Facts about Alaska

Alaska has quite a variety of fish species.

The most prominent symphony in Alaska is the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, though the Juneau Symphony is also notable.

The Alaska Legislature has recently been dominated by conservatives, generally Republicans, and recent state governors have generally been conservative, although not always Republican.

An 1812 settlement giving Americans the right to the fur trade only below 55°N latitude was widely ignored, and the Russians' hold on Alaska weakened further.

No history of Alaska would be complete without mention of Soapy Smith, the crime–boss confidence–man who operated the largest criminal empire in gold rush era Alaska, until he was shot down by vigilantes.

What would become Alaska became populated by the Inuit and a variety of Native American groups who arrived in several waves.

American Indians and Alaska Natives make up 14.2 percent of the state's population (or 18.3 percent if those indicating both white and American Indian/Alaska Native races are included), the largest proportion of any state.

Much of the northwest Arctic coastal area west of the Colville River is included in the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska, which covers about 23,000,000 acres (93,100 kmІ).

The Rangifer tarandus granti subspecies of caribou ranges widely in Alaska's regions of tundra and the boreal forests in the mountains south of the tundra where many herds spend the winter months.

During the trip, he discovered what came to be known as Cook Inlet (named in honor of Cook in 1794 by George Vancouver, who had served under his command) in Alaska.

The Alaska Permanent Fund is a legislatively-controlled appropriation established in 1976 to manage a surplus in state petroleum revenues from the recently constructed Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.

The Alcan Highway, built during the war, and the Alaska Marine Highway System, completed in 1963, made the state more accessible than it had ever been.

Colonists were largely from northern states, such as Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, under the belief that only those who grew up in similar climates could handle life in cold Alaska.

Among these, the Bureau of Land Management manages 87 million acres (350,000 sq km), or 23.8 percent of the state, which area includes the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska.

Alaska, a state of the United States of America located in the extreme northwest portion of the North American continent, is the largest U.S. state with 591,004 square miles (1,530,700 square km) of land area.

Fishing is the practice of catching wild fish for food, recreation, trade, or their products.

On July 15, Chirikov sighted land, probably the west side of Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska.

Starting in 1982, dividends from the fund's annual growth have been paid out each year to eligible Alaskans, with amounts ranging from $331.29 in 1984, to $1963.86 in 2000.

The Alaskan wolf population was once extremely fragile due to hunting and trapping, malnutrition, disease, and conflict with humans.

Due to the northern climate and steep terrain, relatively little farming occurs in Alaska.

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline was ultimately completed in 1977, at a total cost of $8 billion.

The 1968 discovery of oil on the North Slope's Prudhoe Bay—which would turn out to have the most recoverable oil of any field in the United States—would change Alaska's political landscape for decades.

The United States flag was raised in Alaska on October 18, 1867 (now called Alaska Day).

Today, Spain's Alaskan legacy endures as little more than a few place names, among these the Malaspina Glacier and the town of Valdez.

The Coastal Indians were probably the first wave of immigrants to cross the Bering Land Bridge in western Alaska, although many of them initially settled in interior Canada.

Alaska's economy relies heavily on petroleum extraction, with more than 80 percent of the state's revenues derived from this industry.

On June 3, 1942, Japan launched an air attack on Dutch Harbor, a U.S. naval base on Unalaska Island, but were repelled by U.S. forces.

Dall sheep inhabit most of Alaska's mountain ranges where there is rocky terrain and steep, inclined land.

Today, early Alaskans are divided into several main groups: The Southeastern Coastal Indians (the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian), the Athabascans, the Aleut, and the two groups of Eskimos, the Inupiat and the Yup'ik.

Financial difficulties in Russia, the desire to keep Alaska out of British hands, and the low profits of trade with Alaskan settlements all contributed to Russia's willingness to sell its possessions in North America.

The extreme north of Alaska has a polar climate with long, very cold winters and short, cool summers.

Alaska's Little Diomede Island in the middle of the Bering Strait is only 2.5 miles from Russia's Big Diomede Island.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the provision of the Constitution saying one state should not hold sway over another's commerce did not apply because Alaska was only a territory.

Alaska’s McNeil River Falls has one of the largest brown bear population densities in the state.

Alaska’s extreme temperatures make the state an inhospitable environment for most species of amphibians and reptiles.

Influences on music in Alaska include the traditional music of Alaska Natives as well as folk music brought by later immigrants from Russia and Europe.

Considerable debate has taken place over how best to characterize tribes.

In areas not served by road or rail, primary summer transportation is by all-terrain vehicle and the primary winter transportation mode is by snowmobile, or "snow machine," as it is called in Alaska.

All goods entering or leaving Alaska had to be transported by American carriers and shipped to Seattle prior to further shipment, making Alaska dependent on Washington.

In 2007, Alaska had more than three times the people and five times the jobs it had when it became a state in 1959.

Alaska's most populous city is Anchorage, home to 277,000 people (2007 estimate)—42 percent of the state's population.

The Alaska Department of Fish & Game identifies only five species as endangered.

The Alaskan waters are home to two species of turtles, the leatherback sea turtle and the green sea turtle.

Alaska's brown bear population comprises about 98 percent of the U.S. and 70 percent of the North American total population.

Some of Alaska's popular annual events are the World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, the Blueberry Arts Festival in Ketchikan, the Sitka Whale Fest, and the Stikine River Garnet Fest in Wrangell.

Mountain goats are found in the rough and rocky mountain regions of Alaska throughout the southeastern Panhandle and along the Coastal Mountains of the Cook Inlet.

The area that became Alaska was purchased from Russian interests on October 18, 1867, for $7,200,000.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 85.7 percent of Alaska residents age 5 and older speak English at home.

The Alaska Commercial Company and the military also contributed to the growing exploration of Alaska in the last decades of the 1800s, building trading posts along the Interior's many rivers.

Alaska has a relatively large Russian Orthodox population as a result of early Russian colonization and missionary work among Alaska Natives.

Today, more than half of Alaskan land is owned by the Federal Government.

Within the state, Alaska Airlines is the only major airline offering travel with jet service (sometimes in combination cargo and passenger Boeing 737-400s).

The Alaska Legislature is a bicameral body comprising the Senate, whose 20 members serve four-year terms, and the House of Representatives, whose 40 members serve two-year terms.

The western Alaska climate is subarctic oceanic in the southwest and continental subarctic farther north.

Caribou in Alaska are abundant; currently there are an estimated 950,000 in the state.

At Valdez, an Alaska Steamship Company ship was lifted by a huge wave over the docks and out to sea, but most hands survived.

Shelikov established Russian dominance on the island by killing hundreds of indigenous Koniag, then founded the first permanent Russian settlement in Alaska on the island's Three Saints Bay.

Brown bears occur throughout the state, with the minor exceptions of the islands west of Unimak in the Aleutians, the islands south of Frederick Sound in southeast Alaska, and the islands in the Bering Sea.

In 1971, with major petroleum dollars on the line, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act was signed into law by Richard Nixon.

During the Department era, from 1867 to 1884, Alaska was variously under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army (until 1877), the United States Department of the Treasury (from 1877-1879) and the U.S. Navy (from 1879-1884).

Alaska is a popular destination for hunters from all over the world in pursuit of big game animals such as the brown bear, black bear, moose, caribou, and mountain goat.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Act into United States law on July 7, 1958, which paved the way for Alaska's admission into the Union on January 3, 1959.

In 1942, the Alaska–Canada Military Highway was completed, in part to form an overland supply route to America's Russian allies on the other side of the Bering Strait.

Traditionally, Alaskan residents, trade unions, and business interests have supported drilling in the refuge, while environmental groups and many within the U.S. Democratic Party have traditionally opposed it.

In 1986 the modern landmark of Riga, the Riga Radio and TV Tower, whose design is reminiscent of the Eiffel Tower, was completed.

In 1790, the upper classes of Guadeloupe refused to obey the new laws requiring equal rights for the free and attempted to declare independence, resulting in great disturbances.

Alaska contains a good size population of dall sheep.

The center is dedicated to understanding and maintaining the integrity of the marine ecosystem of Alaska through research, rehabilitation, and public education.

Despite these efforts, the Russians never fully colonized Alaska.

Under the conditions of the Second Organic Act, Alaska had been split into four divisions.

Wolves are considered of high value in Alaska for their beauty and contributions in controlling moose and caribou populations.

Juneau has been the capital of the State of Alaska since 1906, when the government was transferred from Sitka.

On some islands and parts of the Alaska Peninsula, groups of traders had established relatively peaceful coexistence with the local inhabitants.

Many of the Austrian directors, actors, authors and cinematographers also worked in Berlin.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the northeast corner of Alaska covers 19,049,236 acres (77, 090 sq km).

Agriculture represents only a small fraction of the Alaska economy.

Tourism became increasingly important in Alaska, and today over 1.4 million people visit the state each year.

South central Alaska's climate is considered to be subarctic due to its short, cool summers, but it is generally mild by Alaskan standards.

In 1902, construction began on the Alaska Railroad, which would run from the port town of Seward north to Fairbanks in the center of the state by 1914.

The Alaska Native Heritage Center celebrates the rich heritage of Alaska's eleven cultural groups.

Alaskan game authorities estimate that there is an estimated one wolf per 25 square miles in Alaska, depending on suitable habitat.

The majority of passenger flight operations into Stevens Airport are on Alaska Airlines to and from Seattle and Fairbanks.

Precipitation is light in this part of Alaska, with many places averaging less than 10 inches (250 mm) per year, mostly in the form of snow, which stays on the ground almost the entire year.

The brown bear is the foremost predator in Alaska.

In 1935, President Roosevelt proposed that Americans from agricultural areas be transferred to Alaska's Matanuska-Susitna Valley for a fresh chance at agricultural self-sustainment.

The largest self-reported ancestry groups in the state are German (19.0 percent), Alaska Native or American Indian (15.6 percent), Irish (12.7 percent), English (11.0 percent), American (6.0 percent), and Norwegian (4.4 percent).

Alaska had a population of about 58,000 in 1916, when James Wickersham, a delegate to Congress, introduced Alaska's first statehood bill, which failed due to lack of interest.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2005 American Community Survey, 66.7 percent of Alaska residents are non-Hispanic whites.

In 1884, the region was organized and the name was changed from the Department of Alaska to the District of Alaska.

Running from Great Falls, Montana, to Fairbanks, the road was the first stable link between Alaska and the rest of America.

The construction of military bases, such as the Adak base, contributed to the population growth of some Alaskan cities.

At the instigation of U.S. Secretary of State William Seward, the United States Senate approved the purchase of Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000 on April 9, 1867.

A railroad connecting Alaska to the lower 48 states was never built.

The Alaska subspecies of moose (Alces alces gigas) is the largest in the world, with adult males weighing 1,200 to 1,600 pounds (542-725 kg), and adult females weighing 800 to 1,300 pounds (364-591 kg).

The inclusion of Alaska increased the nation's size by nearly 20 percent.

When Alaska was first purchased, most of its land remained unexplored.

Anchorage, Fairbanks, and other parts of south-central and southeast Alaska have many whites of northern and Western European ancestry.

The government finally took action when permitting for a pipeline crossing the state, necessary to get Alaskan oil to market, was stalled pending the settlement of Native land claims.

British settlements in Alaska consisted of a few scattered trading outposts, with most settlers arriving by sea.

Numerous new cities, such as Skagway, Alaska, owe their existence to a gold rush in Canada.

Hiking, camping, and cross-country skiing, as well as hunting and fishing, are all very popular in Alaska.

The sea otter pelts they brought, soon judged to be the finest fur in the world, would spark Russian settlement in Alaska.

Alaska's two professional sports teams are the Alaska Aces, an ECHL hockey team, and the Alaska Wild, a new Intense Football League football team.

Alaska is often described as a Republican-leaning state with strong libertarian tendencies.

In 1865, Western Union laid a telegraph line across Alaska to the Bering Strait where the line was intended to connect under water with an Asian line.

Spain's claims to Alaska dated to the papal bull of 1493, which allocated to the Spanish the right to colonize the west coast of North America.

The climate of Alaska varies widely by region.

Alaska’s polar bear populations are concentrated along its Arctic coastlines.

The vast, sparsely populated regions of northern and western Alaska are primarily inhabited by Alaska Natives, who are also numerous in the southeast.

The southern sections of southeast Alaska have a mid-latitude oceanic climate, similar to that of Seattle, Washington, while the northern parts have more of a subarctic oceanic climate.

When Congress passed the Second Organic Act in 1912, Alaska was reorganized and renamed the Territory of Alaska.

The Anchorage Opera is currently the state's only professional opera company, though Alaska hosts several volunteer and semi-professional organizations as well.

Changes in caribou migration can be problematic for Alaska Natives, who depend on the animals for food.

The American bison was once Alaska’s most common large land mammal.

Alaska has one of the smallest endangered species lists of any state.

In 1976, the state's constitution was amended to establish the Alaska Permanent Fund, in which a quarter of all mineral lease proceeds were invested.

Alaska is the least densely populated state in the U.S. with 0.4247 people per square kilometer (1.1 per square mile).

The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development administers public school districts in the state.

Alaska has no counties, as do other states in the United States.

Alaska is well-known for its unspoiled natural beauty and many people flock to the state to take part in its nature-based activities.

The University of Alaska has attempted to combat the exodus of the state's young people by offering partial four-year scholarships to the top 10 percent of Alaska high school graduates.

Due to the cold weather, many Alaskan streams are not as productive as those in the more southern states.

A total of 5.2 percent of Alaskans speak one of the state's 22 indigenous languages, known locally as Native languages.

Alaska's court system has four levels: The Supreme Court, the court of appeals, the superior courts, and the district courts.

Coincident with the ownership change, the de facto International Date Line was moved westward, and Alaska changed from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.

Black bears are widely scattered over Alaska, and pose more of a problem to humans than brown bears because the black bears come into close contact with humans on a regular basis.

Coat colors of Alaskan wolves range from black to white with both gray and black wolves being common.

Plant and animal life in Alaska are diverse and abundant.

Birds in Alaska include American Dipper, Boreal Owl, Canadian Goose, Bald Eagle, Great Gray Owl, Northern Hawk Owl, Harlequin Duck, Osprey, and Sandhill Crane.

Alaska has an abundance of seafood, with the primary fisheries in the Bering Sea, and seafood is one of the few food items that is often cheaper within the state than outside it.

The Alaska Marine Highway is part of the U.S. National Highway System and receives funding under that program.

On March 27, 1964, the "Good Friday Earthquake" struck South-central Alaska, churning the earth for four minutes with a magnitude of 9.2.

Most food in Alaska is transported into the state from outside, and is relatively expensive due to the high shipping costs.

The state is bounded also by the Bering Strait and Bering Sea on the West and the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Alaska on the south.

The two main polar bear populations in the state are the Chukchi population, found in the western section near the Wrangell Islands, and the Beaufort Sea population, located near Alaska’s North Slope.

Alaska’s species of brown bear and moose are the largest in the world.

Alaska continues to be the nation’s last frontier, with much of it undeveloped and still in a pristine state of wilderness.

Orca whales frequent the waters above the Continental shelf from southeast Alaska through the Aleutian Islands, including the Prince William Sound.

During the Department era, from 1867 to 1884, Alaska was variously under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army (until 1877), the United States Department of the Treasury (from 1877-1879) and the U.S. Navy (from 1879-1884).

Alaska's road system provides access to a relatively small part of the state, linking the central population centers and the Alaska Highway, the principal route out of the state through Canada.

The Depression caused prices of fish and copper, which were vital to Alaska's economy at the time, to decline.

In 1896, the discovery of gold in Yukon Territory in neighboring Canada, brought many thousands of miners and new settlers to Alaska, very quickly ending the nation's four year economic depression.

The name "Alaska" is derived from the Aleut alaxsxaq, meaning "the mainland," or more literally, "the object toward which the action of the sea is directed.

The American bison originally entered Alaska from Montana in 1928, when a bison herd of 20 from Montana was released in the Delta Junction area of central Alaska.

Accredited universities include the University of Alaska Anchorage, University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Alaska Southeast, Sheldon Jackson College, and Alaska Pacific University.

Alaska's interior has an extreme subarctic climate with temperatures ranging from the 80°F (near 30°C) in the summer to below ?60°F (?52°C) in the winter.