[Edit]
Alaska is the 49th state of the United States. It was admitted on January 3, 1959. The name "Alaska" is most likely derived from the Aleut word Alyeska, meaning greater land as opposed to the Aleut word Aleutia, meaning lesser land. To the Aleuts, this distinction was a linguistic variation distinguishing the mainland from an island.
It is bordered by Yukon Territory and British Columbia, Canada to the east, the Gulf of Alaska and the Pacific Ocean to the south, the Bering Sea, Bering Strait, and Chukchi Sea to the west, and the Beaufort Sea and the Arctic Ocean to the north. Alaska is the largest state by area in the United States. It is larger in area than all but 18 of the world's nations.
Alaska was first inhabited by humans who came across the Bering Land Bridge. Eventually, Alaska became populated by the Inupiaq, Inuit and Yupik Eskimos, Aleuts, and a variety of American Indian groups. Most, if not all, of the pre-Columbian population of the Americas probably took this route and continued further south and east.
The first written accounts indicate that the first Europeans to reach Alaska came from Russia. Vitus Bering sailed east and saw Mt. St. Elias. The Russian-American Company hunted sea otters for their fur. The colony was never very profitable, because of the costs of transportation.
Alaska is one of the two states that is not bordered by another US state (Hawaii being the other). It is the only state that is both in North America and not part of the 48 contiguous states; about 500 miles (800 kilometers) of Canadian territory separate Alaska from Washington. (It is thus an exclave.) It is also the only state in which the majority of citizenry must pass through a foreign country when driving to its capital city. (Alaska's capital, Juneau, is accessible only via ship or air. There are no roads leading in or out of Juneau.)
<%loop%>
It is bordered by Yukon Territory and British Columbia, Canada to the east, the Gulf of Alaska and the Pacific Ocean to the south, the Bering Sea, Bering Strait, and Chukchi Sea to the west, and the Beaufort Sea and the Arctic Ocean to the north. Alaska is the largest state by area in the United States. It is larger in area than all but 18 of the world's nations.
Alaska was first inhabited by humans who came across the Bering Land Bridge. Eventually, Alaska became populated by the Inupiaq, Inuit and Yupik Eskimos, Aleuts, and a variety of American Indian groups. Most, if not all, of the pre-Columbian population of the Americas probably took this route and continued further south and east.
The first written accounts indicate that the first Europeans to reach Alaska came from Russia. Vitus Bering sailed east and saw Mt. St. Elias. The Russian-American Company hunted sea otters for their fur. The colony was never very profitable, because of the costs of transportation.
Alaska is one of the two states that is not bordered by another US state (Hawaii being the other). It is the only state that is both in North America and not part of the 48 contiguous states; about 500 miles (800 kilometers) of Canadian territory separate Alaska from Washington. (It is thus an exclave.) It is also the only state in which the majority of citizenry must pass through a foreign country when driving to its capital city. (Alaska's capital, Juneau, is accessible only via ship or air. There are no roads leading in or out of Juneau.)
Last edited by Gary (3:31, 24 January 2006)
Dancing Northern Lights
<%/loop%>
Add Your Tip
by Lilia Snow on 13 March 2006
Northern Lights at Alaska were the most impressive moment of my life. Brilliant bands of yellow, green and red quiety jump across night skies. If you don't have a possibility to see Northern Lights during your stay , go to the Northern Lights Theatre near most Denali hotels. www.alaskan.com/northernlights P.S. This is a postcard, of course, because without special camera you can't take good picture of this wonder. But at least, from this postcard you can see almost the same that i saw...