University of Alaska Fairbanks
  |  Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center

Northern Climate Reports

Ecological futures in stories, charts, and data

Places

Places included in Northern Climate Reports

Example image showing Alaska Native Corporation boundaries

Alaska Native Corporations

Like other states, Alaska has levels of government and land ownership: federal, state, municipal, and city. The passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971 added an additional layer of land ownership across Alaska. Learn more about these regions.
Example image of Alaska Boroughs and Census Areas

Boroughs and Census Areas

There are 19 boroughs and 10 U.S. Census Bureau-designated census areas in Alaska. These two systems have been aggregated into 29 geographic units which correspond to 2015 census area designations. Alaska boroughs/census areas are equivalent to counties. Read more about boroughs and census areas
Example image of Alaska climate divisions

Climate Divisions

Climate divisions are subdivisions of states having roughly consistent climatological behavior within them. Learn more about climate divisions.
Map showing Alaska and Canada

Communities

Search communities across Alaska and a portion of Canada by name. The highlighted area of the map shows the extent of the communities included in Northern Climate Reports.

We thank the Alaska Native Language Center for providing a reference of Alaska Native place names, and help with orthography.

Example image of Alaska Ethnolinguistic regions

Ethnolinguistic Regions

Language boundaries represent traditional territories at approximately the year 1900 and are based on those established in Michael E. Krauss' Native Peoples and Languages of Alaska map. Learn more about Alaska Indigenous languages.

Example image of Alaska Fire Management Units

Fire Management Units

The State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources, the US Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service, and the US Forest Service jointly manage the state to maximize efficient use of fire-related resources.

Example image of Alaska Game Management Units

Game Management Units

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game manages hunting by dividing the state into many Game Management Units (GMUs), each with regulations on species, season, etc. Units are at the sub-unit level. Learn more about GMUs

Example image of Alaska Protetect Area (Denali National Park)

Protected areas

Protected areas include National Parks, National Forests, Wilderness Areas, National Wildlife Refuges, State Parks and more, searchable by name and agency (NPS, USFS, etc)

Photo credit: National Park Service

An Alaskan landscape showing a watershed

Watersheds/Hydrological Units

Hydrologic Units are included at the sub-basin (HU-8) and watershed (HU-10) level, searchable by name or Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC). Examples: “Middle Copper River” or “HUC 19020102.” Some data (flammability, vegetation change) are summarized at the sub-watershed (HU-12) level. Learn more about hydrological units

Photo credit: UAF photo by Todd Paris

Example map showing Yukon First Nation Traditional Territories

Yukon First Nation Traditional Territories

There are 14 Yukon First Nations and 8 language groups. There are also Northwest Territories and British Columbia Indigenous groups that have traditional territory in Yukon. Approximately 25 percent of Yukon’s population are Indigenous Peoples. Learn more about Yukon First Nations