What is Southeast Alaska?
[[Image:Alaska Panhandle.png|thumb|250px|Southeast Alaska. The blue dotted line is the Inside Passage]] '''Southeast Alaska''', sometimes called the '''Alaska Panhandle''' is the southeastern portion of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Alaska]]. It is west of the northern half of the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian province]] of [[British Columbia]]. A lot of the [[Panhandle]] is part of the [[Tongass National Forest]], which is the biggest [[United States National Forest|National Forests]] in the United States. This part of Alaska is known for its mild [[rain]]y [[temperate climate|temperate]] [[oceanic climate]] and beautiful scenery. [[Image:MistyFjordsWaterfall.jpg|thumb|right|Misty Fjords Waterfall and [[kayak]]]] ==Geography== Southeast Alaska is the end of the ''Inside Passage''. The Inside Passage a way to get to Alaska by boat or ship without having to go out in the open ocean. It begins all the way down in [[Puget Sound]] in [[Washington state]]. This was a way for native canoeists to get around. Later during the gold-rush steam ships used it. Today it is used by [[Ferry|ferries]] and cruise ships. The Panhandle has a land [[area]] of {{convert|35138|mi|km}}. This is only 6.14% of Alaska's land area, but the Panhandle is bigger than [[Maine]], and almost as big as the state of [[Indiana]]. The [[United States Census, 2000|2000 census]] population of the Panhandle was 72,954 people. About 42% of them live in the city of [[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]]. There are lots of parks and forests in Southeast Alaska, and many [[island]]s. The largest islands are, Chichagof Island, Admiralty Island, Baranof Island, and Prince of Wales Island. On August 20, 1902, [[President of the United States|President]] [[Theodore Roosevelt]] opened the ''Alexander Archipelago Forest Reserve'', which became the Tongass National Forest later. ==Climate and wildlife== Southeast Alaska is a [[temperate rainforest]] within what is called the ''Pacific temperate rain forest zone''. The most common trees are [[evergreen]]s