The great state of Alaska could be a place of startling beauty and contrasts. From the frozen tundra of the north, to the rain forests of the southeast, to the majestic mountain ranges and beautiful coastlines, Alaska has it all. Nicknamed as "The Last Frontier", Alaska has the most important expanses of pristine wilderness within the us.
A Mecca for tourists, naturalists, sportsmen and a lot of, Alaska has one thing to supply everybody. it's a wonderland for out of doors activities; hiking, backpacking, fishing, hunting, skiing, kayaking and most a lot of. I had the great fortune to possess grown up in Alaska and though I even have been within the "lower 48" for over thirty years currently, I still take into account it home. All Alaskans take special pride in their state, and that i am no exception!
I hope you relish these twenty five attention-grabbing and fun facts concerning Alaska and perhaps even learn one thing new:
Alaska's size vs. continental us
1. Alaska's name comes from the Eskimo word Alakshak that means "great lands" or "peninsula".
2. Sorry Texas, however Alaska is by way the most important state within the union and is over twice the scale of Texas. From north to south Alaska is approximately one,400 miles long and a couple of,700 miles wide from west to east.
3. Alaska could be a geographical marvel. When a scale map of Alaska is superimposed on a map of the forty eight lower states, Alaska extends from coast to coast.
4. Alaska has the longest coastline of any state. The Alaskan coastline runs for six,640 miles, quite all the opposite states' coastlines combined. That's not together with the coastlines of all its islands. together with them, Alaska has thirty three,904 miles of shoreline.
Mt. Redoubt volcano erupting
5. Alaska has over a hundred volcanoes and volcanic fields that are active among the last one.5 million years. Over forty of those are active in historic times accounting for concerning eightieth of all active volcanoes within the us and eight of all active above-water volcanoes on earth.
6. An estimated a hundred,000 glaciers cowl virtually 5 %, over 25,000 sq. miles of the state. There are a lot of active glaciers in Alaska than within the remainder of the inhabited world.
7. In 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward offered Russia $7,200,000 for Alaska. That works out to a mere two cents per acre. Alaska officially became the property of the us on October eighteen, 1867. Seeing the acquisition as a foolish move, several Americans derisively remarked it as "Seward's Folly".
8. Contrary to well-liked belief, Alaska isn't the smallest amount populous state within the union. With a population of over 710,000 people, Alaska ranks 47thahead of North Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming in total population. It does, however, have rock bottom population density at one.2 inhabitants per sq. mile. Next closest is Wyoming that averages five.8 inhabitants per sq. mile.
a panoramic Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights
9. The Aurora Borealis, or northern lights as they're commonly known as, is seen a mean of 243 days a year in Fairbanks. The northern lights are created by charged particles from the sun placing the earth's higher atmosphere. These charges particles cause gases within the higher atmosphere to glow very similar to the gas in florescent lights.
10. Barrow, the farthest North yank town, has no sunset for concerning eighty four days between could and August because the sun circles on top of the horizon. this can be additionally called the midnight sun.
11. The trans-Alaska pipeline, completed in 1977, was engineered to move oil from the North Slope to the Gulf of Alaska . At roughly $1 billion bucks per a hundred miles, it value of $48 billion to create. It reaches from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez and traverses no but 3 mountain ranges - The Brooks vary, Alaska vary and therefore the Chugach vary.
Denali, "the nice One" additionally called Mt. McKinley
12. Mount McKinley rises twenty,320 feet on top of ocean level and is that the tallest mountain in North America. Its native and most well-liked name, "Denali", suggests that the "The nice One" that it surely is.
13. Juneau, the capital of Alaska, cannot be accessed by road from the remainder of the state!
14. Alaska contains seventeen of the twenty highest mountain peaks within the U.S.
15. At its closest purpose, Alaska is a smaller amount than three miles from Russia. If Sarah Palin had engineered her home on very little Diomede Island she would are telling the reality concerning seeing Russia from her home!
16. With a district of 3595 sq. miles, Kodiak Island is that the 2nd largest island within the U.S. next to the island of Hawaii at 4021 sq. miles.
17. Alaska is that the solely state to possess coastlines on 3 totally different seas, the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and therefore the Bering ocean.
Alaska's Flag - eight stars of gold on a field of blue
18. The Alaska flag, eight stars of gold on a field of blue was designed 1926 by 13-year-old Bennie Benson from Cognac, Alaska. Seven stars kind the massive Dipper (Ursa Major) constellation and therefore the eighth is Polaris or the North Star.
19. Alaska has six times as several pilots and sixteen times as several aircraft per capita because the remainder of the country. Lake Hood, in Anchorage, is that the world's busiest seaplane base averaging 800 takeoffs and landings on a peak summer day.
20. Alaska has each the easternmost and westernmost points within the us, kind of! The one hundred and eightieth meridian, the dividing line between east and west longitudes, passes through the Aleutian Islands, a part of Alaska. So, if you scrutinize it this manner, the westernmost purpose is Amatignak Island at 179'10" west longitude. The easternmost is Pochnoi purpose at 179'46" east longitude.
An Alaskan glacier spills into the ocean. (Note the scale of the cruise ship for scale.)
21. quite 1/2 of the world's active glaciers are in Alaska.
22. Cheechako, a native word that means "tenderfoot" or "greenhorn" refers to those with but one year of residence in Alaska. A "Sourdough" could be a long-standing Alaskan resident.
23. The record warmth in Alaska was a hundred degrees Fahrenheit set in 1915 at Fort Yukon. The record low temperature of -80 degrees Fahrenheit was set in 1971 at Prospect Creek Camp.
24. The Yukon River is that the longest river in Alaska, the fifth largest river in North America and therefore the third largest within the U.S.
25. throughout World War II Japan invaded the Aleutian Islands that started the One Thousand Mile War, the primary battle fought on yank soil since the Civil War.
Ten fun facts concerning Alaska
Fact 1:
There is quite 3 million lakes in Alaska.
Fact 2:
Dog mushing is that the official state sport. The Alaska Legislature adopted it in 1972.
Fact 3:
Alaska's name is predicated on the Eskimo word Alakshak that means nice lands or peninsula.
Fact 4:
17 of the twenty highest peaks within the us are located in Alaska.
Fact 5:
The first settlement in Alaska was established by Russian whalers and fur traders on Kodiak Island in 1784.
Fact 6:
The Alaska Highway was originally engineered as a military provide road throughout World War II.
Fact 7:
In 1867 us Secretary of State William H. Seward offered Russia $7,200,000, or 2 cents per acre, for Alaska.
Fact 8:
In America Alaska is additionally known as the 'Lower 48'.
Fact 9:
Southwest Alaska is well-liked for its stormy weather, tundra landscapes, and enormous populations of marine mammals.
Fact 10:
Nearly one-third of Alaska lies among the Arctic Circle.
A Mecca for tourists, naturalists, sportsmen and a lot of, Alaska has one thing to supply everybody. it's a wonderland for out of doors activities; hiking, backpacking, fishing, hunting, skiing, kayaking and most a lot of. I had the great fortune to possess grown up in Alaska and though I even have been within the "lower 48" for over thirty years currently, I still take into account it home. All Alaskans take special pride in their state, and that i am no exception!
I hope you relish these twenty five attention-grabbing and fun facts concerning Alaska and perhaps even learn one thing new:
Alaska's size vs. continental us
1. Alaska's name comes from the Eskimo word Alakshak that means "great lands" or "peninsula".
2. Sorry Texas, however Alaska is by way the most important state within the union and is over twice the scale of Texas. From north to south Alaska is approximately one,400 miles long and a couple of,700 miles wide from west to east.
3. Alaska could be a geographical marvel. When a scale map of Alaska is superimposed on a map of the forty eight lower states, Alaska extends from coast to coast.
4. Alaska has the longest coastline of any state. The Alaskan coastline runs for six,640 miles, quite all the opposite states' coastlines combined. That's not together with the coastlines of all its islands. together with them, Alaska has thirty three,904 miles of shoreline.
Mt. Redoubt volcano erupting
5. Alaska has over a hundred volcanoes and volcanic fields that are active among the last one.5 million years. Over forty of those are active in historic times accounting for concerning eightieth of all active volcanoes within the us and eight of all active above-water volcanoes on earth.
6. An estimated a hundred,000 glaciers cowl virtually 5 %, over 25,000 sq. miles of the state. There are a lot of active glaciers in Alaska than within the remainder of the inhabited world.
7. In 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward offered Russia $7,200,000 for Alaska. That works out to a mere two cents per acre. Alaska officially became the property of the us on October eighteen, 1867. Seeing the acquisition as a foolish move, several Americans derisively remarked it as "Seward's Folly".
8. Contrary to well-liked belief, Alaska isn't the smallest amount populous state within the union. With a population of over 710,000 people, Alaska ranks 47thahead of North Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming in total population. It does, however, have rock bottom population density at one.2 inhabitants per sq. mile. Next closest is Wyoming that averages five.8 inhabitants per sq. mile.
a panoramic Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights
9. The Aurora Borealis, or northern lights as they're commonly known as, is seen a mean of 243 days a year in Fairbanks. The northern lights are created by charged particles from the sun placing the earth's higher atmosphere. These charges particles cause gases within the higher atmosphere to glow very similar to the gas in florescent lights.
10. Barrow, the farthest North yank town, has no sunset for concerning eighty four days between could and August because the sun circles on top of the horizon. this can be additionally called the midnight sun.
11. The trans-Alaska pipeline, completed in 1977, was engineered to move oil from the North Slope to the Gulf of Alaska . At roughly $1 billion bucks per a hundred miles, it value of $48 billion to create. It reaches from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez and traverses no but 3 mountain ranges - The Brooks vary, Alaska vary and therefore the Chugach vary.
Denali, "the nice One" additionally called Mt. McKinley
12. Mount McKinley rises twenty,320 feet on top of ocean level and is that the tallest mountain in North America. Its native and most well-liked name, "Denali", suggests that the "The nice One" that it surely is.
13. Juneau, the capital of Alaska, cannot be accessed by road from the remainder of the state!
14. Alaska contains seventeen of the twenty highest mountain peaks within the U.S.
15. At its closest purpose, Alaska is a smaller amount than three miles from Russia. If Sarah Palin had engineered her home on very little Diomede Island she would are telling the reality concerning seeing Russia from her home!
16. With a district of 3595 sq. miles, Kodiak Island is that the 2nd largest island within the U.S. next to the island of Hawaii at 4021 sq. miles.
17. Alaska is that the solely state to possess coastlines on 3 totally different seas, the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and therefore the Bering ocean.
Alaska's Flag - eight stars of gold on a field of blue
18. The Alaska flag, eight stars of gold on a field of blue was designed 1926 by 13-year-old Bennie Benson from Cognac, Alaska. Seven stars kind the massive Dipper (Ursa Major) constellation and therefore the eighth is Polaris or the North Star.
19. Alaska has six times as several pilots and sixteen times as several aircraft per capita because the remainder of the country. Lake Hood, in Anchorage, is that the world's busiest seaplane base averaging 800 takeoffs and landings on a peak summer day.
20. Alaska has each the easternmost and westernmost points within the us, kind of! The one hundred and eightieth meridian, the dividing line between east and west longitudes, passes through the Aleutian Islands, a part of Alaska. So, if you scrutinize it this manner, the westernmost purpose is Amatignak Island at 179'10" west longitude. The easternmost is Pochnoi purpose at 179'46" east longitude.
An Alaskan glacier spills into the ocean. (Note the scale of the cruise ship for scale.)
21. quite 1/2 of the world's active glaciers are in Alaska.
22. Cheechako, a native word that means "tenderfoot" or "greenhorn" refers to those with but one year of residence in Alaska. A "Sourdough" could be a long-standing Alaskan resident.
23. The record warmth in Alaska was a hundred degrees Fahrenheit set in 1915 at Fort Yukon. The record low temperature of -80 degrees Fahrenheit was set in 1971 at Prospect Creek Camp.
24. The Yukon River is that the longest river in Alaska, the fifth largest river in North America and therefore the third largest within the U.S.
25. throughout World War II Japan invaded the Aleutian Islands that started the One Thousand Mile War, the primary battle fought on yank soil since the Civil War.
Ten fun facts concerning Alaska
Fact 1:
There is quite 3 million lakes in Alaska.
Fact 2:
Dog mushing is that the official state sport. The Alaska Legislature adopted it in 1972.
Fact 3:
Alaska's name is predicated on the Eskimo word Alakshak that means nice lands or peninsula.
Fact 4:
17 of the twenty highest peaks within the us are located in Alaska.
Fact 5:
The first settlement in Alaska was established by Russian whalers and fur traders on Kodiak Island in 1784.
Fact 6:
The Alaska Highway was originally engineered as a military provide road throughout World War II.
Fact 7:
In 1867 us Secretary of State William H. Seward offered Russia $7,200,000, or 2 cents per acre, for Alaska.
Fact 8:
In America Alaska is additionally known as the 'Lower 48'.
Fact 9:
Southwest Alaska is well-liked for its stormy weather, tundra landscapes, and enormous populations of marine mammals.
Fact 10:
Nearly one-third of Alaska lies among the Arctic Circle.
