Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Sault Ste. Marie Airport (YAM), Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,713 miles (or 4,366 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Elmendorf Air Force Base and Sault Ste. Marie Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Elmendorf Air Force Base and Sault Ste. Marie Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• Following World War II, Elmendorf assumed an increasing role in the defense of North America as the uncertain wartime relations between the United States and the Soviet Union deteriorated into the Cold War.
• The uncertain world situation in late 1940s and early 1950s caused a major buildup of air defense forces in Alaska.
• The furthest airport from Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,542 miles (16,965 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• That importance was further recognized when the F-15E Strike Eagle equipped 90th Tactical Fighter Squadron was reassigned to Elmendorf Air Force Base from Clark Air Base in the Philippines in May 1991.
• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• The adjacent facilities were officially combined by the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission.

Facts about Sault Ste. Marie Airport (YAM):

• The closest airport to Sault Ste. Marie Airport (YAM) is Chippewa County International Airport (CIU), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) S of YAM.
• The furthest airport from Sault Ste. Marie Airport (YAM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,093 miles (17,853 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Sault Ste. Marie Airport's relatively low elevation of 632 feet, planes can take off or land at Sault Ste. Marie Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• The airport hosts the flight-training campus for Sault College as well as the Soo Aviation flying school, resulting in frequent training flights in the vicinity.
• The airport is classified as an airport of entry by NAV CANADA and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency.
• Sault Ste. Marie Airport (YAM) has 2 runways.
• In 2010, the airport ranked 34th among Canadian airports for total number of aircraft movements, with 51,279 movements.