Alaska and Hawaii are complete opposites in climate and geographical location but there are many similarities between the two that most people are not aware of. Besides the fact that both are states of the United States there are many other factors that connect these two regions of the world. To begin with, if you were to look at a map for the purposes of overseas shipping from Alaska to Hawaii you would notice that they are actually in the same time zone and almost directly in a north to south line with each other.

Alaska and Hawaii were the 49th and 50th states selected to be part of the United States of America. Both were chosen for their strategic value to overseas shipping. Hawaii is at the mid point in the Pacific between California and Southeast Asia. Alaska is just across the Bering Sea from Russia and provides a buffer between North America and what was once its greatest rival, the Soviet Union, now Russia and the Ukraine.

Overseas shipping from Alaska to Hawaii is a matter of following the California Current. This current starts out cold and then warms as it flows through Baja. It originates in the Gulf of Alaska, follows the coast of California, and then turns west to flow directly to Hawaii. In the days of overseas shipping with sailing vessels this current was the easiest way to travel from Alaska to Hawaii. Today, you can leave the frozen banks of Kodiak Island, head due south, and end up on the beaches of Oahu.

Another similarity between these two areas is the high cost of living. This can be directly attributed to the cost of overseas shipping and the difficulty in getting manufactured goods and agricultural products to these remote regions. Many of the necessities and luxuries enjoyed by the Alaskan and Hawaiian peoples have to be brought in by overseas shipping companies from the continental United States and Asia.

Alaska is thinly populated and still very much in its natural state. The lakes, mountains and open fields of Alaska are some of the most beautiful natural wonders in the world. The climate, however, is prohibitive to farming or the cultivation of any types of domestic growth. What little growing season they do have is cut short by an early winter and shortened hours of daylight. Much of the food that is eaten in Alaska in brought in by overseas shipping companies.

Hawaii is just the opposite. A tropical climate and regular rainfall helps agriculture to thrive on the islands and much of what is consumed there is grown locally. However, because they are an island nation that has little in the way of manufacturing facilities, they import a lot of their resources with overseas shipping companies. Their largest import is one of the most difficult to regulate: the tourist. Like Alaska, it has maintained its natural beauty and is the sight of thousands of tourist visits per year.