Alaska

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

State of Alaska
Flag of Alaska State seal of Alaska
Flag of Alaska Seal of Alaska
Nickname(s): The Last Frontier,
The Land of the Midnight Sun
Motto(s): North to the Future
Map of the United States with Alaska highlighted
Official language(s) English
Capital Juneau
Largest city Anchorage
Area  Ranked 1st
 - Total 663,267 sq mi
(1,717,854 km²)
 - Width 808 miles (1,300 km)
 - Length 1,479 miles (2,380 km)
 - % water 13.77
 - Latitude 51°20'N to 71°50'N
 - Longitude 130°W to 173°E
Population  Ranked 47th
 - Total (2000) 663,661
 - Density 1.09/sq mi 
0.42/km² (50th)
 - Median income  $54,627 (6th)
Elevation  
 - Highest point Mount McKinley
20,321 ft  (6,194 m)
 - Mean 10,039 ft  (3,060 m)
 - Lowest point 0 ft  (0 m)
Admission to Union  January 3, 1959 (49th)
Governor Sarah Palin (R)
U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R)
Ted Stevens (R)
Time zones  
 - east of 169° 30' Alaska: UTC-9/DST-8
 - west of 169° 30' Aleutian: UTC-10/DST-9
Abbreviations AK US-AK
Web site www.state.ak.us

Alaska is one of the states of the United States. It was purchased from Imperial Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million dollars.

The capital city is Juneau, but the biggest city is Anchorage.

Alaska is the biggest state in the United States. It is not connected to any other states by land, but it is connected to Canada. Alaska was a state for the first time on January 3 in 1959. In 2000, the population of Alaska was 626,932 people. There are some important industries in Alaska, like fishing, mining, and forestry. There were many gold rushes in Alaska.

See list of cities and towns in Alaska for a complete list of cities and towns. In Alaska they do not split up the state into counties. Alaska uses boroughs and census areas; there are 15 boroughs, 11 census areas, and 1 municipality. You can find a list of boroughs in Alaska at List of Alaska boroughs and census areas.

The governor of Alaska is Sarah Palin. The mayor of Juneau is Bruce Botelho.

There only 4 universities and 2 colleges in all of Alaska. Three universities are the University of Alaska System. These universities are in Juneau, Anchorage, and Fairbanks.

Alaskan natives live in Alaska and they include the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut people.

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