Arctic Alaska settlement in Arctic Alaska was driven first by discoveries of gold and later on by the extraction of petroleum. The ecosystem consists largely of tundra covering mountain ranges and coastal plains which are home to bears, wolves, sheep, oxen, reindeer, and numerous species of birds, the north coast has been defined as the Arctic coastal tundra ecoregion. Arctic Alaska is also the location of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, and the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The Arctic experiences midnight sun in the summer and polar night in the winter. Arctic Alaska Arctic Alaska
Ptarmigan (sternwheeler) piper, and lifted him unharmed over to the foredeck of "Ptarmigan" while the piper reportedly never missed a note. "Ptarmigan" passed "Gian" and thereafter Cantlie steered clear of the big steamer. "Ptarmigan" was dismantled in 1909. "Ptarmigan"'s engines, which had been under water at least twice when the vessels they powered sank (once with "Ptarmigan", once with the first "Duchess") were installed in another vessel, the "Nowitka". Ptarmigan (sternwheeler) Ptarmigan was a sternwheel steamboat that operated in British Columbia on the Columbia River from 1903 to 1909. "Ptarmigan" was built at Golden, BC and was the last vessel built for