| |
|
Facts About The State of Alaska
  Alaska
is the United State's largest state and is over twice the size of
Texas. Measuring from north to south the state is approximately
1,400 miles long and measuring from east to west it is 2,700 miles
wide. Click for a map!
Alaska
is a geographical marvel. When a scale map of Alaska is superimposed
on a map of the 48 lower states, Alaska extends from coast to coast
(when including the Aleutian Chain). The graphic above is the
comparison!
At
586,400 square miles, Alaska is larger than Texas, California and
Montana combined. How many times would your state fit into Alaska?
Click
to find out!
Alaska's coastline extends 6,640
miles. When including islands, Alaska has 33,904 miles of shoreline.
Alaska
has been called America's Last Frontier.
Alaska's
Tongass National Forest is the largest national forest in the
U.S.A..
17
of the 20 highest peaks in the United States are located in Alaska.
At
20,320 feet above sea level, Mount McKinley (also known as "Denali"), located in
Alaska's interior, is the highest point in North America.
Nearly
one-third of Alaska lies within the Arctic Circle.
Alaska
has areas that get 24 hours of continuous daylight at particular
times.
Alaska
has areas that get 24 hours of continuous darkness at particular
times.
There
are more than 3,000 rivers and over 3 million lakes in Alaska.
Within
Alaska there are 29 volcanoes.
Over
half of the world's glaciers are located in Alaska.
Alaska
is 55 miles east of Russia.
Each
year Alaska has approximately 5,000 earthquakes, including 1,000
that measure above 3.5 on the Richter scale. Of the ten strongest
earthquakes ever recorded in the world, three have occurred in
Alaska.
You
could combine the following 23 U.S. States and Districts and
together they would still not equal the size of Alaska: District of
Columbia, Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maryland, West Virginia,
South Carolina, Maine, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Nand, orth Carolina.
Alaska
is the only state to have coastlines on three different seas: Arctic
Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea.
Alaska
boasts the northernmost (Point Barrow), the easternmost (Semisopochnoi
Island in the Aleutians), and the westernmost (Little Diomede
Island) points in the United States. This is possible because Alaska
straddles the international dateline.
Alaska's
longest river, the Yukon, runs 2,300 Miles (1,400 miles of it is in
Alaska and 900 miles lies in Canada).
Barrow,
Alaska is truly the land of the midnight sun. During the summer, the
sun doesn't set at all from May 10 until August 2. However, in the
winter the sun doesn't rise for 67 days. Being the northern most
community in the U.S. means it's cold in Barrow. The low temperature
is below freezing about 324 days a year.
Alaska
is full of wildlife. For instance: Kodiak Bear (weighs 1,400 pounds
and is 11 feet tall); Polar Bear (weighs up to 1,700 pounds and is
10 feet tall); Grizzly Bear (also known as Brown Bear, weighs 800
pounds and is 9 feet tall); Moose (weighs 1,350 pounds and is 5 feet
high to shoulder and its Antlers span 6 feet).
Alaska's
population is 634,892 and about 44% of the state's population live
in the city of Anchorage. There are 583 schools in the state.
Approximately
65% of Alaska is owned and managed by the U.S. federal government as
public lands.
Outsiders
first discovered Alaska in 1741 when Danish explorer Vitus Jonassen
Bering sighted it on a voyage from Siberia.
In
1867 United States Secretary of State William H. Seward offered
Russia $7,200,000, or two cents per acre, for Alaska.
On
October 18, 1867 Alaska officially became the property of the United
States. Many Americans thought this was a waste of money and called
Alaska "Seward's Folly," after Secretary of State William H. Seward
who championed the purchase.
Joe
Juneau's 1880 discovery of gold ushered in the gold rush era.
In
1943 Japan invaded the Aleutian Islands, which started the One
Thousand Mile War, the first battle fought on American soil since
the Civil War.
Alaska
officially became the 49th state on January 3, 1959.
Sarah
Palin is the current Governor of Alaska.
Alaska's
most important revenue source is the oil and natural gas industry.
Alaska
accounts for 25% of the oil produced in the United States.
Prudhoe
Bay, on the northern Alaskan coast, is North America's largest oil
field.
The
Trans-Alaska Pipeline moves up to 88,000 barrels of oil per hour on
its 800 mile journey to Valdez.
The
fishing and seafood industry is the state's largest private industry
employer.
Most
of America's salmon, crab, halibut, and herring come from Alaska.
The
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, know as the Last Great Race on Earth,
attracts mushers worldwide for the Anchorage to Nome trek, about
1,100 miles.
The
deepest single snowfall ever recorded in Alaska is 62 inches (just
over 5 feet) at Thompson Pass on December 7, 1955.
The
term Alaska native refers to Alaska's original inhabitants
including Aleut, Eskimo and Indian groups.
The
wild forget-me-not is the official state flower. The Territorial
Legislature adopted it in 1917.
The
willow ptarmigan is the official state bird. The Territorial
Legislature adopted it in 1955.
The
Sitka spruce is the official state tree. The Territorial Legislature
adopted it in 1962.
Dog
mushing is the official state sport. The Alaska Legislature adopted
it in 1972.
An
unnamed draftsman created the state seal in 1910. It consists of a
rising sun shining on forests, lake, fishing and shipping boats, and
agricultural and mining activities.
The
state motto is North to the Future.
The
jade is the official state gemstone.
Gold
is the official state mineral. It was named the state mineral in
1968.
The
four-spot skimmer dragonfly is the official state insect.
Every
four years Alaskans elect a Governor and a Lieutenant Governor to
four-year terms.
The
Alaska State Legislature is made up of a Senate and a House of
Representatives.
Twenty
senators are elected to four-year terms; forty representatives serve
two-year terms.
The
Alaska Highway was originally built as a military supply road during
World War II.
The
state boasts the lowest population density in the nation.
The
discovery of gold in the Yukon began a gold rush in 1898. Later gold
was discovered at Nome and Fairbanks.
Agattu,
Attu, and Kiska in Alaska are the only parts of North America that
were occupied by Japanese troops during World War II.
Oil
is the state's most valuable natural resource. The area includes
what is thought to be the largest oil field in North America.
In
1986 Mount Augustine erupted near Anchorage.
Alaska's
geographic center is 60 miles northwest of Mount McKinley.
Juneau
is the only capital city in the United States accessible only by
boat or plane.
The
state's largest city is Anchorage; the second largest is Fairbanks.
The
Alaska Range is the largest mountain chain in the state. It covers
from the Alaska Peninsula to the Yukon Territory.
In
1915 the record high temperature in Alaska was 100 degrees
Fahrenheit at Fort Yukon; the record low temperature was -80 degrees
Fahrenheit at Prospect Creek Camp in 1971.
The
Alaskan malamute sled dog is strong and heavily coated. It was
developed as a breed by a group of Eskimos named the Malemiuts.
Alaska's
name is based on the Eskimo word Alakshak meaning great lands or
peninsula.
Back to Top of Page |
