Every year over one and a half million tourists visit our northern state. Alaska tourism attractions are so plentiful that it is one of the most beautiful outdoor vacation destinations in the world. The largest state in the United States at over twice the size of Texas, Alaska boasts the longest coastline in the country, providing cruise travelers with a floating window on the highest mountain peaks in the nation. The spectacular view is decorated by sparkling crystal glacial lakes, fed by a land that hosts half the glaciers in the world.

The Wonders of Alaska ~ Visit Animals, Glaciers, Whales, Bears, Eagles and more in this Alaska travel movie video DVD

Sightseers, hikers, mountain climbers, and hunters can see wildlife like bears, moose, and caribou, while fishermen can enjoy spectacular salmon and trout fishing, and whale watchers can spot humpbacks and orcas. Tours of historic highways and villages offer visitors an opportunity to experience Alaskan culture and relive the history of the Gold Rush of 1898.

The Alaskan Land

Alaska sits between the Pacific Ocean and Canada, just 3 miles east of Russia, with almost a third of the state north of the Arctic Circle. Its 586,412 square miles occupy an area larger than most countries. Most of this land is sparsely settled, providing some of the most extensive natural scenery in the world.

Alaska’s extensive coastline welcomes visitors with the Aleutian Islands, a 1,200-mile chain of volcanic islands separating the Bering Sea from the Pacific Ocean. These islands rise as high as 6,200 feet, with many volcanic cones and a few active volcanoes.

The islands extend into the Alaska Peninsula, where the Pacific Mountain System begins a range that stretches down the Pacific Coast to California and Mexico. Looming over the system’s Alaska Range is Mount McKinley, the highest mountain peak in North America, towering at 20,320 feet above sea level. The mountains are the footprint of volcanic and glacial activity that has left behind three million lakes, 100,000 glaciers, and 17,200 square miles of glacial ice on the land and coast.

The south central area here contains the most populous part of Alaska, hosting Alaska’s largest city of Anchorage. Anchorage sits north of the Kenai Peninsula, which juts out into the Gulf of Alaska, and south of the mountainous Matanuska-Susitna Valley, a fast-growing region renowned for its record-size cabbages.

The southeast coastal area here leading towards the Continental United States contains the Alaska Panhandle, a strip 400 miles long and 10 to 150 miles wide, where most early non-Native Alaska pioneers settled following the Alaska Purchase. The Panhandle includes the state capital of Juneau and other important settlements. Its geographical highlights are the Alexander Archipelago, a 300-mile group of 1,100 islands formed by submerged mountain peaks; and Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest in the United States.

North of the Alaska Range lie the Central Uplands and Lowlands, the largest area of the Alaska Interior. This area is marked by low, rolling hills and broad, swampy river valleys, notably the valley of Alaska’s longest river, the Yukon River. Near the head of the Tanana River sits the city of Fairbanks, the region’s major population center and Alaska’s second-largest city.

North of the Central Uplands and Lowlands, the Brooks Range and its foothills form the Rocky Mountain System of Alaska. These steep, glacier-cut peaks rise to 9,000 feet at points.

The most northern region of Alaska is the Arctic Coastal Plain, a tundra of 1,000-foot thick permafrost rising from the Arctic Ocean. No trees grow there, but during the summer thaw low grasses and wild flowers carpet the landscape.

Alaskan Wildlife

The image of a grizzly bear fishing for salmon symbolizes the Alaska wilderness. Alaska is home to 98% of the US brown bear population, including grizzlies and Kodiak bears, along with black bears and polar bears. Other characteristic Alaskan mammals are caribou, moose, bison, mountain goats, and dall sheep.

Spawning salmon are Alaska’s most famous fish. The state’s extensive lakes, rivers, and coasts also host a variety of other fish, including grayling, trout, char, pike, whitefish, lingcod, and lampreys.

Alaska sea life abounds with a variety of cetaceans. Humpback whales can be seen in summer, along with killer whales that hunt them. Bowhead whales form an important part of the Inuit diet. Belugas sometimes swim upstream in the Yukon and other large rivers.

Overhead, the Alaskan skies are filled with thousands of species of birds. The bald eagle, symbol of America, makes its home in Alaska.

The Alaskan People

Alaska currently claims about 710,231 residents, as of the 2010 U.S. Census. The most populous city is Anchorage, with a population of 291,826. Fairbanks is second with 31,535, just ahead of Juneau with 31,275.

About 66.7% of Alaska’s population is white, while 14.8% is American Indian and Alaska Native. Alaska’s Native population includes Eskimos, Aleuts, and Tlingit, Haida, and Athabaskan Indians. About a third of Alaskan residents are Alaskan-born.

Living Off the Land: a Video by the USDA Forest Service

The Alaskan government runs many public school districts. There are also more than a dozen colleges and universities. Alaskan residents enjoy approximately 120 public libraries throughout the state.

Most Alaskans work in the government and military or in industries associated with natural resource extraction, shipping, and transportation. The oil and gas industry dominates Alaska’s economy, accounting for 80% of state revenue. Military bases, fish packing and shipping, and tourism are also important parts of the economy.

Alaska has a three-branch state government, with a two-house legislature, a four-level court system, a Governor and Lieutenant Governor elected to four-year terms. The state leaned Democratic in its early history, but has leaned Republican since the 1970s. Alaska also has strong non-partisan and independent traditions.

39% of Alaskans belong to religious organizations. The largest religious groups in Alaska are Evangelical Protestants, Roman Catholics, Mormons, Southern Baptists, and Russian Orthodox.

Alaskan History

Prior to European influence, Alaskan Natives of Eskimo, Aleut, and Indian descent hunted and fished.

Russians arrived in the 18th century seeking a land bridge between America and Asia, and became active in fur trade.

Russian interest in fur trade had dwindled by the 1850s, and in the economic aftermath of the Crimean War the Russians eagerly sold Alaska to the United States for about 2 cents an acre. US Secretary of State William H. Seward was criticized for authorizing the purchase of what many saw as useless land, and Alaska became nicknamed “Seward’s Icebox” and “Seward’s Folly.”

Alaska initially had no official government, and was then loosely governed by a series of federal departments. Steps towards a more formal government were encouraged by rising economic interest in the region. First, in the 1870s, American companies began developing Alaska’s salmon industry. Then in 1896, prospectors discovered gold in the Klondike region of the Yukon Territory, just across the Alaskan border in Canada. A gold rush began, and accelerated when gold was discovered in Alaska itself in 1899 and 1902. Mining grew in the region, fueling the spread of fish canneries.

This economic growth, along with a border dispute with Canada and a political scandal involving accusations of undue business influence, pushed Alaska’s political development. In 1912 Congress established Alaska as a US territory, and the first push for statehood began.

Alaska continued to grow in the 1920s, with the completion of the Alaska Railroad and the dawn of air travel spurring economic development. During World War II the state’s military importance came to the fore, when the Japanese invaded the Aleutian Islands and the US government built the Alaska Highway as a military supply road. Alaska’s military significance grew during the Cold War, as the state became a key point on the perimeter of US radar early warning systems and air and naval defense.

On July 30, 1958, Congress voted to make Alaska the 49th state. Alaskan voters elected their first Governor, William Egan, that November. On January 3, 1959, President Eisenhower proclaimed Alaska the newest member of the Union.

During its early years as a state, Alaska faced major challenges, such as making the transition from federal to state funding, surviving the biggest earthquake to hit North America in 1964, and enduring the largest flood in the history of Fairbanks in 1967. But the state survived, and its rich mineral industry began to thrive. Today oil and other natural resources hold the key to Alaska’s future.

Worthy Alaskan Resources

State of Alaska Official Website
Travel Alaska

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