Alaska Info
| Info about Alaska |
General information about Alaska, the Last Frontier:
Alaska is the largest state, the furthest North, West and East (that's right, Alaska's Aleutian islands extend across the geographic division between West and East. The Diomede Islands (Alaska to the West and Russia to the East) are a mere 35 miles apart. Alaska is the largest state covering 570,374 square miles, or 365,037,104 acres. It is 1/5 the size of the contiguous 48 states. It has more coastline than all of the "Lower 48" states combined. Alaska also contains the largest peak on the North American continent, Mount McKinley, or as originally named, Denali. Topping 20,320', this is one of the most difficult mountians to climb in the world. Each year, over 1,000 climbers begin their sometimes month-long trek to the summit from a base camp of aproximately 7,500'. Less than 50% reach their goal.
Bald Eagles also call Alaska home. While residents of much of the contiguous lower-48 states rarely, if ever, sight this majestic bird, populations in Alaska have remained quite abundant. Indeed, at the beginning of the 20th century, Bald Eagles were a nusiance and had a bounty on their heads. In spite of this, the Bald Eagle has endured and prospered. It is a rare day to not see a Bald Eagle soaring above the Kenai River or other areas of Alaska in search of food.
Presently, the population is about 640,000... That's more than 570 acres per person in the state! Alaska was purchased in 1867 from Russia, and was called Seward's Folly because many believed Alaska to be a frozen wasteland (little did they know!). It became the 49th of the United States 1/3/1959, most likely because of its strategic value during the cold war. The capitol is Juneau and is located in the Southeast panhandle of Alaska. Primary Agriculture: Farming... dairy, poultry, and vegetables... who hasn't heard of the behemoth cabbages of Palmer? Primary Industry: Commercial fishing/crabbing, oil, wood, fur and tourism.
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