Science: 300 Miles to Alaska

Americans can stop worrying about the projected 1,500-mile highway to Alaska, because nature has provided another one, of which only 300 miles of road need to be constructed. So claims Arctic Explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson in the July issue of FORTUNE. Most of his highway consists of the Yukon and Mackenzie Rivers. His 300-mile road would connect the two rivers. Says Stefansson: "In North America the Mackenzie River, second only to the Mississippi system, is the historic commercial highway of northwestern Canada. It begins to be navigable at the head of rail north of Edmonton, and flows almost straight in the direction of Japan and China. The Yukon is the third longest river highway of the North American continent, [and] the Mackenzie, 300 miles from its delta, is only 300 miles from the head of navigation of the Yukon." Stern-wheelers have long traveled both rivers, which (claims Stefansson) winter freezes into ice-paved roads for sledge-pulling tractors. During a three or four-week freeze-up in autumn and the breakup in the spring, the rivers are of course impassable to both ships and tractors. Stefansson adds: "A generation that tends to think lazily in terms of railroads, ships and trucks has almost forgotten the value of river highways."