Interesting facts about a region of the country that is rough and unforgiving. This is at least what the travel books say. We will attempt to identify facts a little more personal to us as we make this adventure our own.

Alaska facts

1. Russian whalers and fur traders on Kodiak Island established the first settlement in Alaska in 1784.
2. In 1867 United States Secretary of State William H. Seward offered Russia $7,200,000, or two cents per acre, for Alaska.
3. Alaska officially became the 49th state on January 3, 1959.
4. The state of Rhode Island could fit into Alaska 425 times.
5. Prudhoe Bay, on the northern Alaskan coast, is North America’s largest oil field.
6. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline moves up to 88,000 barrels of oil per hour on its 800 mile journey to Valdez.
7. The fishing and seafood industry is the state’s largest private industry employer.
8. Dog mushing is the official state sport. The Alaska Legislature adopted it in 1972.
9. The state motto is North to the Future.
10. The jade is the official state gemstone.
11. Gold is the official state mineral. It was named the state mineral in 1968.
12. Alaska’s Constitution was adopted in 1956 and became effective in 1959 making it the 49th state.
13. Nearly one-third of Alaska lies within the Arctic Circle.
14. The state boasts the lowest population density in the nation.
15. Alaska is the United State’s largest state and is over twice the size of Texas. Measuring from north to south the state is approximately 1,400 miles long and measuring from east to west it is 2,700 miles wide.
16. At 20,320 feet above sea level, Mt. McKinley, located in Alaska’s interior, is the highest point in North America.
17. Juneau is the only capital city in the United States accessible only by boat or plane.
18. The state’s largest city is Anchorage; the second largest is Fairbanks.
19. The Alaska Range is the largest mountain chain in the state. It covers from the Alaska Peninsula to the Yukon Territory.