Photo taken on Aug. 13, 2012 shows a small plane flying between mountains in Alaska, the United States. Situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. Wild and beautiful Alaska is home to majestic mountains, glaciers, active volcanoes, huge tracks of forested land and some of the planet's most varied extremes of cold, heat, rain, snow and wind. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)