Alaska Fast Facts and Trivia

Outsiders first discovered Alaska in 1741 when Danish explorer Vitus Jonassen Bering sighted it on a voyage from Siberia. In 1867 United States Secretary of State William H. On October 18, 1867 Alaska officially became the property of the United States. Alaska officially became the 49th state on January 3, 1959. Alaska accounts for 25% of the oil produced in the United States. The state of Rhode Island could fit into Alaska 425 times. The fishing and seafood industry is the state's largest private industry employer. The term Alaska native refers to Alaska's original inhabitants including Aleut, Eskimo and Indian groups. Gold is the official state mineral. It was named the state mineral in 1968. In 1926 13-year-old Bennie Benson from Cognac, Alaska designed the state flag. The Alaska State Legislature is made up of a Senate and a House of Representatives. Alaska's Constitution was adopted in 1956 and became effective in 1959 making it the 49th state. When a scale map of Alaska is superimposed on a map of the 48 lower states, Alaska extends from coast to coast. 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. The Tongass National Forest is the largest national forest in the United States. 17 of the 20 highest peaks in the United States are located in Alaska. McKinley, located in Alaska's interior, is the highest point in North America. The state's largest city is Anchorage; The Alaska Range is the largest mountain chain in the state.