Back Alaska Afrikaans Alaska ALS አላስካ Amharic Alaska AN Ēalascæ ANG ألاسكا Arabic ܐܠܐܣܟܐ ARC ألاسكا ARY الاسكا ARZ Alaska AST
Alaska
| |
|---|---|
| State of Alaska | |
| Nickname: The Last Frontier | |
| Motto: North to the Future | |
| Anthem: Alaska's Flag | |
.svg) Map of the United States with Alaska highlighted | |
| Country | United States |
| Before statehood | Territory of Alaska |
| Admitted to the Union | January 3, 1959 (49th) |
| Capital | Juneau |
| Largest city | Anchorage |
| Largest metro and urban areas | Anchorage |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Mike Dunleavy (R) |
| • Lieutenant Governor | Nancy Dahlstrom (R) |
| Legislature | Alaska Legislature |
| • Upper house | Senate |
| • Lower house | House of Representatives |
| Judiciary | Alaska Supreme Court |
| U.S. senators |
|
| U.S. House delegation | Nick Begich III (R) (list) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 665,384[1] sq mi (1,723,337 km2) |
| • Land | 571,951[2] sq mi (1,481,346 km2) |
| • Water | 91,316 sq mi (236,507 km2) 13.77% |
| • Rank | 1st |
| Dimensions | |
| • Length | 1,420 mi (2,285 km) |
| • Width | 2,261 mi (3,639 km) |
| Elevation | 1,900 ft (580 m) |
| Highest elevation | 20,310 ft (6,190.5 m) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Population (2020[5]) | |
| • Total | 733,391 |
| • Rank | 48th |
| • Density | 1.10/sq mi (0.42/km2) |
| • Rank | 50th |
| • Median household income | $77,800[4] |
| • Income rank | 12th |
| Demonym | Alaskan |
| Language | |
| • Official languages | Ahtna, Alutiiq, Dena'ina, Deg Xinag, English, Eyak, Gwich'in, Haida, Hän, Holikachuk, Inupiaq, Koyukon, Lower Tanana, St. Lawrence Island Yupik, Tanacross, Tlingit, Tsimshian, Unangax̂, Upper Kuskokwim, Upper Tanana, Yup'ik |
| • Spoken language |
|
| Time zones | |
| east of 169°30' | UTC−09:00 (Alaska) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−08:00 (ADT) |
| west of 169°30' | UTC−10:00 (Hawaii-Aleutian) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−09:00 (HADT) |
| USPS abbreviation | AK |
| ISO 3166 code | US-AK |
| Latitude | 51°20'N to 71°50'N |
| Longitude | 130°W to 172°E |
| Website | alaska |
| Alaska state symbols | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Living insignia | |
| Bird | Willow ptarmigan |
| Dog breed | Alaskan Malamute |
| Fish | King salmon |
| Flower | Forget-me-not |
| Insect | Four-spot skimmer dragonfly |
| Mammal |
|
| Tree | Sitka Spruce |
| Inanimate insignia | |
| Fossil | Woolly Mammoth |
| Gemstone | Jade |
| Mineral | Gold |
| Other | Dog mushing (state sport) |
| State route marker | |
 | |
| State quarter | |
 Released in 2008 | |
| Lists of United States state symbols | |
Alaska (/əˈlæskə/ (
listen)), officially the State of Alaska, is a state in the United States. It is in the northwest corner of North America.
Alaska does not touch other US states. It has borders with Canada, the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea, and the Bering Strait. The United States bought Alaska from Russia on March 30, 1867. This was called the Alaska Purchase. This prevented Russia from having land on continental North America. Alaska cost $7.2 million. Today, that would be $120 million. The price was about $0.02 per acre ($4.74/km2).
Alaska is the biggest state in the United States.[6] It is the 3rd least populated state. It has the lowest population density of all the states. About half of the population of Alaska lives in the Anchorage metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, 731,158 people live in Alaska.[7]
Alaska became an organized (or incorporated) territory on May 11, 1912. It became the 49th state on January 3, 1959.[8]
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."[9] 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.
- ↑ "State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates". Census.gov. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
- ↑ "Geography of Alaska, Alaska Kids' Corner, State of Alaska".
- ↑ "Elevations and Distances in the United States". United States Geological Survey. 2001. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
- ↑ "US Census Bureau QuickFacts". Retrieved April 30, 2022.
- ↑ "2020 Population and Housing State Data". census.gov. United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on November 18, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
- ↑ The State of Alaska
- ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2011". 2011 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. December 2011. Archived from the original (CSV) on January 6, 2012. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ↑ Video: 49th Star. Alaska Statehood, New Flag, Official, 1959/01/05 (1959). Universal Newsreel. 1959. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
- ↑ Ransom, J. Ellis. 1940. Derivation of the Word "Alaska". American Anthropologist n.s., 42: pp. 550–551