Alaska Latest News

---

🇺🇸 ALASKA — FACTS

🇺🇸 General Facts

• Official name: State of Alaska
• Capital: Juneau
• Largest city: Anchorage
• Statehood: January 3, 1959
• Order of statehood: 49th state
• Region: Western United States
• Nickname: The Last Frontier
• Population: About 740,000
• Area: About 1.72 million km²
• State abbreviation: AK
• Time zones: Alaska Time and Hawaii-Aleutian Time
• U.S. Senators: 2
• U.S. House district: 1 at-large district

🏔️ Geography

• Highest point: Mt Mckinley — 6,190.5 m
• Lowest point: Pacific Ocean — sea level
• Largest city: Anchorage
• Largest lake: Iliamna Lake
• Longest river: Yukon River
• Highest mountain in North America: Denali
• Major mountain ranges: Alaska Range, Brooks Range, Saint Elias Mountains and Aleutian Range
• Coastline: About 10,700 km
• Neighboring country: Canada
• Nearby country: Russia, across the Bering Strait

🏙️ Major Cities

• Anchorage — largest city
• Fairbanks — major interior city
• Juneau — state capital
• Sitka — historic coastal city
• Ketchikan — major southeastern Alaska city
• Wasilla — major Matanuska-Susitna Valley city

🏛️ State Government

• State capital: Juneau
• Governor: Mike Dunleavy
• State legislature: Alaska Legislature
• Senate: Alaska Senate
• House: Alaska House of Representatives
• U.S. Senators: 2
• U.S. House representation: 1 at-large district

🌟 State Symbols

• State flower: Forget-me-not
• State bird: Willow ptarmigan
• State mammal: Moose
• State marine mammal: Bowhead whale
• State fish: King salmon
• State tree: Sitka spruce
• State mineral: Gold
• State insect: Four-spot skimmer dragonfly
• State fossil: Woolly mammoth
• State motto: “North to the Future”

📜 History

• First Peoples: Alaska has been home to Indigenous peoples for thousands of years, including Iñupiat, Yup’ik, Aleut, Alutiiq, Tlingit, Haida and Athabascan peoples.
• Russian settlement: Russia established settlements in Alaska beginning in the 18th century.
• Alaska Purchase: The United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867.
• Purchase price: $7.2 million
• Territory: Alaska became an organized U.S. territory in 1912.
• Statehood: January 3, 1959
• 49th state: Alaska became the 49th U.S. state.
• Gold Rush: Major gold discoveries brought large numbers of settlers to Alaska in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

🗻 Mountains & National Parks

• Mt Mckinley National Park and Preserve — home to North America’s highest mountain
• Wrangell–St. Elias National Park — the largest U.S. national park
• Gates of the Arctic National Park — vast wilderness north of the Arctic Circle
• Glacier Bay National Park — famous for glaciers and marine ecosystems
• Katmai National Park — famous for brown bears and volcanic landscapes
• Kenai Fjords National Park — known for glaciers and fjords

🐻 Wildlife

• 🐻 Brown bears
• 🐻 Black bears
• 🐻‍❄️ Polar bears
• 🫎 Moose
• 🦌 Caribou
• 🐺 Gray wolves
• 🦅 Bald eagles
• 🐋 Humpback whales
• 🐋 Orcas
• 🦭 Seals
• 🦦 Sea otters
• 🐐 Mountain goats
• 🐏 Dall sheep

🌎 Interesting Facts

• Alaska is the largest U.S. state by area.
• Alaska is more than twice the size of Texas.
• Denali is the highest mountain in North America.
• Alaska has the longest coastline of any U.S. state.
• Alaska contains the largest U.S. national park — Wrangell–St. Elias.
• Alaska is the westernmost, easternmost and northernmost U.S. state when considering its Aleutian Islands and geographic coordinates.
• Alaska is separated from Russia by the Bering Strait.
• Alaska has enormous areas of Arctic and subarctic wilderness.
• In parts of northern Alaska, the sun can remain above the horizon for weeks during summer.
• Alaska is one of the world’s major regions for salmon fishing.

🛢️ Economy & Natural Resources

• Oil and natural gas
• Fishing and seafood
• Mining
• Tourism
• Forestry
• Gold
• Coal
• Transportation
• Government and military services

❄️ Climate

• Climate: Ranges from Arctic and subarctic to temperate maritime
• Coldest regions: Interior and northern Alaska
• Mildest regions: Southeastern Alaska and parts of the Aleutian Islands
• Extreme daylight: Northern Alaska experiences periods of midnight sun and polar night.

🇺🇸 ALASKA — THE LAST FRONTIER, HOME TO DENALI, VAST WILDERNESS, GLACIERS AND SOME OF NORTH AMERICA’S MOST ICONIC WILDLIFE. 🏔️