Alaska (U.S. State)

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Map of Alaska (red) and the "lower 48", or mainland (white) of the U.S.

Alaska is the northernmost state of the U.S., becoming part of the U.S. in 1959 (along with Hawaii in the same year). It is also the largest geographically (586,412 square miles),^[1] but sparsely populated (pop. 733,583 as of 2022). The state capital is Juneau, and the most populous city is Anchorage.

Alaska has the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Pacific to the west and south, and it borders the Canadian provinces of Yukon Territory and British Columbia to the east. Thus, Alaska is physically separated from the mainland U.S., as is Hawaii. Alaskans refer to the contiguous 48 states of the mainland as "the lower 48."

The name “Alaska” is usually said to be taken from "Alyeska,"^[2] meaning "the great land" in the language of the Aleut Indians. Juneau is the capital of Alaska, although the name of Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, is probably better known. Alaska’s nickname is "The Last Frontier" and the state motto is "North to the Future".

Even more than in the western United States, something of a frontier mentality lives on in Alaska. Particularly outside of the largest municipalities, Anchorage (pop. 278,700) and Fairbanks (pop. 86,754), ^[3] it is difficult to forget that one is surrounded by wilderness. Alaska is unusually young (median age 33.4--only Texas and Utah are younger).^[4] It is also unusually male, with 107 men for every 100 women, and by far the most male of the states.^[5]

Sarah Palin was governor of Alaska when she was Senator John McCain's running mate in the failed Republican bid for the presidency in 2008. See the External Links tab for all current and past U.S. and state office-holders.

History of Alaska[edit]

In 1867, Secretary of State William H. Seward brokered a deal to buy Alaska from Russia. It was a controversial purchase that took months to be approved by the U.S. Congress. Critics called the $7.2 million price—about two cents per acre—a waste of government funds, and referred to the new territory as "Seward's Folly" or "Seward's Icebox."

Alaska's Aleutian Islands, specifically Kiska Island is the only US land that was occupied by a foreign entity since the War of 1812. Kiska had one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific Ocean during WWII and if you travel to Kiska today you can still see a shelled coast line with rusted anti aircraft artillery on the hillside pointed skyward.

Alaska became the forty-ninth state of the United States of America on January 3, 1959.

Climate of Alaska[edit]

Because Alaska is so large, its climate is diverse, ranging from oceanic (very wet with less temperature difference between the seasons that other areas) to arctic (extremely cold, with summer daytime temperatures at or just above freezing). As a result of the inhospitable climate and terrain of much of the state, Alaska has relatively little agriculture, although in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, just north of Anchorage, the short but intense growing season produces vegetables of enormous sizes.

Education in Alaska[edit]

The state supports a system of three universities; University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Alaska Anchorage and University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau.

See also[edit]

U.S. States and Territories

References[edit]