Anchorage

Anchorage sits on a coastal lowland in south-central Alaska, on Cook Inlet, hemmed between the water and the wall of the Chugach Mountains that rises directly behind the city. Home to more than 40 percent of all Alaskans, it grew from a 1915 railroad construction camp into the state's largest city and economic hub — though it is not the capital, which remains tiny, isolated Juneau far to the southeast.

The setting is dramatic and far north: the Chugach peaks loom over downtown, glaciers and wilderness lie within sight, and moose wander city parks, yet Anchorage enjoys a relatively mild coastal climate by Alaskan standards. Its airport is a major global air-cargo hub, ideally placed on the great-circle routes between North America and Asia. Mountains, inlet, and wilderness press in on every side of the city.

• Alaska
  The largest U.S. state, a sub-Arctic giant located in