Welcome to Alaska
-Known as the Great Land, Alaska is by far the largest of the United States. Though it has the 4th smallest population of any of the states with just 710,000 residents, it is bigger than the next 3 largest states combined (Texas, California and Montana).
-The USA purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867 for what at the time was a hugely controversial sum of money ($7.2 million), and the sale was known as “Seward’s Folly” after the US Secretary of State at the time. Seward’s purchase was vindicated in 1896 when the Klondike Gold Strike made it one of America’s richest assets, though it didn’t become the 49th State until 1959.
-The tourist season to Alaska is quite short due to the long dark winters, but in summer, the evenings are long and the sightseeing options are wide and diverse for exploring the outdoors and seeing amazing wildlife.
-Alaska’s time zone is GMT-9 making it 9 hours behind the UK most of the year.
-Alaska is home to the highest peak in North America, Mount McKinley or Denali meaning the high one. It gives its name to Denali National Park which is a must-visit location for tourists to Alaska with wildlife ranging from grizzly & black bears, to moose, sheep, wolves and smaller animals such as hoary marmots, arctic ground squirrels, beavers and snowshoe hares.
-For most visitors, the gateway to Alaska is Anchorage, the largest city in the state and home to the majority of Alaska’s residents, however the state capital is actually Juneau located in the Alaska Pan-Handle in the Inside Passage.
-Alaska’s coastline is longer than all the other US state’s coastlines combined.
-The Alaska Railroad was built in the early 20th Century and links Seward with Anchorage, Denali National Park and Fairbanks in the state’s interior.
-Alaska is synonymous with glaciers, with nearly 100,000 of them covering nearly 5% of this huge state’s total area, from Medenhall Glacier near Juneau to the south of the state, to Glacier Bay, visited by many of the cruises to Alaska, and the Columbia Glacier near Valdez and Whittier, the state’s largest tidewater glacier.
-Alaska is the outdoor destination for wilderness adventures, with activities ranging from salmon fishing to heli hiking, bear watching, whale watching, glacier cruises, rafting and Arctic Circle adventures being just some of the amazing experiences you can encounter in this amazing state.
-The most northerly city in Alaska (and the USA) is Barrow, only 1300 miles from the North Pole. When the sun sets in mid November, it doesn’t rise again until around the 22nd January, however the sun remains above the horizon for around 82 days from mid May each year.
