Alaska Teacher Placement
Discover | Learning | Teaching | Living

Alaska's Regions, Climate & Scenery Zones

Alaska has several distinct geography and climate zones, and it's important for educator candidates to understand them, and how they differ.

Because Alaska stretches 1100 miles north to south, and over 2000 miles east to west, there are significant differences in both the amount of daylight in winter and summer, and the temperature ranges are far wider than most realize.  And, as climate determines vegetation, there are some very real distinctions in the whole visual landscape appeal each area offers.  This also impacts what recreational opportunities are available.

Regardless, all areas of Alaska are strikingly beautiful in their own way.  This page only gives a brief synopsis of the regions below, but you can learn much more about Alaska's weather, geography and climate zones on the Researching Locations page.

Five Major Regions

The State of Alaska has an excellent page for kids describing each of the areas in detail.  This map links to that page, which we recommend as a resource.   For each region we have below a:

  • Regional map
  • Brief thumbnail description of the region
  • Link to details on outdoor recreational & natural resources in that region
  • List of school districts in that region, with a link to detail job search for each

Note that there are slightly different definitions of the boundaries of the regions, depending on who you ask, or the map you are using. In fact, some school districts may span parts of two regions. For our purposes on the ATP website, we will try to use the boundaries and definitions the official State of Alaska uses.

Alaska State Regions Map


SOUTHCENTRAL

Southcentral Alaska Map

Southcentral is home of Alaska's largest - some would say only - major city: Anchorage, population 291,131 in 2021, or roughly 40% of Alaska's total population. The Matanuska-Susitna Valley (Mat Su area)  is commuting distance from Anchorage. The Kenai Peninsula Borough is connected by road and rail to the south.

Southcentral has the only major road "highway" sections, many airports of all sizes, the Alaska State Ferry system, and the Alaska Railroad. You can really get around, but finding a position as a new-to-Alaska teacher can be difficult. Many teachers gain experience in the Bush, and after some years, many relocate to Southcentral communities

Southcentral Outdoor Recreation & Natural Resources

It is also really a gorgeous area, mountains to the sea, forests, glaciers, fjords, roadside lakes, clamming, salmon and halibut fishing, beaches, hiking and climbing in all seasons.  Fall is spectacular, and results in "termination dust" (snow) on the peaks in September or so. Then, after the first snows at sea level, skiing (downhill and cross country), snowmobiling and ice skating are popular activities all winter. The Kenai Peninsula, a scenic and fly-fishing paradise, and Kenai Fjords National Park are to the southwest by road. Prince William Sound is a drive away, as are the coastal fishing communities of Seward and Homer. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, to the west, contains nine of the 16 highest peaks in the United States.  

Be sure to check out the Alaska State Parks & Recreation information for:

Click the image below to view a new window with very detailed information about outdoor recreational opportunities in the parks & wilderness areas in the Southcentral region from the Alaska Public Lands Center. Note that the Alaska Public Lands Center's website is temporarily down, so this link has the latest Internet Archive capture of the page. Be patient, as it will take several seconds to load the content.

Alaska Public Lands Center - Southcentral

School Districts Located in Southcentral Alaska

Several of the ten school districts in this area are among the most sought after by teacher candidates. This is at least partly because everything - shopping, recreation, medical care and infrastructure - is all more easily accessible than anywhere else in Alaska. Most are on the road and/or Alaska State Ferry system. The list here links to our Alaska School Districts page for links to each organization's website and jobs list.

ATP School Districts & Organizations in
Southcentral Alaska

SOUTHWEST

Southwest Alaska Map

Southwest Alaska has dramatic volcanoes sticking up out of the sea, salmon, halibut and crab fishing villages, the largest brown bears in the world, hanging waterfalls, black sand beaches, and tundra ponds full of waterbirds of all types during the warmer months.

Transportation is mostly by plane, and with the Alaska State Ferry system serving many of the communities on the Pacific Ocean side of the Alaska Peninsula and its islands during the April to October season. Some of the most sought after fishing lodges in North America are located here, and seafood a staple of the local diet, and commercial fishing how many residents make a living. Larger communities in this area are "regional hubs", and although travel delays are common, they have a surprisingly good infrastructure such as grocery stores and sub-regional clinics. 

Southwest Outdoor Recreation & Natural Resources

Many consider the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands as having some of the true gems of Alaska's jewel box of natural resources.  Southwest has both dramatic areas, with too many volcanoes to count, the amazing Katmai National Park, and the Wood-Tikchik and Iliamna lakes systems for camping, fishing, hunting and wildlife viewing. And,  more subtle beauty in coastal tundra and "pothole" ponds among meandering rivers in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta marine mammals galore.  There is also world class fishing, kayak and animal viewing in the Kodiak, Afognak and Shuyak islands area. Finally,  there are the rugged and remote islands of Aleutian and Pribilof Islands dividing the Pacific and Bering Seas with hillsides of alpine tundra, thousand foot waterfalls, cliffs and black sand beaches, sea stacks and puffin colonies.

Be sure to check out the Alaska State Parks & Recreation areas for:

Click the image below to view a new window with very detailed information about outdoor recreational opportunities in the parks & wilderness areas in the Southwest region from the Alaska Public Lands Center. Note that the Alaska Public Lands Center's website is temporarily down, so this link has the latest Internet Archive capture of the page. Be patient, as it will take several seconds to load the content.

Alaska Public Lands Center - Southwest


School Districts Located in Southwest Alaska

There are twelve school districts, and one regional health care organization that hire educators are listed here. Most of their district offices are located in regional hubs with grocery stores, and regional or sub-regional health clinics. Kodiak is the largest population and in terms of infrastructure and regular transportation There are dramatic differences among and between these communities, even though they are all in the same "region". The list here links to our Alaska School Districts page for links to each organization's website and jobs list.

ATP School Districts & Organizations in
Southwestl Alaska


INTERIOR

Interior Alaska Map

The Interior has Alaska's second largest community, the small-ish city of Fairbanks (population 32,703 in 2021), and a variety of other school districts located both in the Bush, and on the various spurs of the Road System.  Fairbanks also has the main campus of the University of Alaska, which is where ATP's office is located, and a significant military base community.

Interior Outdoor Recreation & Natural Resources

This region has some of the best views of the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) in the world, cold winters, hot springs, days that seem to never end in the summer, short days in the winter. Some of the most northerly communities are just above or near the Arctic Circle, while others are not all that far to drive from Anchorage.  There is a very good road between Anchorage and Fairbanks, and spur roads that come off of that highway that support smaller communities, and cross over into Canada. 

The major rivers in this area - primarily the mighty Yukon and the Tanana -  are both the subsistence lifeline for many communities, and serve as a transportation system. Ice roads exist in several areas when winter conditions are suitable. Most travel is by small airplane, snowmachine (snowmobile), or boat. 

Denali, the highest mountain in all of North America, is surrounded by Denali National Park and Preserve - perhaps America's best managed, and most spectacular parks. As part of the extended Alaska Range, this area boasts spectacular mountain vistas, berry-laden tundra, and an abundance of wildlife including caribou, moose, Dall sheep, and grizzly bear. Hunting, trapping, ice fishing, dogsledding, and cross country skiing are all very popular winter pursuits. Fairbanks even has an active running community that holds organized events all year, such as the Chilly Buns Mid-Winter Run.

Be sure to check out the 16 Alaska State Parks & Recreation areas for:

Click the image below to view a new window with very detailed information about outdoor recreational opportunities in the parks & wilderness areas in the Interior region from the Alaska Public Lands Center. Note that the Alaska Public Lands Center's website is temporarily down, so this link has the latest Internet Archive capture of the page. Be patient, as it will take several seconds to load the content.

Alaska Public Lands Center - Interior

School Districts Located in Interior Alaska

School districts here are diverse, with a Fairbanks being a large, city setting, and several others being fly-in only Bush districts. Finally, some are fairly remote by Lower 48 standards, but still on the Road System, so have self-driving connections to the amenities found in the urban areas of Anchorage and Fairbanks. The Bush villages are mostly Athabascan Alaska Native communities, and subsistence lifestyles are still common.

The are eleven school districts, and one organization in this region. Fairbanks and the Alaska Center for Children are located on the road system in an urban setting. Nenana is a town on the road between Fairbanks and Denali National Park. There is a new road to within six miles of Tanana, and an ice road connects that community seasonally. The others are all more remote and/or Bush locations. YKSD has a district office in Fairbanks, but serves villages that are fly-in only.  The list image links to our Alaska School Districts page for links to each organization's website and jobs list.

ATP School Districts & Organizations in
Interior Alaska

FAR NORTH

Far North Alaska Map

This area is all either near or above the Arctic Circle. It has huge wilderness areas, vast herds of migratory caribou, musk oxen, mountain ranges and huge swaths of tundra wildflowers and berries in season. The Northern Lights are, of course, prominent during the dark months, as is the sea ice of the frozen Bering and Chukchi Seas.  These communities are all effectively fly-in only, although there is one limited access "haul road" that is used to connect the oil fields of the North Slope with the road system.

Far North Outdoor Recreation & Natural Resources

Traditional subsistence lifestyles prevail in some of the most traditional Inupiaq and Siberian Yup'ik Eskimo villages left in North America.  Migratory birds and marine mammals are both appreciated and harvested throughout the coastal areas. Truly some of America's best wilderness is found in this area, with Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve, the adjacent Noatak National Preserve and Kobuk Valley National Park.  The 180,000 member Porcupine Caribou Herd migrates through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Click the image below to view a new window with very detailed information about outdoor recreational opportunities in the parks & wilderness areas in the Far North region from the Alaska Public Lands Center. Note that the Alaska Public Lands Center's website is temporarily down, so this link has the latest Internet Archive capture of the page. Be patient, as it will take several seconds to load the content.

Alaska Public Lands in the Far North Region


School Districts Located in the Far North

The school districts in this region include three that are larger than many entire states - Bering Strait, Northwest Arctic and North Slope - and one that is a regional hub city with a rich history and regional road system - Nome. Some consider BSSD and Nome as part of "Western" Alaska or "Southwestern", but the state website puts it in the Far North category, as it has villages along the coast and islands of the Bering and Chukchi Seas. One of BSSD's schools is 1.5 miles from the International Dateline and border with Russia, and you can see the Russian coast from three others. Really. Ilisagvik Community College is located in Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), which is also the location of the North Slope Borough School District, and has a local road system.

ATP School Districts & Organizations in Far
North Alaska

SOUTHEAST 

Southeast Alaska Map

Southeast Alaska has many islands, bays carved by calving glaciers, is carpeted with rain forests of hemlock and spruce, Alaska's Inside Passage is where cruise ships seasonally glide past snow capped mountains, deep fjords, and islands. The climate is a wet, mild, maritime climate, and is rich with bald eagles, sea lions, porpoises, and whales.

The capital city of Juneau was founded during the Gold Rush, and Sitka was originally the capital of Russian America, but is now home to both a school district, and the state residential boarding high school. Petersburg is rich in Norwegian heritage. The spirit of the Gold Rush is still visible in Skagway.

Southeast Outdoor Recreation & Natural Resources

Glacier Bay National Park has 16 active tidewater glaciers. Misty Fjords National Monument near Ketchikan has 3,000 foot cliffs rising directly from the ocean, and Tongass National Forest - the nation's largest - has nearly 17 million acres and many federal and state operated recreational areas.

Be sure to check out the Alaska State Parks & Recreation areas for:

Click the image below to view a new window with very detailed information about outdoor recreational opportunities in the parks & wilderness areas in the Southeast region from the Alaska Public Lands Center. Note that the Alaska Public Lands Center's website is temporarily down, so this link has the latest Internet Archive capture of the page. Be patient, as it will take several seconds to load the content.

Alaska Public Lands in the Southeast Region



School Districts Located in Southeast Alaska

There are sixteen school districts, a statewide boarding school, and two other education organizations in Southeast Alaska. The largest district is Alaska's captial city of Juneau, but there is a mix of other types of settings, including small towns, Alaska Native villages and logging camp schools.

The list here links to our Alaska School Districts page for links to each organization's website and jobs list.

Alaska School Districts in the Southeast Region

Next Steps for Teacher / Administrator Candidates

Hopefully, you have learned a bit about the regions of Alaska here. But, you may want bookmark this page to refer to as you get more involved in your Alaska job search. The next steps for most candidates would be: