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Alaska Facts

Whether you're getting ready to come to Alaska or if you are just looking for Alaska facts to do a school report, I hope that you find these Alaska facts helpful and informative.

We Alaskans are very proud of these Alaska facts! What you read below is just a general list. More information will be added constantly.

When I first moved to Alaska, this type of information excited me. I was quick to share it with family members who had never been to Alaska. The ones that got my attention the most were the ones about the coastline and Alaska having over three million lakes. Wow!


Geography

  • Alaska is larger than the next four largest states combined
  • Alaska contains 17 of the 20 highest peaks in The United States
  • Alaska is only 50 miles from Russia.
  • The Malaspina Glacier near Yakutat is larger than the state of Rhode Island
  • Kodiak Island is the 2nd largest island in the United States
  • Alaska is 586,400 square miles...very big!
  • We are 2 times the size of Texas!!
  • Alaska has 29 volcanoes
  • Alaska is 1,400 miles North to South and 2,700 miles East to West
  • Alaska has 33,000 miles of coastline...more than the rest of the lower 48 combined (This includes island shores)
  • Alaska is the only state to have coastlines on three different seas... Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea
  • There are more than three million lakes in Alaska
  • Lake Iliamna is Alaska's largest lake with 1000 square miles of surface area
  • The Yukon River flows 1400 miles through central Alaska and into the Bering Sea
  • Alaska has an estimated 100,000 glaciers which cover almost five percent of the state....More than in the rest of the inhabited world


  • Records and General Alaska Facts

  • Record high temperature: 100 degrees Farenheit in Fort Yukon
  • Record low temperature: -80 degrees Farenheit at Prospect Creek in the Brooks Range
  • Most snow in 24hrs: 62 inches
  • Most snow in one year: 974 inches (Thompson Alaska, near Valdez

  • Animals...Everything in Alaska is BIG!!

  • Kodiak Bear: 1,400 pounds and up to 11 feet tall
  • Polar Bear: 1400 pounds and up to 11 feet tall
  • Grizzly Bear(brown Bear): 800 pounds and 9 feet tall
  • Moose: 1350 pounds and 6 feet high to shoulder...antlers span to 72 inches
  • Also, don't forget the BIG whales
  • The largest king salmon caught by rod and reel weighed over 100 pounds
  • Halibut live on the bottom of the ocean floor and can weigh over 400 pounds
  • Farmers in the Mtanuska valley produce giant cabbages weighing close to 100 pounds

  • People

  • One half of Alaska's population lives in the Anchorage area
  • It is estimated Alaska has six times as many pilots per capita and 16 times as many aircraft per capita as the rest of the nation
  • The fastest growing region in Alaska is the Matanuska-Susitna Valley...40 miles north of Anchorage. Referred to as "The Valley" by local Alaskans

  • Parks and National Forests

  • The nations two largest forests are located in Alaska. The Tongasss in Southeast includes 16.8 million acres, and Chugach in Southcentral has 4.8 million acres
  • Juneau, the state capital, is the nations largest capital city in terms of square acres


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