Alaska is in the far northwest of North America, separated from the rest of the United States by Canada and reaching toward Russia across the Bering Sea.

Where Alaska Actually Is

  • On a globe, Alaska sits at the top-left of North America, stretching from the northeastern Pacific Ocean up into the Arctic region.
  • It is bordered by Canada (Yukon and British Columbia) to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific and Bering Sea to the south and west.

Where It Appears On Most Maps

  • On many U.S. classroom or wall maps, Alaska is shown in a small inset box, usually in the lower-left corner, so it “looks” southwest of the mainland United States even though that’s not its real position.
  • This inset is only for convenience and scale; in reality Alaska lies northwest of the “lower 48” states, not underneath them.

Extra Quick Facts (If You’re Curious)

  • Alaska is the largest U.S. state by area, bigger than Texas, California, and Montana combined.
  • Its capital is Juneau in the southeastern “panhandle,” and the largest city is Anchorage, closer to the south-central coast.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.