Facts about Alaska
population 627,000 persons
land area 586,400 sq mi = 1,520,000 sq km
coastline 6,640 miles = 10,690 kilometers
east west 2,400 miles = 3,860 kilometers
north south 1,420 miles = 2,280 kilometers
high point 20,320 feet = 6,194 meters
state motto North to the Future
state bird willow ptarmigan
state fossil woolly mammoth
state song Alaska's Flag (text below)
state flower forget-me-not
state tree Sitka spruce
state mineral gold
state gem jade
rank in union 49th
rank in height 1st
rank in coast 1st
rank in area 1st
rank in pop 49th
Alaska is more than twice the size of Texas and 1/5-th the size
of the rest of the United States. Its coastline is 50% longer
than the combined east and west coasts of the United States.
Alaska is the northern-most, western-most, and also eastern-most
of the United States. The western end of the Aleutian Islands
is across the 180th meridian and closer to Tokyo than Anchorage.
Alaska has 100,000 glaciers covering 28,000 square miles (72,580
square kilometers), comprising 4.9% of the state's total area.
Rivers miles km
1 Yukon 1400 2240 (in Alaska)
2 Porcupine 555 888
3 Koyukuk 554 886
4 Kuskokwim 540 864
5 Tanana 531 850
6 Innoko 463 741
7 Colville 428 685
8 Noatak 396 634
9 Kobuk 347 555
10 Birch Creek 314 502
Mountains feet meters
1 McKinley 20,320 6158
2 Saint Elias 18,008 5457
3 Foraker 17,400 5273
4 Bona 16,500 5000
5 Blackburn 16,390 4967
6 Sanford 16,237 4920
7 Vancouver 15,700 4758
8 Churchill 15,638 4739
9 Fairweather 15,300 4636
10 Hubbard 15,015 4550
11 Bear 14,831 4494
12 Hunter 14,573 4416
13 Alverstone 14,565 4414
14 Wrangell 14,163 4292
15 Augusta 14,070 4264
Alaska contains 17 of the 20 highest mountains in the United
States, and also 19 peaks over 14,000 feet (4242 meters).
Active Volcanoes
Alaska has more than 80 potentially active volcanoes, about half
of which have erupted since recording the events started in 1760.
Mt Pavlof alone has erupted 41 times since then. Recent eruptions
of Alaskan volcanoes include Mt Augustine in 1986, Mt Redoubt in
1989 and 1990, and Mt Spurr in 1992 (covering Anchorage in ash).
The most violent eruption on record occurred in a 60 hour period
during June of 1912, from the Nova Rupta vent draining magma from
Mt Katmai. It dumped 2.5 cubic miles (10 cubic kilometers) of ash
in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, and almost a foot (about 30
centimeters) on Kodiak island, 100 miles (160 kilometers) away.
It darkened skies in the northern hemisphere for days.
Earthquakes
The highest splash wave (seiche) ever recorded occurred on July 9,
1958, when a magnitude 7.9 quake shook the Yakutat area, causing
about 40 million cubic yards (30 million cubic meters) of rock to
fall into Gilbert Inlet at the head of Lituya Bay. This created
a gigantic splash wave which traveled 1740 feet (527 meters) up
the opposing mountain, clearing it of trees and soil to bedrock.
The largest earthquake ever recorded (in Alaska, but also in North
America) occurred on March 27, 1964, with revised magnitude of 9.2.
It had 80 times the energy of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake,
and resulted in 131 deaths, 119 of which resulted from its tsunami.
Alaska's Flag (lyrics by Marie Drake)
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's 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,
Over land and sea a beacon bright,
Alaska's flag--to Alaskans dear,
The simple flag of a last frontier.