Alaska is a part of the United States of America.Juneau is the capital city of the state that is Alaska. Juneau is Alaska’s second-largest city.Alaska is a land of serenity home to a lot of the world’s beauty. The Northern Lights, or the Aurora Borealis, can be seen from here. Another secret that makes this realm so mystical is that it is the ‘Land of the Midnight Sun’, a natural phenomenon where between April and August, the sun does not set at all. The orb remains to glint throughout, illuminating the earth golden even in the reign of the midnight sky of absolute darkness. The tallest mountain in all of North America is in Alaska, over 20,000 ft (6000 m) above sea level, formerly recognized as Mount Mckinley but now named Denali, standing high and mighty in the Denali National Park and Reserve. The remains of the Bering Land Bridge, a historical subject of many theories, rest protected in the Bering Land Bridge National Reserve, otherwise characterized as a remote national park in all of the US located closest to Alaska.Occupying the northern Alaskan coast is the largest oil field in North America, the Prudhoe Bay. In 1989, the Prince William Sound of Alaska had suffered a major crude oil spill, for an oil tanker, the Exxon Valdez, loaded with crude oil had spilled 11 million gallons of it. It had taken around three years to cleanse the remnants of this mishap, it went down in history as one of the largest oil spills the US waters had to bear.Afterward, you can also read articles on facts about Alaska and animals in Alaska, here at Kidadl.Alaska History And QuirksThe name of the state of Alaska stems from the Aleut translation of ‘great land’ or ‘mainland’.The land of Alaska was first inhabited by the native people of Alaska. The Russians were the first Europeans to discover Alaska. The first permanent European settlement established in Alaska was the dominant Russian Settlement on Kodiak Island, the scope of hunting sea otters was what had majorly drawn them over. It was in the late 1860s when the USA acquired Alaska from the Russian Empire, a purchase that people back then considered a waste, they even expressed their disapproval by calling it a ‘Seward’s folly’. Somewhere in the 1890s, there was a gold rush in Alaska. This, and the gold rush of the neighboring Yukon territory, attracted several settlers. By 1912, Alaska was granted territorial status. At the time of World War II, Japanese military troops invaded Kiska Island, obtained the Aleutian Islands, and even claimed Attu Island. Thereby, obtaining the raided Aleutian Islands from foreign forces became a crucial matter for the US, the nation’s pride was on the line. Upon winning the battle for its territories back, the United States proceeded to evacuate the interned villagers of the Aleutian Islands to Southeast Alaska.Alaska’s Industry And EconomyAlaska’s present-day economy has risen to better standards of progress than before.Several factors like the high costs of transportation and the high cost of labor have discouraged investment in Alaska. However, recently, improvements within the infrastructure have opened up doors to a better rate of advancements. Today, a large portion of the Alaskan economy is inclined toward fishing, oil production, state as well as federal expenditures, and even research and development. Oil industries are a major contributor to the State’s budget, for it generates the majority of the revenue, thereby supporting it greatly. It is no mystery that Alaska is a land of all things beautiful, thus, tourism is also a major source of the economy. While some million acres of Alaskan land supports farming and production, agriculture remains a mere speck in the contribution to the economy. Despite this, Alaska markets its timber rather spectacularly, and the vegetables that are grown on these favorable lands are appreciated for their rich characteristics. Practices like commercial farming, breeding of livestock, and even commercial fishing, generate revenue as well. The largest port in the United States of America, Kodiak, is located in Alaska. The state has always been generous with its hard-rock ore minerals, for it has given the world several loaded mines of gold, silver, zinc, and even copper.Alaska State SymbolsThe state of Alaska has quite a few symbols.The capital city of Alaska is Juneau. The Flag of Alaska is deep blue with eight stars scattered upon it, the North Star’s prominence is hinted at, for it is larger than the other seven. ‘The Last Frontier’ is the State’s nickname and is identified by the motto ‘North to the Future’. ‘Alaska Day’, celebrating the day when Alaska formally became a territory of the US, and ‘Seward’s Day’, celebrating the day when the US bought Alaska from Russia, are the official State holidays. Apart from English, there exist about 20 native languages that are spoken in Alaska. The state sport in Alaska is dog mushing, and the Alaskan Malamute is the state dog. While gold is the state mineral, jade is the state gem, and the wooly mammoth is the state fossil. Sitka spruce, the state tree, is found in central Alaska as well the southeastern regions. The Willow Ptarmigan is the state bird, King Salmon is the state fish, and the four-spot skimmer dragonfly is the state insect. While the state land animal is the moose, the bowhead whale is regarded as the state marine animal.The Geography Of AlaskaAlaska is a land with its own unique geography.Found quilting most of North America, the state of Alaska is hemmed by Canada’s British Columbia and the Yukon Territory in the east. An exceptional feature about Alaska is that, apart from Hawaii, it is the only US state that remains unbounded by another state. Another quality that makes this state so unique is that it is superior in the matter of ocean coastlines, for even when combined, all the other US states could not compare to it. While the Arctic Ocean and the Beaufort Sea are two water bodies that trail Alaska up in the North, the southern portion of the state is bordered by the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Alaska. In the west, the Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea, the Bering Strait, and Russia fringe the land of Alaska. The Yukon river, too, continues into the territory of Alaska from its origin in British Columbia. Lake Iliamna, the third largest lake in all of America, is also sighted in southwest Alaska. Back in a time long gone, it is believed that there existed a land bridge in Siberia that led migrant groups and their animal herds across to eastern Alaska.Fun fact, the Bering Strait was named after the Danish explorer who discovered it, Vitus Bering.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Alaska history facts then why not take a look at glaciers in Alaska facts, or facts about Anchorage, Alaska!
Alaska is a part of the United States of America.
