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Alaska Facts

1. Alaska became the 49^th State on January 3, 1959

2. Alaska is one-fifth the size of the lower 48 states and contains 586,412 sq. miles.

3. Alaska's population as of July 1998 exceeds 621,000 with an estimated 258,782 in Anchorage, 83,928 in Fairbanks, and 30,684 in the Juneau.

4. State Capital is Juneau, Alaska, located in southeastern Alaska.

5. Primary Industries are Oil, Fishing, and Tourism with Timber, Mining and Agriculture as  other key industries to Alaska’s economy.

6. Oil was discovered in Prudhoe Bay in 1968. Pipeline construction began in 1974 and was completed in 1977. The pipeline is approximately 800 miles long, 48 inches in diameter; oil moves through it at 5.5 miles per hour and takes just under six days to move from Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic coast to Valdez, Alaska.

7. Alaska State Nick Name is "The Last Frontier"

8. The State Flower is the "forget-me-not".

9. The State gem is Jade with large deposits  in different parts of the state.

10. The State Sport is Dog Mushing, once an important form of transportation in many areas of Alaska.

11. The State fish is the King Salmon.

12. The State bird is the "Willow Ptarmigan".

13. The State tree is the Sitka Spruce.

14. The State Mineral is Gold, which has played and continues to play a role in Alaska’s history and economy.

15. The State Land Mammal is the Moose.

16. The State Song is "Alaska’s Flag".

17. There are four distinct groups of Alaska Natives. These are the Northwest Coast Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts, and Athabascans.

18. The highest mountain in North America is located in Alaska and is called Denali (or Mt. McKinley) standing 20,320 ft.

For more detailed information on each of the above and other interesting facts on Alaska, go to the Web Site of the Alaska Division of Tourism by clicking on http://www.dced.state.ak.us/tourism/