A closer look at the Pacific NW-Alaska connection: human resources and transportation dominate.

• Author: Anderson, Tasha
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: Pacific Northwest--Alaska Connection

Alaska is a remote place. But remote doesn't necessarily mean isolated: goods come in and out, transportation moves north and south, and expertise is exchanged over the Internet and phone lines. Alaska needs to be connected to the outside, and many of those connections have taken root in various parts of the Pacific Northwest.

Gold Rush North

One of the earliest ties between Alaska and the Pacific Northwest dates back to July 1897 when the steamship Portland docked in Seattle carrying prospectors and gold, two days after the steamer Excelsior, carrying the same cargo and similar passengers, landed in San Francisco. Both ships had left a month earlier from St. Michael on the Bering Sea near the mouth of the Yukon River with three tons of gold between them. Before getting on those steamships in Alaska, the Klondike prospectors had travelled from Dawson City (about 1,300 miles) or Whitehorse (about 1,800 miles) down the Yukon River, mostly on stern-wheelers.

The news led to an avalanche of prospectors heading to Seattle, gathering supplies, and shipping off to the Yukon Territory to be a part of the Klondike Gold Rush. Skagway and Dyea quickly became the favored ports of call for prospectors to access the gold fields via the Chilkoot and White Pass trails. The amount of supplies was significant, as it was reported--erroneously, according to the National Park Service--that Canadian authorities required every person heading to the territory to bring a year's worth of food and equipment. True or not, the business savvy of Seattle at the time began to advertise the city as "The Gateway to the Gold Fields," the convenient stop for food, warm clothing, equipment, supplies, and transportation north. It's estimated that, of the approximately seventy thousand north-bound hopefuls, thirty to forty thousand bought their supplies in Seattle and travelled to Skagway and Dyea, opting to traverse the mountain passes rather than the Yukon River to reach the gold fields.

The effect of the gold prospectors didn't end with the gold rush; their presence increased the awareness of both the United States and Canada of the great potential of Alaska's natural resources, including fish, timber, and other mined materials.

People Come In, People Go Out

Alaska has been similarly connected to the Pacific Northwest ever since. The economy of Alaska relies heavily on what is missing being moved in and what is overly abundant being moved out; Seattle is the first stop in...