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Alaska History, Geography, Population, State Facts

Alaska, Land of the Midnight Sun

History, Geography, Population, State Facts, National Real Estate

Great Seal of the State of Alaska

Adopted in 1884; 1912.

The Alaska Seal was adopted in its present form in 1912.

In 1867, Russia sold Alaska to the United States, and for nearly fifty years the region was known as the District of Alaska. While Alaska was still a district, the first governor designated a seal of the district. This seal featured icebergs, northern lights, igloos and an Eskimo ice fishing.

Vitus Bering a Dane working for the Russians, and Alexei Chirikov discovered the Alaskan mainland and the Aleutian Islands in 1741. The tremendous land mass of Alaska—equal to one-fifth of the continental U.S.—was unexplored in 1867 when Secretary of State William Seward arranged for its purchase from the Russians for $7,200,000. The transfer of the territory took place on Oct. 18, 1867. Despite a price of about two cents an acre, the purchase was widely ridiculed as “Seward's Folly.” The first official census (1880) reported a total of 33,426 Alaskans, all but 430 being of aboriginal stock. The Gold Rush of 1898 resulted in a mass influx of more than 30,000 people. Since then, Alaska has contributed billions of dollars' worth of products to the U.S. economy.

Capital City: Juneau

Alaska: State of Alaska Official Web Site

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Admission to Statehood: Click for Date & List

Airports: Airports Map • Airport Links

Area: 656,425 sq. mi, 1st Land 570,374 sq. mi., 1st Water 86,051 sq.mi., 1st Coastline 6640 mi., 1st

Area Codes: Alaska

Biographies: Famous People from Alaska

Bird: Alaska Willow Ptarmigan

Cam World: Live Web Cams

Chambers of Commerce: Alaska

Climate: Alaska

Community Pages: Alaska Cities, Towns, Communities List

Constitution: 49th State

County Profile: County Map Alaska 25 Counties

Courts: Judicial System

Current Events: Alaska News Headlines

Department of: Education

	Alaska Historical Collections
	Alaska State Archives
	Alaska State Library
	Alaska State Museums
	University of Alaska System
	Anchorage
	Fairbanks
	Southeast (Juneau)

Driving: DMV

Economy: Agriculture: Seafood, nursery stock, dairy products, vegetables, livestock. Industry: Petroleum and natural gas, gold and other mining, food processing, lumber and wood products, tourism.

Flag: Alaska (AK)

Flower: ForgetMeNot

Cyndi's List • Historical Societies

Geographic Center: 60 miles northwest of Mount McKinley

Geology Maps: Alaska

Ghost Towns: Ghost Towns

Governor: Office of Governor

Highest Point: Mt. McKinley; 20,320 feet, 1st

History: Historical Timeline History

Hotels, Motels & Inns:

Kids Corner: State of Alaska Kids Page

Library: Alaska

License Plates: Alaska

Lottery: None

Lowest Point: Pacific Ocean; Sea level, 3rd

Maps:

Media: Radio • TV

Motto: North To The Future

Museums: The Virtual Library

Name: Alaska name based on an Aleut word "alaxsxaq" literally meaning "object toward which the action of the sea is directed" or more simply "the mainland".

National Forest: Alaska

Native Americans: Tribes and Villages of Alaska