Gastineau Channel

Now draw a line.

Draw it from Juneau, the state capital, perched on a narrow strip of land between the Gastineau Channel and the steep mountains of the Coast Range, accessible by road from nowhere, reachable only by air or sea.

Draw another line from Juneau northwest to Anchorage, the largest city in the state, home to roughly 40% of Alaska's total population, sprawled across a coastal plain between the Chugach Mountains and Cook Inlet.

Draw a third line from Anchorage north to Utqiagvik, the city formerly known as Barrow.

Workers were brought in from China and the Philippines.

Hydroelectric power stations, including a concrete compression arch dam with dimensions of 650 by 175 feet, were built to power the mines, and the areas of Gastineau Channel were filled with mine tailings to build downtown Juneau.

Look what we just learned, everybody.

Yeah, yeah.