US-ALASKA-NOME

Signs in front of the Nugget Inn directs visitors in Nome, Alaska, to other parts of the world 29 September 2006. The discovery of gold by Norwegian Jafet Lindeberg and Swedes Erik Lindblom and John Brynteson in 1898 in nearby Anvil Creek, led to the founding of Anvil City, later renamed Nome. The city, 200 miles (321kms) from the Russian east coast and 560 miles (901kms) northwest of Anchorage, also claims the finish line of the Iditarod Trail annual dog sled race. AFP PHOTO/GABRIEL BOUYS