This year marks the centenary of this 49th State of America which was bought for $7,200,000 from Russia in 1867: a land of contrasts, its capital warmed by Pacific currents and Inland temperatures plunging to 70* below zero.

The rainforests and the mangrove swamps of Trinidad are home to a great variety of wildlife from the giant anaconda to the charming tree porcupine. The island teems with exotically plumed birds and is one of the last refuges for the dazzling scarlet ibis.

Julian Pettifer reports on Antarctic exploration today. Fifty-six years after the discovery of the South Pole, the Antarctic is being opened up by a new kind of exploration, made possible by modern technology. By far the biggest and most expensive research programme is the Americans. They call it "Operation Deep Freeze".