The Great Alaska Nature Factbook describes the diversity of plants and animals in Alaska. Illustrated with line drawings, the text has entries for the 105 species of mammals, nearly 300 birds, and 1,500 species of plants. The author also provides an overview of the six regions and the natural features such as the Bering Land Bridge, mineral deposits, and hot springs. It is a field guide or "minature encyclopedia" of facts and trivia about Alaska. Index and Further readings are also included. The Great Alaska Nature Factbook "Nature writer Ewing delights in the unusual and brings a mischievous sense of humor to transform an overwhelming amount of information into engaging and reader-friendly entries sure to delight anyone with a curiosity about the natural world." --Alaska Magazine (Editor's Choice) Through engaging text and illustrations, The Great Nature Factbook reveals the North Country's natural wonders: One acre of tundra can contain an estimated two tons of living fungi. Fourteen species of wild orchid grow in Alaska. Denali National Park and Preserve was once-upon-a-time a tropical forest. Loons can sink straight down in the water like submarines. The Bering Glacier complex in the Chugach Mountains is twice the size of Rhode Island. Alaska hosts over 100 million seabirds every year. Ewing moved to the northern Rockies in 1992 from Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. The Great Alaska Nature Factbook A Guide to the State's Remarkable Animals, Plants, and Natural Features By Susan Ewing Alaska Northwest Books Copyright © 2011 Susan Ewing All right reserved. ISBN: 9780882408385 "Musk Ox. If they look like they stepped out of the last ice age, it's because the did. Alaska's musk oxen of today are identical to the ones that were around one hundred thousand years ago. Why changes something that works? Wrapped in six-inch-thick underfur and a long overcoat of windproof, snowproof guard hairs that nearly drag the ground, musk oxen (Ovibos moschatus) are tailor-made for their environment." Continues... Excerpted from The Great Alaska Nature Factbook by Susan Ewing Copyright © 2011 by Susan Ewing. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.