Top cities to visit in Alaska

Alaska is the only non-contiguous U.S. state. It is separated by a distance of 500 miles (800 km) of British Columbia, Canada, from Washington State in the U.S. The name Alaska has been around since the time it was a Russian colony. The name means "mainland" in the Aleutian language. Alaska became the 49th state of the U.S. on 3 January 1959.

Alaska is a state with breathtaking landscapes. However, much of it is remote and difficult to access. The state has 34,000 miles of tidal shoreline and numerous islands, many of which uninhabited. The state also has more than three million lakes and half of all the world's known glaciers.

Best cities to visit in Alaska:

Homer, Alaska

Homer is a small town on the Kenai Peninsula in southcentral Alaska. It is located on the shore of Kachemak Bay.

Homer was established following the discovery of coal in the 1890s. It was named after Homer Pennock, a gold mining company promoter. The town never found much prosperity in mining, and was instead more successful in fishing, so much so that it is today labeled the "halibut fishing capital of the world". Other local industries include tourism and logging. Visit Southwest Airlines Reservations to get special offers on flight booking to Alaska.

Barrow, Alaska

The city of Barrow was named after English statesman Sir John Barrow (1764-1848) by English naval officer and geographer Frederick William Beechey (1796-1856) in 1825. It is the traditional home of the Inupiat Eskimo people, who have been living there for the past one thousand years.

Barrow is located 320 miles (515km) north of the Arctic Circle. As such, it experiences a polar climate. However, it is moderated by the Arctic Ocean which is on three sides, and the flat tundra that stretches for 200 miles to the south. Nevertheless, it still experiences one of the lowest temperatures of any town in Alaska, with an average summer temperature of 34°F to 46°F in July, and -22°F to -10°F in February.

Unalaska, Alaska

Unalaska is a small town on Unalaska Island, in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. It is primarily a fishing town and holds the distinction of having the largest fisheries port in the United States by volume caught. The port facilities are at Dutch Harbor, which is popularly called simply Dutch.

Deadhorse, Alaska

Deadhorse is a small town in North Slope Borough, Alaska. The town is home to workers of the nearby Prudhoe Bay oil fields. There is really not much for tourists to see here. Get exciting flight deals and offers to travel to Alaska with delta airlines tickets.

The town of Deadhorse was established solely due to the presence of oil in the area. There is no clear sign of how it got its rather colorful name.