The Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands form a nearly 2,415 km arc that stretches southwest into the Pacific Ocean. This wild realm is home to abundant wildlife and a hardy and intriguing culture.

The remotest parts of this rugged, windswept area are just a couple hundreds kilometres form Russia, nearer to Asia than the rest of Alaska. Wild places rarely touched by human feet. Anyone willing to venture here will find a realm of stark, pristine beauty.

Northern arc contains more than 60 fire-breathing mountains, many still active. Despite the eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis generated by these volcanoes, not to mention the frequent cyclonic storms that blast this region, life thrives here. Tens of millions of seabirds come to nest; more than half a million northern fulmars rear their young on Chagulak Island, and miniscule Kaligagan Island hosts more than 100,000 tufted puffins, the state’s largest colony.