Some facts about Alaska
- Alaska is the largest state of the United States by area.
- Juneau is the only capital city in the United States accessible only by boat or plane. It is also the largest U.S. city covering 3,108 square miles. Los Angeles covers only 458.2 square miles.
- Total Area: 1st among states, 1,717,854 sq km (663,267 sq mi)
- Approximately half of Alaska's 698,473 residents live within the Anchorage metropolitan area
- Rhode Island could fit into Alaska 425 times.
- Alaska’s name comes from the Eskimo word Alakshak, meaning great lands or peninsula.
- As of 2010, Alaska remains the least densely populated state of the U.S
- During the Klondike gold rush in 1897, potatoes were so highly valued for their vitamin C content, that miners traded gold for them.
- The U.S. Senate approved the purchase of Alaska from the Russian Empire on March 30, 1867, for $7.2 million at about two cents per acre ($4.74/km²).
- Alaska has more inland water than any other state, 20,171 square miles.
- It is the only non-contiguous U.S. state on continental North America; about 500 miles (800 km) of British Columbia (Canada) separate Alaska from Washington state.
- Alaska has the 16 highest peaks in the United States. Mount McKinley is the highest mountain peak in all of North America.
- The state is bordered by the Yukon Territory and British Columbia in Canada, to the east, the Gulf of Alaska and the Pacific Ocean to the south, the Bering Sea, Bering Strait, and Chukchi Sea to the west and the Arctic Ocean to the north.
- There are more than 100,000 glaciers in Alaska and about 75% of all the fresh water in the state is stored as glacial ice.
- Alaska is larger than all but 18 sovereign countries.
- The Trans-Alaska Pipeline moves up to 88,000 barrels of oil per hour on a 800 mile journey to Valdez.
- Counting territorial waters, Alaska is larger than the combined area of the next three largest states: Texas, California, and Montana. It is also larger than the combined area of the 22 smallest U.S. states.
- The record low temperature is -80ºF at Fort Yukon on June 27, 1915.
- Alaska's most important revenue source is the oil and natural gas industry.
- Of the 20 highest mountains in the United States, 17 are in Alaska. Mount McKinley, North America's largest mountain at 6194 m (20,320 ft), is a highlight of Denali National Park and Preserve.
- Prudhoe Bay, on the northern Alaskan coast, is North America's largest oil field.
- There are over three million lakes in Alaska. The largest, Lake Iliamna, is the size of Connecticut.
- The fishing and seafood industry is the state's largest private industry employer.
- The United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million.
- Most of America's salmon, crab, halibut, and herring come from Alaska.
- Dog mushing is the official state sport. The Alaska Legislature adopted it in 1972.
