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STATE SYMBOLS

Motto : North to the Future Tree : Sitka Spruce Bird : Ptarmigan Song : Alaska Flag Song Gem : Jade Fish : King Salmon

Flower : Forget-me-not Mineral : Gold Nickname : The Great Land Sport : Dog Mushing Capital : Juneau High Point : Mt. McKinley

It was admitted to the Union as the 49th State on January 3, 1959.

How large is Alaska?
Alaska is the largest state in the Union. It is 1/5th the size of the entire United States. It comprises 586,412 square miles or approximately 365,000,000 acres. There is 47,300 miles of coast line, 3 million lakes and more than 3,000 rivers. From it's East to West borders it is over 2,400 miles, and from North to South it is over 1,420 miles.

The Yukon River is the 3rd largest river in the United States. It travels 1,875 of its 2,298 miles in Alaska. It is exceeded only by the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.

Lake Iliamna, at 1,150 square miles, is the largest fresh water lake.

Just north of Haines, on the Chilkat River about 4,000 bald eagles gather in the fall and winter months for the late salmon runs which makes it the largest concentration of Bald Eagles in the world.

Wood-Tikchik State Park with 2.5 million acres of wilderness is the largest State Park in the Nation. It is located in the Bristol Bay area.

Chief Mountains are: McKinley, 20,320 feet, St. Elias, 18,008 feet, Foraker, 17,280 feet, Blackburn, 16,523 feet, Bona, 16,420 feet, Sanford, 16,208 feet, Vancouver, 15,700 feet and Fairweather, 15,300 feet.

Chief Lakes: Iliamna, Becharof, Naknek, Selawik, Teshekpuk, and Ugashik.

Chief Rivers: Yukon, Chandler, Colville, Copper, Kobuk, Koyukuk, Noatak, Kuskokwim, Porcupine, Sheenjek, Susitna, and Tanana.

State Seal has in the back ground the Alaska Range and Mt. McKinley backed by the midnight sun; in the foreground, forests, a lake, a boat, and agricultural and mining activities are depicted; all of this is encircled by the words "The Seal of the State of Alaska".

The State flag has a deep blue background field with seven gold stars in the shape of the Big Dipper constellation on the left and a single gold star representing the North Star in the upper right hand corner.

The largest city is Anchorage with a 1995 population of 250,000 residents.

Governor is Tony Knowles.

The typical Alaskan is a 28.9 year old male, this compares with 32.2 years for the lower 48 states. 52 percent of Alaskans are male, which is the highest percentage of any state.

In 1990 per capita personal income was the 8th highest in the nation at $23,788. The 1989 median household income was the second highest in the nation at $41,408.

Almost all of Alaska is in the Alaska Time Zone, which is one hour earlier than Pacific Time. The westernmost Aleutian islands and St. Lawrence Island are on Hawaii-Aleutian Time, two hours earlier than Pacific Time.

The drinking age in Alaska is 21 years old.

The oldest recorded building in Alaska is the Erskine House in Kodiak which was built by the Russians between 1793 and 1796.

The State population in 1991 was 570,000 residents. In 1994 it was 606,000 residents. This translates into approximately one square mile per person.

On Good Friday, March 27, 1964 the most powerful earthquake in United States history struck Anchorage and the South Central coast and measured 9.2 on the Richter Scale.

Alaska's largest Island is Kodiak Island with 3,588 square miles and it has the largest carnivores on earth, the famed "Kodiak brownies".

Alaska is the last great wilderness in the United States. Civilization has only encroached on about 160,000 acres of its 365 million acres. This is less than 1/20th of 1% of the State, the rest is still untouched wilderness.

The Bering Glacier complex is the largest glacier which is some 2,250 square miles in size.

In 1952-1953 the heaviest snowfall recorded was at Thompson Pass, just North of Valdez, which measured 974.5 inches of snow.

The highest temperature recorded was 100 degrees in 1915 recorded at Ft. Yukon. The lowest temperature was recorded at Prospect Creek Camp in 1971 at -80 degrees.

Barrow has sunlight from May 10 to August 2--84 continuous days, but then it never sees the sun from November 18 to January 24--67 days.

The McNeil River area Sanctuary has the world's largest concentration of brown bears in their natural habitat. The Alaska Department of Fish & Game escorts visitors to the sanctuary viewing area. All visitors must apply for a permit before being able to visit the sanctuary. Applications are available after January 1 and due March 1 for the upcoming visitor season. Contact: Alaska Department of Fish & Game---Division of Wildlife Conservation—333 Raspberry Rd.—Anchorage, Alaska 99518-1599— Att: McNeil River.

The state song is "Alaska's Flag" and the sound you hear playing is the theme.

Eight stars of gold on a field of blue, Alaska's Flag, may it mean to you The blue of the sea, the evening sky, The mountain lakes and the flow'rs nearby, The gold of the early sourdough dreams, The precious gold of the hills and streams, The brilliant stars in the northern sky, The Bear, the Dipper, and shining high, The great North star with its steady light. O'er land and sea a beacon bright, Alaska's Flag to Alaskans dear, The simple flag of a last frontier.

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