Explore Alaska
Guide to Alaska
Alaska-Geographic Outline
Alaska includes almost every geographical feature from pristine rainforests to the highest mountains on the continent. Alaska is 586,412 square miles long. It has about 365,000 acres. From North to South it is 1, 420 miles, and from east to West it is 2, 400 miles wide. The coastline is 6,640 miles from point to point. Alaska has 33, 904 miles of shoreline.
The tallest mountain is Mt. McKinley which is 20, 320 feet high from top to bottom. The largest freshwater lake of Alaska is Llimamna, which is 1,150 square miles long. The longest river is the Yukon and that is 1, 875 miles long. The largest glacier is the Bering Glacier Complex which is 2,250 square miles.
Capital:
Juneau
Alaska-History
Virtus Bering, a Danish navigator sailing on behalf of the tsar of Russia in 1728, set foot on Alaska and quickly took notice of the pelt potential of the large local seal and otter populations. Other European invaders, most notably the Spanish and the British, were seduced by this coast but Russian predominance extended well into the 19th century.
The fur trade hit hard times in the 1860s and, and European wars demanded both attention and resources. The Russians decided to downsize their territorial holdings. Eventually, in 1867, the Americans signed a canny treaty to purchase the region for 7200000.00 - less than two cents an acre. Alaska remained lawless and unorganized, accessible only to a few hardy settlers until its natural riches began to be exploited one by one. Alaska turned out to be a rich land, with whales, the enormous salmon stocks, and finally, the discovery of gold in the 1880s.
In 1959, President Eisenhower proclaimed the 49th State of the Union. In 1968, massive oil deposits were discovered underneath Prudhoe Bay in the Arctic Ocean. In 1977 the oil that has made Alaska the richest state in the USA began to flow.
An increasing awareness that the Alaskan wilderness is an outstanding natural resource all the more valuable if it is left untouched is very popular at present and remain the sentiment which saves the legendary Alaskan frontier.
