Alaska Facts: Alaska is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. It is in the Western United States region. The only other non-contiguous U.S. state is Hawaii. In addition, Alaska is regarded as the state that is the furthest north, west, and east in the union (the Aleutian Islands span the 180th meridian into the eastern hemisphere).
It borders the Canadian territory of Yukon and the province of British Columbia to the east. It shares a western maritime border, in the Bering Strait, with Russia’s Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. The Pacific Ocean lies to the south, and the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas of the Arctic Ocean lie to the north. It is the largest exclave in the world, albeit a semi-exclave of the United States.
Alaska is the largest U.S. state by area, it is the sixth-largest subnational division in the world, with a total area greater than the combined areas of the next three largest states, Texas, California, and Montana. It is the third-least populous and most sparsely populated U.S. state, but is the most populous territory on the continent, mostly situated north of the 60th parallel, with a population of 736,081 as of 2020—more than four times the combined population of Northern Canada and Greenland.
The state is home to Juneau, the state capital, as well as the four largest cities in the country by area. The state’s most populous city is Anchorage, and approximately half of Alaska’s residents live within its metropolitan area.
Alaska Facts, Here We Go….
- Alaska is the largest state in the U.S. with 663,268 square miles (1,717,856 sq km) of total area.
- Alaska’s total area exceeds that of the 22 smallest U.S. states put together, as well as the combined areas of Texas, California, and Montana.
- Alaska belonged to the Russian Empire until March 30, 1867, when it was acquired by the United States for a total of US$ 7.2 million, or US$ 12.5 per square mile of land.
- Alaska was admitted as the 49th state of the United States on January 3, 1959.
- The Aleut word for Alaska is “object to which the action of the sea is directed.”
- Although Alaska is the only non-contiguous state, it is technically a part of the continental United States.
- With 738,432 residents, Alaska is the third least populated state in the union and the most sparsely populated of the 50 states.
- About half of Alaska’s residents live around the Anchorage metropolitan area.
- Juneau is the capital city of Alaska. It’s the second most populous city.
- Alaska is divided into six regions: the Aleutian Islands, South Central, Southeast, Interior, Southwest, and North Slope.
- Alaska boasts nearly 34,000 miles of tidal shoreline and more than three million lakes.
- About 65% of Alaska is owned and managed by the U.S. federal government as public lands.
- There’s little private land ownership in Alaska, the smallest percentage among U.S. states.
- The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, located in Alaska, is the world’s largest wildlife refuge, comprising 16 million acres (6.5 million hectares).
- Alaska’s economy is dominated by the fishing, oil, and natural gas sectors.
- On January 23, 1971, at Prospect Creek, Alaska, the lowest official temperature ever recorded was -80 °F (-62 °C).
- On June 27, 1915, the highest temperature ever measured was 100 °F (38 °C).
- Over 66% of Alaskans are White, 5.4% Asian and 3.3% Black or African American. Indigenous peoples of Alaska constitute almost 15% of the population and include the Aleut, Iñupiat, Yupik, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida and the Tsimshian.
- According to research, the first Russian settlers in Alaska arrived in the 17th century, and the first permanent European settlement was established in 1784.
- From 1774 until 1800, even Spain sent expeditions to Alaska. But Sitka became the capital of Russia when they settled there.
- Sitka was the only American settlement for the first ten years, it flew the American flag. Juneau was named the capital of Alaska in 1906.
- Gold rushes started in the 1890s, bringing thousands of miners and settlers to Alaska.
- Later, the discovery of oil in 1968 led to an oil boom. Large state budgets have been financed by its earnings since 1980.
- Alaska was the 7th wealthiest state in 2018, with a per capita personal income of US$ 73,000.
- The cost of living in Alaska is one of the highest in the country, mostly due to reduced transportation and infrastructure.
- 83.4% of people in Alaska speak only English at home, while about 3.5% speak Spanish and about 4.3% speak an Asian language.
- With a governor, a Senate, a House of Representatives, and a Supreme Court, Alaska is run like a republic.
- Alaska has the lowest individual tax burden in the U.S since it does not impose a state sales tax or an individual income tax.
- A 13-year-old boy named Benny Benson designed Alaska’s state flag. In the 1920s, Benny entered a competition for young children to design the flag.
- “North to the Future” is Alaska’s state motto.
