, Alaska, Its Economy and Market Potential (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1959), pp. 25-24. Correspondence with Manager, Alaska Railroad, Anchorage, Alaska. Figure 54. Alaska, Traffic Flow on Principal Highways, Average Daily Traffic, l958.-—U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Public Roads, Report on Extension of National System of Interstate and Defense Highways within Alaska and Hawaii (Washington: Government Pfinting Office, 1960), pp. 11-16. Figure 56. Scheduled Airline Routes in Alaska.-- Federal Aviation Agency, Fifth Region, Central Information 227 on Flying to and in Alaska (Anchorage, annual), pp. 1-6. Civil Aeronautics Board, The Alaska Flight In— formation Manual (Washington: Government Printing Office, annual). Figure,58. Highways to and within Alaska-— Existing and Proposed.—-U. S. Congress, House. Transport Requirements for the Growth of Northwest North America; Vol. 1-5. Letter from the Chairman, Alaska International Rail and Highway Commission, pursuant to Public Law 181, 84m Congress. 87m Cong., lst Sess. (Washington: Govern- ment Printing Office, 1961). U. S. Congress, Senate, Highways in Alaska, Memo- randum of the Chairman to Members of the Commiftee on Public Works, 86m Con ., 1st Sess. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1959 , p. 50. 228 BIBLIOGRAPHY Alaska. Annual Report of the Governor of Alaska to the Secretary of the Interior. Washington: Govern- ment Printing Office. Alaska Department of Agriculture. Alaska Agricultural Experiment Station. Farm Production, Alaska. Palmer, Alaska, annual. . Farming in Alaska. Bulletin 20. Palmer, Alaska, 1956. Alaska Department of Health. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Estimated Population of Alaskan Cities--1956. Juneau, 1958. Alaska Department of Natural Resources. Division of Tourist and Economic DevelOpment. Alaska Com- parative Tariff Analysis. A report prepared by Llewelyn C. Jones. Juneau, 1959. 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