Best Alaska State Facts

Alaska

US State

Alaska, northwest of Canada, is the largest and most sparsely populated U.S. state. It's known for its diverse terrain of open spaces, mountains, and forests, with abundant wildlife and many small towns. It’s a destination for outdoor activities like skiing, mountain biking, and kayaking. Massive Denali National Park is home to Denali (formerly called Mount McKinley), North America’s highest peak.

Capital: Juneau

Population: 741,894 (2016)

Spoken languages: English 86.3%; Alaska Native languages 5.2%; Tagalog 3.4%; Spanish 2.9%; Others 2.2%

The U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia for just US$7.2 million in 1867.

Alaska is so big, you could fit 75 New Jerseys in it.

More money was spent buying Central Parkland than all of Alaska.

A cat has been the mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska for 15 years.

The largest county in the U.S., located in Alaska, is roughly the size of Germany.

In Alaska, there's a pizza place that delivers the pizza by plane.

Alaska has a longer coastline than all the other U.S. states combined.

The largest recorded earthquake in the U.S. was a magnitude 9.2 that struck Prince William Sound, Alaska in 1964.

Alaska has a sand desert with dunes over 150 feet (45 m) high.

Every resident of Alaska gets an annual "oil royalty check", a payment representing their share of revenue from Alaskan oil. In 2008, it was US$2,069.

Marijuana has been legal for personal use in Alaska since 1975, and it's still legal today.

During WW2, the Japanese invaded Alaska, and more Americans were killed or wounded defending Alaska than at Pearl Harbor.







On April 1, 1974, black smoke was seen rising from Mount Edgecumbe, a volcano in Alaska. When a Coast Guard pilot came closer to investigate, he found 70 tires burning and the words "APRIL FOOL" spray painted into the snow.

Alaska is the state with the highest percentage of people walking to work.

Alaska is geographically big enough to fit 19 U.S. states within its borders.

A ship abandoned off the coast of Alaska in 1931 was spotted, still adrift in the Arctic, in 1969.

In 2015, a man legally named 'Santa Claus' was elected to city council in North Pole, Alaska.

There are two U.S. states where the temperature has never surpassed 100 °F: Alaska and Hawaii.






The Aurora Ice Hotel in Alaska was made entirely of ice. Ice walls, ceiling, beds, bar, barstools, even martini glasses were made of ice. It was closed by the fire marshall for not having smoke detectors.

If Manhattan had the same population density as Alaska, only 28 people would live on the island.

In Alaska, more than 80% of adults are registered as organ donors, while in New York, only 12% of adults are organ donors.

Central Park costs about as much money as the entire state of Alaska.

Alaska is estimated to have the highest rape rate in the U.S.

Alexander II, Emperor of Russia, sold Alaska to the U.S.A., fearing the remote colony would fall into British hands if there were another war.

Hawaii, Vermont, Alaska, and Maine have all banned billboards.

The most Eastern and Western and Northern state in the U.S. is Alaska.