Customer Reviews

Alaska Atlas and Gazetteer (Alaska Atlas & Gazetteer)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This atlas appeared as a "recommended item" for me by Amazon.com. I noticed I had a dog-eared, rumpled copy next to my chair and thought I'd give it an honest review.

First of all, what it ISN'T. The topographic maps certainly don't contain "unbeatable detail." For example, right now I'm planning a trip in the Brooks Range in northern Alaska. In that area of the state, the map scale is 1:1,400,000, where 1 inch represents about 22 miles! Not much detail available on that scale.

The regions most people are traveling in, however, are on a much more detailed scale of 1:300,000, where 1 inch = 4.8 miles.
These maps cover the areas where most people live and hunt and fish and backpack and boat in Alaska. (For comparison, the most commonly used topographic maps obtained elsewhere are at a scale of 1:24:000 for most of the U.S. and 1:63,360 for Alaska.)

The Atlas IS an invaluable reference for planning and quick reference. I try to keep mine handy, and reference it very often. It is much, much faster and easier than trying to download or find individual topo maps.

There's a very handy map index on the back, showing each map's page and area. On the second page there's a two page fold-out relief map, in color, showing Alaska's mountain ranges, rivers, etc. There's a map legend inside the front cover, and a Table of Contents on page one, and the back. There are other interesting and useful features like the average temperatures and daylight hours from Nome to Anchorage to Juneau.

This Atlas is similar to a compact camera: it may not have quite as many features, but it's handiness often makes it even more useful.

The sheer size of Alaska tends to defeat what would otherwise be an unbeatable map collection for most states in the lower 48. A second challenge is the very thin transportation infrastructure in Alaska; huge areas of the state are not on the limited road network and can be reached in a timely manner only by air. Enormous swaths of wilderness have no transportation network at all.

The DeLorme "Alaska Atlas and Gazetteer" is an excellent resource for trip planning. Used in conjunction with the most recent "Milepost", the average travelor can reach any point in the state accessible by road and plan entry into many other areas. However, the scale of the maps is insufficient for detailed off-road route planning; deep country hikers, hunters, and fishermen are advised to seek more specialized map products.

This Atlas is highly recommended to the traveler in Alaska looking for a compact map resource. It is also a good starting point for planning trips in determining where more detailed map products will be needed.

A MUST, and best combined with Mileposts. A huge State with few roads, there are around every turn unexpected, jaw-dropping sights. Move the front seat passenger to the back and keep this volume open on the passenger's seat for easy reference... pulling off the highway before you do so.

Every Alaska household that's into the outdoors has at least one copy of this book. As someone who operates a popular Alaska travel website (Alaska.org) and helps people plan custom Alaska vacations, I often recommend this book to visitors taking a driving tour.

For $20, you get basically the entire set of USGS topographic maps for the state of Alaska, most at the 1:300,000 scale (1 inch = 4.8 miles). When the book first came out in the 1990's, it broke my heart, because I had just purchased the equivalent Alaska map set from the USGS, each on individual sheets, for $500!

I keep one in my car while driving Alaska's highways, so wherever I go, I'll know the names of the mountains, rivers, and main features. The maps are also detailed enough to use as a reference if you want to take a day hike or backpacking trip.

However, if you plan any kind of multi-day adventure into a specific area, you'll want to instead get at least the USGS quadrangle for that area (available at the Anchorage USGS office at Alaska Pacific University). At a 1:250,000 (1 inch = 3.9 miles) scale, the quads are somewhat more detailed and easy to fold up and carry. If you're not an Alaska backcountry expert, you might also consider picking up the even more detailed 1:25,000 scale (1 inch = .4 mile) maps for your intended route. Each map is $4.00-$6.00.

So, the value of this book is basically being able to research any part of Alaska. For example, if you're calling an air taxi to discuss pickup or dropoff locations, you can just flip to the right page in the Atlas and know what they're referring to. If you're planning a float or backpacking trip, the Atlas can help you gauge the difficulty of the terrain and estimated travel time. If you're planning a road trip, the Atlas is great for planning out where you'll see the most rugged topography and where streams and creeks cross the road (for water or car camping).

If you're planning an extended road trip in Alaska or the Yukon, you'll also want to get the Milepost. Unlike the Atlas, the Milepost does not contain detailed topographic maps but instead mostly text listings of what to see and do at each milepoint. If you're mainly traveling between Seward, Denali, and Fairbanks (the central part of Alaska known as "the Railbelt"), avoid the expense of the Milepost and instead pick up the free, 120-page Alaska Activities Guide available at hotels and car rental locations throughout Anchorage. It contains a couple dozen maps and excellent commentary. You can download some of those maps at Alaska.org/maps, as well as a fairly good State of Alaska Map.

The Atlas is easy to use. There's a large index map on the first page and a nice two-page foldout map of the entire state as well. It also contains some nice reference tables of freshwater and saltwater fishing locations, boat ramps, mountain ranges, wildlife refuges, and other information--though none of these tables are detailed enough to be a standalone trip planning resource.

My main criticism of the Atlas is that huge sections of northern (north of Livengood) and western Alaska (west of McGrath) are at the unfortunate 1:1,400,000 scale (1 inch = 22 miles). I understand that few people visit these regions, but they are at a scale so general as to be almost useless, and the labeling is sparse. If you're planning a trip to the Brooks Range, the rivers of Western Alaska, the Haul Road, or other more remote parts of the state, these 1:1,400,000 maps don't help much.

I'm not satisfy with this map book. It was published 2010 but most of the routes/streets with name that were done way before 2009 was not in the map. Some of the country side roads and trials were missing in the map. I bought a book of Wisconsin and I can find most of the rural routes in person that were on the map but not with this one of Alaska. This map book is not so accurate because roads missing. I would not recommend anyone to buy this Alaska one.

We were on a driving trip in Alaska and wanted a map with details about the terrain as well as roads. This altas fits the bill. Our only complaint is that almost everyone in Alaska uses "milepost" numbers on the main highways as landmarks and even their street address in some places, and those reference points are not included along the roads on the maps. Even so, it was a big help for our trip.

A must have for any Alaska adventure traveler! Very useful information presented well - as are all the Delorme atlases.

As an independant traveler I have a Gazetteer for every state. They are worth their weight in gold. However, this one was very disappointing. Due to the formatting the major roadways and the majority of the Kenai are in the folds, bindings, or on the grid margins. This would be great if you were going to be in the remote areas, but it was worthless to use for trekking from a main highway onto side roads where most travel. Sorry DeLorme, you need to reformat the layout.

This atlas is well put together and fairly detailed. When I ordered this, I was thinking that this would show all those minor local dirt roads that do not appear on regular maps. However, there are simply not very many roads in Alaska. If you're planning a road trip, even the less detailed maps will show most of the roads. So, if you're planning a road trip into Alaska, this map's scale is too big to be used for high-level planning, and perhaps not detailed enough to backpackers or other users. The book is really too large to store on a motorcycle. So for road users, stick with a folding map and save your money for The Milepost publication. The Milepost 2012 The 2012 version comes out in March, 2012.

We've got another Atlas/Gazetter(Washington State) from DeLorme & we Love it... This 1 is Fantastic & we're so glad we've gotten it.. We Love it also... It's just what it's stated to be and the guality construction is what we expect from DeLorme... Thank-You so much...