Alaska (capital Juneau) is a state of the United States of America, and is located in the extreme northwest portion of North America, west of Canada. It is the largest U.S. state in terms of area, ranking it 1st with the largest land area at 570,380 square miles; it is two times large as Texas, the next largest state. Alaska was the 49th state admitted to the union on January 3, 1959. ...more

Alaska (capital Juneau) is a state of the United States of America, and is located in the extreme northwest portion of North America, west of Canada. It is the largest U.S. state in terms of area, ranking it 1st with the largest land area at 570,380 square miles; it is two times large as Texas, the next largest state. Alaska was the 49th state admitted to the union on January 3, 1959.

Alaska has an estimated population of 663,661 ranking it 48th out of 50 states by population. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2005 American Community Survey, 66.7% of Alaska residents are non-Hispanic whites. American Indians and Alaska Natives make up 14.2% of the state's population. Multiracial people are the third largest group in the state, totaling 6.9% of the population. Hispanics, Asians, African Americans, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders make up 4.8%, 4.5%, 3.4%, and 0.5% of the population, respectively. The next most common languages are Spanish (2.88%), Yupik (2.87%), Tagalog (1.54%), and Iñupiaq (1.06%).

The climate varies widely throughout the State. The temperatures are moderated by the Gulf of Alaska, and the truly cold winds of the north are often blocked by the Alaska and Talkeetna mountain ranges. Anchorage’s summer weather is pleasant and the winters are mild. Fairbanks, the Interior and parts of the Bush region experience Alaska’s most extreme weather conditions with average temperatures ranging from 72°F in high summer to -19°F in winter.

Alaska leads the nation in the value of its commercial fishing, chiefly salmon, crab, shrimp, halibut, herring, and cod. Anchorage and Dutch Harbor are major fishing ports and the freezing and canning of fish dominates the food-processing industry, the state's largest manufacturing enterprise. Lumbering and related industries are of great importance, although disputes over logging in the state's great national forests are ongoing. Mining, principally of petroleum and natural gas, is the state's most valuable industry.

The state abounds in natural wonders. In the Panhandle, the scenic beauty of the mountains and the rugged fjord-indented coast are augmented by such attractions as the Malaspina glacier and the acres of blue ice in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. In the Alaska Range of South central Alaska stands the highest point in North America, Mt. McKinley (Denali) in Denali National Park and Preserve. The Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands have numerous volcanoes; Katmai National Park and Preserve contains the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, scene of a volcanic eruption in 1912.

... less