Alaska (/əˈlæskə/(listenⓘ)), officially the State of Alaska, is a state in the United States. It is in the northwest corner of North America near Asia (Russia), making it the nearest U.S. state and overall country's jurisdiction to Asian continent.
Alaska became an organized (or incorporated) territory on May 11, 1912. It became the 49th state on January 3, 1959.
The name Alaska comes from the Aleut word alaxsaq. This means "the mainland" or "the object towards which the action of the sea is directed." The land is also called Alyeska, which is another Aleut word that means "the great land." The Russian name was Аляска.
Alaska mainly exports seafood, primarily salmon, cod, Pollock and crab. The oil and gas industry is very important in the Alaskan economy. More than 80% of the state's revenues is from petroleum extraction.
"Seward's Folly"
William H. Seward, the 24th United States Secretary of State, negotiated the Alaska Purchase with the Russians in 1867 for $7.2 million. It was called Seward's Folly at the time.
Russia's ruler then was Tsar Alexander II, the Emperor of the Russian Empire, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland. He also planned the sale.
The purchase was made on March 30, 1867. Six months later the commissioners arrived in Sitka and the formal transfer was arranged; the formal flag-raising took place at Fort Sitka on October 18, 1867. In the ceremony 250 uniformed U.S. soldiers marched to the governor's house at "Castle Hill", where the Russian troops lowered the Russian flag and the U.S. flag was raised. This event is celebrated as Alaska Day, a legal holiday on October 18.
Geography
Map showing how big Alaska is compared to the other states
The capital city is Juneau, but the biggest city is Anchorage. Alaska is the biggest state in the United States, but it has one of the smallest populations. It is also the least densely populated: more than half of the population live in the Anchorage Metropolitan Area. Alaska has almost 20% of all the land in the U.S., but only about 0.2% of the people. It is not connected to any other states by Americanland, but it is connected to the territories of Yukon and British Columbia in Canada.
Alaska has many glaciers, some of which can be seen from passing cruise ships. Some are coastal, and others are not by the ocean. It is a popular tourist destination, as there is a very rich culture along with beautiful scenery. There are wild animals in Alaska. Some of them are the brown bear, the moose, and the wolf.
Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest in the United States, is in Southeast Alaska. The state capital Juneau, and the former capital Sitka, are in Southeast Alaska.
Aleutian Islands
Many active volcanoes are found in the Aleutians in Alaska. They are a chain of 14 large volcanic islands and 55 smaller islands. Most of the Aleutian Islands belong to the U.S. state of Alaska, but some belong to Russia.
One of the world's largest tides occur in Turnagain Arm, just south of Anchorage, where the differences in the tides can be more than 35 feet (10.7 m).
It is widely believed that the region served as the entry point for the initial settlement of North America by way of the Bering land bridge.
State symbols
State Motto: North to the Future
Nicknames: "The Last Frontier" or "Land of the Midnight Sun" or "Seward's Icebox"
State bird: Willow Ptarmigan, decided by the Territorial Legislature in 1955. It is a small (15–17inches) Arctic grouse that lives among willows and on open tundra and muskeg. Feathers are brown in summer, changing to white in winter. The Willow Ptarmigan is common in much of Alaska.
State flower: wild/native Forget-me-not, decided by the Territorial Legislature in 1917. It is a perennial that is found throughout Alaska, from Hyder to the Arctic Coast, and west to the Aleutians.
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