• The
first white man known to have visited was a Dane, Vitus Bering, in
1728, shortly after that Russians came
•
Alaska has the northernmost, westernmost and easternmost points in
the USA
•
Alaska is only three miles from Russia
•
Barrow, America's northernmost city, has 84 straight days during
which the sun never sets; in Winter, it has 67 straight days when
the sun never rises
• The
USA paid 2 cents per acre to buy Alaska from Russia in 1867.
The purchase was regarded as a folly - until gold was discovered.
• The
Malaspina Glacier is larger in area than Rhode Island
• Some
90% of all American bald eagles (about 40,000) live in Alaska
•
Alaska has more than 1400 miles of ferry routes, known as "marine
highways"
•
Alaska has more planes and pilots per capita than any other US state
• The
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race from Anchorage to Nome, held every
February, is the world's longest and richest dog-sledding event.
•
Anchorage is almost equidistant between New York and Tokyo
• Sitka
was once the largest city on the west coast of North America
•
Turnagain Arm, in the Cook Inlet near Anchorage, had a tide that can
approach 39 feet - the second greatest in North America
•The
Trans Alaska Pipeline pumps 1.9 million barrels of oil a day from
Prudhoe Bay to Valdez
• About
40% of Alaska consists of federally protected wildlife refuges and
national forests, parks and preserves
