This is 99% invisible. I'm Roman Mars.

In southwest Alaska, two big rivers flow across the sub-artic tundra,

emptying into the Bering Sea.

Together, the rivers create the Yukon Andeldra emptying into the Bering Sea.

Together, the rivers create the Yukon-Kusquim Delta, an area the size of the state of Illinois.

Scattered along the rivers and coast are 56 Alaska Native tribes in communities of mostly a few

hundred people. The Tundra River Delta is a wetland with ponds scattered in every

direction and streams and tributaries braiding and weaving between them.

That's reporter Anna Rose MacArthur who lives in the YK Delta.

From an airplane it's hard to tell if there's more water or land below.

It's really beautiful.

The hub of this region is the city of Bethel, population 6500.

The town is the economic and bureaucratic center of the delta. It's the place people fly

into for medical care, shopping, and work. And the reason they fly is because the entire region is off the road system.

That means that while there are roads within communities, there are no roads connecting towns

like Bethel to the outside.

The land is too boggy to support them.

The interstates and highways that link most towns and cities in North America don't exist

here.

The only way in or out of any of the communities in the region,

including Bethel, is by plane or boat. In winter, you can also snowmobile or

drive a truck along the frozen river, which we call the ice highway.

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