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At the same time, a ridge of high pressure built northward over British Columbia and the Alaska Panhandle, setting up a pattern that steered warmer air from the south into much of mainland Alaska. As a result, temperatures climbed above average across much of mainland Alaska early in the month, although the Arctic Coast remained cold.
For comparison, that's right ahead of the Columbia in area drained and right after it in discharge. (The Columbia River also needs Canada to gain its rank; its source is in British Columbia.) Two Yukon tributaries also make the list. The Porcupine ranks 20th in drainage area, and the Tanana is number 16 for average discharge.
Alaska is more than twice the size of the largest of the lower 48 states, and the amount of Alaska underlain by permafrost is equal to the size of three Californias. Ten states are smaller than the area covered by glaciers in Alaska. If glaciers of the adjacent Yukon Territory and British Columbia that connect to Alaska's ice fields (often referred to as the Alaska-Yukon glaciers) are added ...
The big daddy came in 1971. Project Cannikin was a 5-megaton explosion that inspired the formation of the group Greenpeace, a group of environmentalists from British Columbia who joined together to oppose the test. But Greenpeace and many others-including Alaska senator Mike Gravel and Congressman Nick Begich-were not able to prevent Cannikin.