Facts

1. Alaska is the furthest north state of the United States. It borders Canada to it’s East. To Alaska’s north is the Arctic Ocean and it has the Pacific Ocean on it’s west and south. The Bering Strait is the waterway 82 kilometres wide that stretches between Cape Dezhnev in Russia and Cape Prince of Wales in Alaska.
2. By land area Alaska is the largest of the 50 states with an area of 663,268 square miles. Alaska is 2,261 miles wide and 1,420 miles long. Despite it’s excessive amount of land Alaska is the fourth least populated state and easily the least densely populated with around half of the state’s population living within the Anchorage metropolitan area.
3. Alaska has the longest coastline of all the United States and if you added all the coastlines of the other 49 states together it still wouldn’t add up to the amount of coastline Alaska has. Alaska is the only non-contiguous U.S. state on continental America with it being 500 miles away from it’s nearest neighbour Washington state.
4. As Alaska stretches in to the Eastern hemisphere it is technically both the westernmost and the easternmost state of the United States, as well as being the northernmost. Only 18 sovereign nations are larger than the state of Alaska which is over twice as large as Texas.
5. South Central Alaska is the southern coastal region where much of Alaska’s population is situated. The most populated city of Alaska, Anchorage is located here as well as towns such as Palmer and Wasilla.
6. The Alaska Panhandle which is sometimes known as Southeast Alaska is where the state capital Juneau is located and lies west from the northern half of British Columbia of Canada. Most of Southern Alaska’s area forms part of the Tongass National Forest whoch is the largest national forest of the United States.
7. Southwest Alaska includes a huge area of relatively unknown terrain. Much of the region is coastal but it still contains thousands of square miles of varying terrain such as forests, swamplands and highlands. Southwest Alaska includes the Pribilof islands, Nunivak Island and other Bering Sea islands which are west of the Alaska coast.
8. Most of Alaska’s territory is situated in the Alaska Interior. Most of the Alaska Interior is wilderness but it does contain Alaska’s second largest city, Fairbanks. It also includes the town North Pole as well as Eagle, Delta Junction and Cantwell amongst others. Also in the Alaska Interior are some of the states most famous mountains including Mount McKinley, the Wrangell Mountains and the Ray Mountains.
9. The Alaska North Slope is the region of Alaska that sits on the northern slope of the Brooks Range of mountains. This region is home of the National Petroleum Reserve which according to an assessment by the United States Geological Survey has only 10% of the amount of oil that was originally believed to be there.
10. There are a chain of 14 large volcanic islands and 57 smaller islands that make up the Aleutian Islands that mark the line between the Bering Sea and the Pacific ocean. This stretch of islands is the westernmost part of the United States. Nearly all of the chain of islands belongs to the state of Alaska and is sometimes known as the Alaskan Bush. The Aleutian Islands are in the Pacific Ring of Fire which is a region where around 90% of the world’s earthquakes occur and is also subject to many volcanic eruptions.
11. Unimak Island which is the largest of the Aleutian Islands in the state of Alaska is the ninth largest island in the United States and is home to Mount Shishaldin which is one the world’s ten most active volcanoes. Mount Shishaldin is the most symmetrical cone shaped large mountain on Earth. According to the 2000 census Unimak Island has a population of 64 all living in the city of False Pass.
12. Alaska has over three million lakes. Just over 3,200 of these are officially named natural lakes. Alsaka also has 67 named artificial reservoirs and 167 named dams. As well as all that Alaska is home to 43 officially named waterfalls and over 12,000 rivers. According to the United States Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System Alaska contains around 9,700 named rivers,creeks and streams.
13. Due to its vast land area the climate of the state of Alaska is high variable. The southeast of Alaska tends to be the wettest and warmest part of Alaska and is the only region of Alaska where the average daytime temperature is agove freezing. The south central Alaska region is subject to some of the milder conditions Alaska has to offer due to it’s coastal proximity. The Western Alaska climate is especially variable with some parts getting less than 10 inches of rain annually whilst others get 100 inches per year. The climate of the Alaskan Interior is extreme. In the summer temperatures exceed 90 degrees fahrenheit whilst in the winter they can sink as low as -60 degrees fahrenheit. The north of Alaska has an Arctic climate with long, cold winters and snow can fall any month of the year.
14. Before the arrival of European people to Alaska it was home to many indigenous people. The Tlingit people which means people of the tides were a hunter-gatherer culture that used to reside in the rainforest of the southeast Alaska coastal area. The Haida nation had people in Canada and Alaska and are known for their art which is often expressed in ornate jewellery or totem poles. Alaska was also home to peoples such as the Tsimshian, the Aleut and the Alutiiq.
15. The Inuit are the people many people most associate with Alaska. In the United States the term Eskimo is more commonly used to describe the Inuit. This group contains the Yupik and the Inupiat peoples even though Inuit is not an accepted term for the Yupik. Inuit in American mainly speak English but many also speak Danish. Famously the husky breed comes from Inuit breeding of dogs and wolves for transportation using sleds.
16. The United States acquired Alaska from the Russian Empire for $7.2 million in 1867. Russia fearing war with Britain that would allow Britain to take Alaska with Russiia receiving no compensation, wanted to sell it. The purchase of Alaska was negotiated by U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward to mixed reactions with opponents naming it “Seward’s Folly”.
17. Alaska was known as the Department of Alaska until it’s admission to the Union in 1959.
18. During the late 19th century gold rushes bought thousands of settlers to Alaska. With it’s growing population Alaska was incorporated as an organised territory 1912 and moved it’s capital to Juneau from it’s previous home of Sitka. The three Aleutian Islands Atttu, Agattu and Kiska were invaded and occupied by Japanese troops during World War II and Unalaska/Dutch Harbor became a major base for the U.S. Army Corps and Navy.
19. On March 27th, 1964 the Good Friday Earthquake which was the third most powerful earthquake ever recorded killed 133 people and destroyed several villages and large parts of coastal communities mainly caused by the resulting landslides and tsunamis. The Good Friday Earthquake had a moment magnitude of 9.2 which is over a thousand times more powerful than the San Francisco earthquake of 1989.
20. According to the United States Census Bereau the population of Alaska as of July 2012 was just over 730,000 people. The only states less populous than Alaska are North Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming. Alsaka is the tenth wealthiest state per capita income and as of April 2012 had an unemployment rate of 6.9%.
21. According to results from the 2005-2007 American Community Survey 84.7% of Alaska’s population speak English as a first language, 3.5% speak Spanish, 2.2% speak an Indo-European language and about 4.3% speak an Asian language. 5.2 % of Alaskans speak one of the indigenous or native languages which are mainly comprised of Eskimo-Aleut or Na-Dene.
22. According to statistics about 40% of the Alaskan population are members of religious congregations. Just over 78,00 people identified themselves as Evangelical Protestants, just over 54,00 identified themselves as Roman Catholic and just over 37,000 identified themselves as mainline Protestants. Along with Washington and Oregon, Alaska is one of the least religious of the United States when it comes to church membership.
23. In 2007 the gorse state product of Alaska was just under $50 billion. This places Alaska 45th in the United States whilst it’s per capita income places Alaska 15th in the United States. The economy of Alaska is dominated by the oil and gas industry with over 80% of Alaska’s revenue coming form petroleum extraction. Apart form oil and gas the next biggest exports of Alaska are seafood. Mainly salmon, cod and crab.
24. The largest employers in Alaska in descending order are Providence Health& Services with is a non-profit Catholic health care ministry, Walmart/Sam’s Club, Carrs Safeway Alaska Division which is a supermarket chain based in Anchorage, Fred Meyer which is a chain of superstores, The Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and Trident Seafoods which is the largest seafood company in the United States.
25. Alaska is home to a large amount of natural resources. Alaska ranks second in all of the United States for crude oil production and Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope is the highest yielding oil field in the United States producing around 400,000 barrels a day. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline is capable of pumping 2.1 million barrels of crude oil per day.
26. Traditionally Alaska has had a higher cost of living than the rest of the United States but in Anchorage and Fairbanks the cost of living has dropped over the last half a decade in part due to large superstore such as Walmart opening stores. Federal employees in Alaska receive a Cost of Living Allowance to help, with some federal employees earning as much as 25% of base pay extra to accommodate this.
27. Due to it’s northern climate and short growing season Alaska has very little in the way of farming. As Alaska has a short 100 day growing season most of the year is unproductive but due to the length of the summer days the time in which the farming is possible is very productive. The Primary crops consist of potatoes, carrots, lettuce and cabbage.
28. Compared to the rest of the United States, Alaska has a sparse road network. The roads cover a small proportion of the state linking the main population of Alaska and the Alaska Highway which is the main route out of Alaska and into Canada. Juneau the state capital cannot be accessed by road, only by ferry or air which has led to a long running debate about either building a road connection to Haines or moving the capital form Juneau to somewhere more accessible like Anchorage or Fairbanks.
29. The Alaska Railroad spans from Seward and Whittier in southern Alaska passing through Anchorage to Fairbanks and beyond to Elston Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright. Unusually for a railway it carries both freight and passengers through it’s system. It has a mainline over 470 miles long and including branch lines and siding tracks is over 500 miles long.
30. Due to Alaska’s small road network many of it cities and towns are only accessible by air, river or sea. Alaska has a star owned ferry system called the Alaska Marine Highway which serves the cities and towns of the southeast, the Gulf Coast and the Alaska Peninsula. The ferries transport vehicles as well as passengers.
31. The cities in Alaska that are neither accessible by road or waterway can be reached only by air, foot, sled or snowmachine. Air travel is by far the easiest way in and out of Alaska and Anchorage has just undergone extensive construction to it’s main airport Ted Stevens Anchorage International to accommodate the upsurge in visitors by air.
32. Alaska’s government is split into three branches like the rest of the United States. The executive branch which consists of the Governor of Alaska and the elected constitutional officers, the legislative branch which is the Alaska House of Representatives and Alaska Senate and finally the judicial branch which consists of the Alaska Supreme Court and the lower courts.
33. Anchorage is in the south-central part of the state of Alaska. Under its official name the Municipality of Anchorage it is the northernmost city of the United States with over 100,000 residents. Anchorage has just under 300,00 people that live there and is the largest community in all of North America north of the 60th parallel. Anchorage residents make up more than 40% of the population of Alaska and has been named the most tax friendly city in the United States.
34. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of the state of Alaska and the second largest city behind Anchorage of the whole state. Fairbanks has the motto of The Golden Heart City. the city of Fairbanks is home to the University of Alaska Fairbanks which is the oldest current college in Alaska after being established in 1917.
35. The state capital of Alaska is Juneau which is located on the Gastineau Channel in the Alaskan Panhandle. By area Juneau is the second largest city in the United States and is larger than the state of Delaware, almost as large as Delaware and Rhode Island combined. The city is named after the gold prospector Joe Juneau although it has formerly gone by the names Rockwell and Harrisburg. With a population of just over 32,000 people Juneau is the second most populous city in Alaska.
36. The city of Sitka which was known as New Archangel when it was under Russian rule is the former capital city of Alaska. Sitka was originally settled over 10,000 years ago by the Tlingit people. Sitka was the site where the Alaska purchase took place and every year Sitka holds an Alaska Day Festival which includes a ceremony reenacting the signing.
37. The police agency of Alaska is the Alaska State Troopers. They handle both traffic and law enforcement. Due to the fact that Alaska has no counties and therefore no county police the Alaska State Troopers are also responsible for handling civil papers. In the whole of the state of Alaska there are only around 1300 full time law enforcement officers to patrol the largest state on the whole country.
38. Alaska is home of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The annual event that runs from Anchorage to Nome sees Mushers and a team of 16 dogs cover the distance which takes around 9-15 days. Teams often race through hazardous conditions like blizzards and gale force winds which can cause the wind chill to reach temperatures as low as -100 degrees fahrenheit.
39. Carlos Boozer of NBA fame grew up in Juneau. He used to practice with his father outside his local school in the cold Alaskan weather. Boozer attended Juneau-Douglas High School and played for their basketball team the Crimson Bears leading them to back to back state titles. Boozer has represented the Cleveland Cavaliers, the utah Jazz and the Chicago Bulls in his time in the NBA.
40. Jewel Kilcher the singer songwriter/poet grew up in Homer, Alaska. Her debut album Pieces of You is one of the best selling debut albums of all time and went 15 times platinum. jewel is also a notable poet and her book A Night Without Armor despite mixed reviews sold over a million copies.
41. Sarah Palin grew up Alaska spending time living in Skagway, Eagle River and Wasilla. Palin is a famous politician who is regularly in the headlines. Sarah Palin served as the ninth Governor of Alaska and was the Republican Party nominee for Vice president in the 2008 presidential election alongside Senator john McCain. Palin’s memoir Going Rogue: An American Life has sold over two million copies and she also hosted a television show named Sarah Palin’s Alaska which she said was aimed to show the wonder and majesty of Alaska to all Americans.
42. Don Simpson was a major movie producer and screenwriter. Along with his producing partner Jerry Bruckheimer, Simpson produced global hits such as Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop, Bad Boys and The Rock. The films of Bruckheimer/Simpson earned around $3 billion. Simpson was born in Seattle but grew up in Anchorage where he attended West Anchorage High School. In 1985 and 1988 Simpson and Bruckheimer were named Producers of the Year.
43. The state motto of Alaska is North to the Future. It has a few nicknames including The Last Frontier, land of the Midnight Sun and Seward’s Icebox. The state bird is the Willow Ptarmigan and the state flower is the Forget-me-not. The state song is Alaska’s Flag which in it’s lyrics explains the symbolism of the Alaskan flag.
44. The highest point in Alaska is Mount McKinley with a summit elevation of 20,320 feet above sea level. Going by topographic prominence it is the third most prominent peak in the world behind Mount Everest and Acongua. Mount McKinley has two notable summits. North and South with the southern summit being the higher one. The Koyuken Athabaskan people who live in the area around the mountain call the peak Denali which means the great one.
45. Alaska was the 49th state admitted to the Union on January 3rd, 1959. The purchase of Alaska from Russia was finalised on March 30th, 1867 at a price of roughly two cents per acre. The name Alaska comes from the Aleut word alaxsxaq which means “the object towards which the action of the sea is directed”. It is also sometimes known as Alyeska which means “great land” and is derived from the same word.
46. An unnamed draftsman was responsible for the creation of the Alaska state seal in 1910. The seal consists of a rising sun shining over forests, lake, fishing and shipping boats and agricultural and mining activities. The rays above the mountains represent the Northern Lights, the smelter represents mining, the train represents the rail, the ships the marine transportation, the trees represent Alaska’s abundance of forests, the farmer represents Alaskan agriculture and the fish and seals on the outer circle represent the importance of seafood and wildlife to Alaska’s economy.
47. The Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis are clearly visible in Alaska and attract many tourists. The best time to view them is in the dead of winter when Alaska is coldest and darkest. Potentially they can be seen all over the state of Alaska but the best place to view the Northern Lights is Fairbanks which is geographically under the “aurora oval”.
48. The Exit Glacier is derived from the Harding Icefield in the Kenai Mountains of the state of Alaska. In the Spring of 1968 a ten man mountaineering party documented the first successful crossing of the Harding Icefield. The Exit Glacier is especially notable for being a drive up glacier and ranger-led walks are a popular tourist attraction.
49. The Homer Spit is a geographical landmark in Homer, Alaska. It is located on the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula. The Homer Spit is long piece of land, around 4.5 miles that is also home to Homer Boat Harbor. The Spit includes the Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon which is an artificial fishing hole. Hundreds of Eagles have gathered at the Homer Spit to be fed. The Spit has the longest road into ocean waters in the world which takes 10-15 minutes by car.
50. The Susitna River is a 313 mile long river situated in the Southcentral Alaska region. The Susitna is the 15th largest river in the United States and stretches from the Susitna Glacier to Cook Inlet. Susitna is a Dena’ian indian name which means “sandy river”. The river is spanned on the eastern edge of the Denali State Park by Gold Creek by the Susitna River Bridge which is a railroad bridge of the Alaska Railroad .