Alaska
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State flag
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ALASKA,
one of the Pacific states, and the northernmost state of the
U.S., occupying the NW extremity of North America; it is bounded
on the N by the Arctic Ocean; on the E by the Yukon Territory and British
Columbia; on the SE, S, and SW by the Pacific Ocean; and on the
W by the Bering Sea, Bering Strait, and Arctic Ocean. The state
includes two major island groups, the Aleutian Islands, which extend
in an arc W from the SW corner of the mainland, and the Alexander
Archipelago, adjacent to the SE coast of the mainland.
Sometimes called the Last Frontier, Alaska entered the Union
on Jan. 3, 1959, as the 49th state. The wild grandeur of Alaska
has fascinated people for several hundred years. Its economy, traditionally
dominated by the exploitation of natural resources, entered a new
phase in 1977, when production of petroleum began at the vast Prudhoe
Bay oil field on the Arctic coast. The name of the state is derived
from an Aleut word meaning “mainland.”
| ALASKA STATE FACTS |
| DATE OF STATEHOOD: |
January 3, 1959; 49th state |
| CAPITAL: |
Juneau |
| MOTTO: |
North to the Future |
| STATE SONG: |
“Alaska’s Flag” (words by Marie Drake; music by Elinor Dusenbury) |
| STATE TREE: |
Sitka spruce |
| STATE FLOWER: |
Forget-me-not |
| STATE BIRD: |
Willow ptarmigan |
| POPULATION (2000 census): |
626,932; 48th among the states |
| AREA: |
1,7717,854 sq km (663,267 sq mi); the largest state; includes 236,507 sq km (91,316 sq mi) of inland water |
| COASTLINE: |
10,686 km (6640 mi) |
| HIGHEST POINT: |
Mt. McKinley (Denali), 6194 m (20,320 ft) |
| LOWEST POINT: |
Sea level, at the Pacific coast |
| ELECTORAL VOTES: |
3 |
| U.S. CONGRESS: |
2 senators; 1 representative |
| GOVERNOR: |
Sarah Palin (Rep.); took office December 2006 |
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(c) Edward A. Thomas
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Mt. McKinley
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Alaska, with a total area of 1,717,854 sq km (663,267
sq mi), is the largest state in the U.S., with an area larger than the states
of Texas, California, and Montana combined;; about 68% of the land area is
owned by the federal government. The state is roughly square in shape
with two major projections: the Alaska Peninsula, with its geographical
extension, the Aleutian Islands; and the Panhandle, which extends from
the SE body of the state along the border of British Columbia. Its
extreme dimensions are about 1770 km (about 1100 mi) from N to S and
about 3220 km (about 2000 mi) from E to W. Alaska has the greatest
relief range of any state; elevations begin at sea level and extend up
to 6194 m (20,320 ft) at Mt. McKinley (Denali), the highest peak in
North America. The approximate mean elevation is 579 m (1900 ft).
Alaska has 8980 km (5580 mi) of shoreline on the Pacific Ocean and 1706
km (1060 mi) of shoreline on the Arctic Ocean.
The entire S coastal area of Alaska belongs to the Pacific
Mt. system. The group of ranges that form this area belong to a
geologically unstable belt that surrounds the Pacific Ocean. Volcanic
and earthquake activity is much in evidence in this region. The
SE (or Panhandle) is a region of fjords and glaciers and consists
of the rugged Boundary Range and the offshore Alexander Archipelago.
Located here is the sheltered Inside Passage, a fine natural waterway
and one of the most scenic in the world. At the NW corner of this
region is the Saint Elias Range, with some of the highest peaks
on the continent, largely covered with ice and snow and containing
the spectacular Malaspina Glacier, the largest in the state.
The Pacific Mt. system also includes the Chugach Range, flanking
the N periphery of the Gulf of Alaska and containing the massive
Columbia Glacier. The Kenai Mts. constitute a SW continuation of
the mountain system. Inland from the Chugach Range, the low relief
of the Copper R. Basin is broken by the Wrangell Mts., which contain
Mt. Wrangell (4317 m/14, 163 ft), the highest active volcano
in Alaska.
Inland from the Copper R. Basin is the extensive arc-shaped
Alaska Range, which includes Mt. McKinley. The mountain system continues
to the SW in a series of volcanoes, the Aleutian Range, which extends
far W into the Pacific Ocean as an archipelago, the Aleutian Islands.
North of the Alaska Range is the complex Central Highland
and Basin Region, sometimes called the Yukon Plateaus. In the W,
elevations are low, and extensive areas flood with the spring thaw.
A low range here, the elongated Kuskokwim Mts., separates the Yukon
and Kuskokwim valleys. The E interior is occupied by the Yukon Highlands.
The Brooks Range extends across the entire width of Alaska
and consists of a complexly folded sedimentary mass with a series of longitudinal
valleys, chiefly those of the Kobuk and Koyukuk rivers. Maximum elevations reach
only about 3050 m (about 10,000 ft).
Alaska’s Arctic Lowland, also known as the North
Slope or Arctic Plain, slopes gradually downward from the base of
the Brooks Range to the Arctic Ocean. In the S, where elevations
exceed 610 m (2000 ft), drainage is good. In the N, however, are
many hundreds of undrained ponds.
Alaska’s major river, the Yukon, is one of the longest
on the continent; it flows across the state from E to W, emptying
into the Bering Sea. Its tributaries include the Porcupine, Koyukuk,
and Tanana rivers. Among the state’s shorter streams are
the Colville and Kobuk rivers, which drain into the Arctic Ocean,
and the Kuskokwim, Susitna, Matanuska, and Copper rivers, which
drain into the Pacific Ocean. Thousands of small lakes and ponds
are found in Alaska. The state’s largest lakes (Iliamna
and Becharof, are located on the Alaska Peninsula.
Alaska can be divided into three major climate zones: a region
of maritime influences (a marine west coast climate), a region of
continental (or subarctic) climate, and a region of tundra (or arctic)
climate.
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(c) Edward A. Thomas
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Glacier Bay
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The region of maritime climate comprises the Panhandle, the
coast of the Gulf of Alaska, and the Aleutian Islands. This region
is greatly affected by the relatively warm Alaska Current and by
the proximity of the Gulf of Alaska, where storms form throughout
the year, especially in winter. Gray skies, successive wet days, dampness,
fogginess, and occasional gale winds are characteristic. Annual
precipitation is heavy, amounting to more than 2540 mm (more than
100 in) in many places. The abundant snowfall provides the source
for many glaciers. Summers are cool here, and winters, relatively
mild.
Interior Alaska, the area N of the Alaska Range and S
of the Brooks Range, is a region of continental climate, with mild,
brief summers and harsh winters. This region is drier and has an
average annual precipitation of about 610 mm (about 24 in). For half of
the year the ground is covered with powdery snow that accumulates to
depths of several feet. Invasions of warmer maritime air from the Gulf
of Alaska may break the extreme winter cold for a week or so at a time.
Average January temperature is -22.8° C (-9° F), with extremes of
-51.1° C (-60° F) or colder. A record low temperature of -62.2° C (-80°
F) was measured at Prospect Creek Camp, in NW Alaska, in 1971. A record
high temperature of 37.8° C (100° F) was set in 1915 at Fort Yukon,
along the Arctic Circle, NE of Fairbanks.
The area N of the Brooks Range is a region of tundra (arctic)
climate and has weeks of continuous darkness in winter and of daylight
in summer. Moderated by ocean influences, the winter is somewhat
less harsh than in interior Alaska. While the snow cover is thin,
strong winds at times create extremely cold windchill temperatures.
The average annual precipitation is less than 203 mm (less than
8 in).
| ALASKA AVERAGE CLIMATE |
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Fairbanks |
Juneau |
| Average January temperature range |
–30° to –18.9° C |
–22° to –2° F |
–7.8° to –1.7° C |
18° to 29° F |
| Average July temperature range |
10° to 22.2° C |
50° to 72° F |
8.9° to 17.8° C |
48° to 64° F |
| Average annual temperature |
–3.3° C |
26° F |
4.4° C |
40° F |
| Average annual precipitation |
279 mm |
11 in |
1397 mm |
55 in |
| Average annual snowfall |
1072 mm |
67 in |
2794 mm |
110 in |
| Mean number of days per year with appreciable precipitation |
102 |
220 |
| Average daily relative humidity |
61% |
77% |
| Mean number of clear days per year |
68 |
44 |
Slightly less than one-third of Alaska is forest covered,
and the state contains the two largest national forests in the nation.
Lush coniferous forests, located in the Panhandle and on the coast
of the Gulf of Alaska, are dominated by hemlock and spruce trees,
with an understory of mosses and shrubs. Much of the interior is
covered by taiga, or northern forest, consisting largely of spruce and
birch; these forests are slow growing and of limited commercial
value. Over much of W and N Alaska is the treeless tundra, with
a vegetation ranging from shrubs to mosses and sedges. Alaska’s
many flowers include fireweed, lupine, and the state flower, forget-me-not.
Alaska has a rich and diverse fauna. Surrounding waters are
renowned for whale, fur seal, walrus, and sea otter, as well as
salmon, halibut, crab, shrimp, and other marine life. Bears, including
polar, brown, and black, are well represented. Great herds of caribou
still migrate across the Brooks Range, followed by packs of wolves.
Other mammals include moose, as well as such furbearers as beaver,
wolverine, mink, otter, and muskrat. Several species of ptarmigan
are widespread, and large numbers of ducks and geese spend summers on
the Arctic slope. Mosquitoes swarm in vast numbers in summer; also
present are flies and “no-see-ums,” as the biting
midges are known.
Petroleum and natural gas are by far Alaska’s most
important mineral resources. Considerable quantities of zinc, gold (especially
around Juneau, Fairbanks, and Nome), lead, and silver are mined; copper (from the
Copper R. Basin) is also important. Coal is found near the Alaska Railroad.
Large deposits of molybdenum are known, near Ketchikan and in the
W Brooks Range. Other mineral resources include sand, gravel, and
clay. In the future, exploration is likely to reveal additional
deposits of other minerals.
According to the 2000 census, Alaska had 626,932 inhabitants,
an increase of 14.0% over 1990. The most thinly populated of the 50 states,
Alaska still had an average population density in 2000 of only 0.4 persons
per sq km (1.1 per sq mi) of land area. Whites made
up 69.3 % of the population and blacks 3.5%. The
population also included 98,043 American Indians and Alaska Natives,
amounting to 15.6% of the total population. Most of the
Inuit population lived in the N and W parts of the state. The Tlingit, Haida,
and Athabaska, the state’s principal American Indian groups,
lived in the S and SE. The Aleuts were concentrated in the Aleutian
Islands and the Alaska Peninsula. A total of 25,116 (4.0%)
persons of Asian background (4.0%) also lived in Alaska. Other groups
included the Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders (0.5%).
(These figures do not include the 5.4% of the population
who reported more than one race.) There were 25,852 people (4.1%)
of Hispanic origin. The largest cities in the state were Anchorage;
Juneau, the capital; Fairbanks; Sitka; and Ketchikan.
According ta 2000 survey, only about one-third of Alaskans were
adherents of particular religious denominations. Roman Catholics made up the largest
single religious group, accounting for 8.7% of the total population, followed by adherents
of the Southern Baptist Convention (3.7%), the Orthodox Church in America-Territorial
Dioceses (3.2%), and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (3%). According to the
2000 census, about 66% of all Alaskans lived in areas broadly defined as urban (compared to 79%
for the U.S. as a whole), while the rest lived in areas defined as rural.
| POPULATION OF ALASKA SINCE 1880 |
| Year of Census |
Population |
Classified As Urban |
| 1880 |
33,000 |
0% |
| 1900 |
64,000 |
25% |
| 1920 |
55,000 |
5% |
| 1930 |
59,000 |
14% |
| 1940 |
73,000 |
23% |
| 1950 |
129,000 |
26% |
| 1960 |
226,000 |
38% |
| 1980 |
400,000 |
65% |
| 1990 |
550,043 |
67% |
| 2000 |
626,932 |
66% |
| POPULATION OF TEN LARGEST CITIES IN ALASKA |
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2000 Census |
1990 Census |
| Anchorage |
260,283 |
226,338 |
| Juneau |
30,711 |
26,751 |
| Fairbanks |
30,224 |
30,843 |
| Sitka |
8,835 |
8,588 |
| Ketchikan |
7,922 |
8,263 |
| Kenai |
6,942 |
6,327 |
| Kodiak |
6,334 |
6,365 |
| Bethel |
5,471 |
4,674 |
| Wasilla |
5,469 |
4,028 |
| Barrow |
4,581 |
3,469 |
Many new educational and cultural facilities were opened in
Alaska as a result of the influx of people and funds attendant to
the start of large-scale petroleum production in the 1970s.
The first mission school for native Alaskans was founded at
Wrangell by Presbyterian missionaries in 1876. By 1884 the free
public school system had been established in the territory. Today,
general public schools are supported by the state and local governments.
Schools for Native American children are operated by the U.S. Bureau
of Indian Affairs.
In 2002 annual public school enrollment totaled about 94,000
pupils in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade and some 40,000 students in
grades 9-12. In that same year, combined enrollment in institutions of higher
education in Alaska stood at about 30,000 students (28,000 in public higher
institutions and the rest in private ones). These institutions included the
University of Alaska (1917), with its three main branches--the University of
Alaska Fairbanks, the University of Alaska Anchorage, and the University of
Alaska Southeast(headquarters in Juneau)--and Alaska Pacific University (1957),
at Anchorage.
The Anchorage Museum of History and Art (1968) contains outstanding
collections on Alaskan history and native arts. The University of
Alaska Museum (1929), in Fairbanks, includes extensive exhibits on Alaskan
archaeology and wildlife. The Alaska State Museum (1900), in Juneau, and the
Sheldon Jackson Museum (1888), in Sitka, feature exhibits of Indian and
Inuit artifacts. The Valdez Museum and Historical Archive, in Valdez, noted for its
collections of gold and cooper artifacts, and the Wrangell Museum, focusing on the
exploration and native cultures of Southeast Alaska, were both founded in 1967. The
state’s largest public library is at Anchorage; the Alaska Historical Library,
founded in 1900, is in Juneau. The Alaska Center for the Performing Art, built during
the 1980s, is in Anchorage.
The sites of 18th-century Russian settlements are found on
Kodiak Island and at Sitka, and Sitka National Historical Park includes
the site of a fort used by the Russians to gain control over the
Tlingit Indians in the early 19th century. Klondike Gold Rush National
Historical Park, at Skagway, commemorates the great gold rush of
1897–98.
Alaska’s leading resort area is Denali National Park
and Preserve, where hiking, mountain climbing, and skiing are popular
activities. Other outdoor sports in Alaska include fishing, hunting,
swimming, ice skating, and dogsled racing (or mushing). The Iditarod,
a sled-dog race held annually in March, follows the Iditarod National
Historic Trail from Anchorage to Nome, covering a distance of more
than 1770 km (more than 1100 mi). Popular indoor sports are basketball
and bowling.
Alaska’s communications facilities are concentrated
in the state’s few cities. Most small towns are connected
with larger urban areas in both Alaska and the continental U.S.
by radio and telephone sservice; radio telephone communications was
established in Juneau, Ketchikan, and Nome in 192. The state’s first radio
station, KFQD, began operation in Anchorage in 1924. Television broadcast (by KENI)
started in 1953, and the first live satellite telecast in Alaska took place in 1969.
In 2004 Alaska was served by 24 daily newspapers, which had a combined paid daily
circulation of about 620,000 copies. Among the leading dailies were the Anchorage
Daily News and the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Alaska’s first general newspaper,
the Sitka Times, began publication in Sitka in 1868. In 2003, 72.7% of Alaska’s
households had computers, and 67.6% had Internet access.
Alaska is governed under a constitution adopted in 1956 (three
years before it became a state), as amended. State constitutional
amendments may be proposed by the legislature or by a constitutional
convention. In order to become effective they must be approved by
voters in a general election.
Alaska’s chief executive is a governor, who is popularly
elected to a 4-year term and may not serve more than two consecutive
terms. The lieutenant governor, the only other state constitutional
official, succeeds the chief executive on the governor’s
death, removal from office, or incapacity to serve. The governor
appoints cabinet officers, who are called commissioners.
The Alaska legislature consists of a house of representatives
of 40 members popularly elected to 2-year terms and a senate of
20 members popularly elected to 4-year terms. The senate elects
a president from among its members, and the house chooses a speaker
as its presiding officer. The legislature meets every January for
a session that normally lasts 120 calendar days. In general, a veto of
legislation by the governor may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of the
senate and house; vetoes of appropriations bills, however, cannot be overridden
without a three-fourths vote in each chamber.
The highest judicial body in Alaska is the supreme
court, made up of five justices, one of whom is chosen by the court to
serve a nonrenewable 3-year term as chief justice. The governor
appoints each justice, who must be confirmed in office by voters in the
first general election held after the justice has served for three
years on the court. Thereafter, the justice must be reconfirmed by
voters every ten years. The court of appeals consists of three judges,
who must be reconfirmed by voters at eight-year intervals. The chief
trial courts in the state are the superior courts, which have a total
of 34 justices, who face the voters at six-year intervals. District
court judges and local magistrates hear cases of lesser importance.
Alaska is not divided into counties; the chief units of
local government in the mid-2000s were 26 boroughs, of which 5 were unified
home-rule municipalities (combining the functions of boroughs and
cities). The state also had more than 140 other municipalities and some 250
federally recognized tribal governments. Most of the boroughs and
incorporated communities had elected mayors and councils.
Alaska is represented in the U.S. Congress by two senators and
one representative. The state casts three electoral votes in presidential
elections.
Since statehood no single party has dominated politics
in Alaska. Although Republicans outnumber Democrats among registered
voters, nonpartisan registrants are in the majority. Control of the
state governorship has been closely balanced between the two major
parties; the Republicans held the statehouse and both houses of the
state legislature following the November 2006 elections. In
presidential balloting, the state has generally gone Republican; third
parties have made impressive showings since 1992. The Libertarian party
has a significant following, and Libertarians have won election to the
state legislature. Ted Stevens (1923- ) has represented Alaska in the
U.S. Senate since 1968; as the Senate’s senior Republican, he held
the position of president pro tempore (2003-07).
Until the 1960s Alaska’s economy developed slowly,
despite the gold rushes of the Klondike (1897–98) and Nome
(1898). Fishing and forestry have traditionally been important to
the economy, while agriculture, less productive at these high latitudes,
employs few people. In the late 1970s, extraction of petroleum began along the
Arctic shore, and substantial reserves of natural gas are also being
developed. Although known mainly for the exploitation of natural
resources, Alaska’s economy is also notably dependent on federal
spending. The large number of military and government workers is a result of
the state’s strategic military location and the presence of vast areas of
land under federal government jurisdiction. Some analysts have called for
diversification of the economy, with more in-state processing of Alaskan raw
materials such as oil, timber, and fish, but transportation and infrastructure
costs are high, so that processed products do not compete favorably when exported
from the state.
| ALASKA STATE ECONOMY |
| STATE BUDGET |
| General revenue |
$8.9 billion |
| General expenditure |
$8.1 billion |
| Accumulated debt |
$5.7 billion |
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| STATE TAXES PER CAPITA |
$2,035 |
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| PERSONAL INCOME, PER CAPITA |
$35,612 |
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| POPULATION BELOW POVERTY LEVEL |
9.4% |
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| EMPLOYMENT DISTRIBUTION |
| Management, business, finance |
40,000 |
| Professional and related |
64,000 |
| Services |
51,000 |
| Sales and related |
27,000 |
| Office and administrative support |
45,000 |
| Farming, fishing, forestry |
6,000 |
| Construction and extraction |
23,000 |
| Installation, maintenance, repair |
14,000 |
| Production: 468,000 |
12,000 |
| Transportation and material moving |
23,000 |
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| GROSS STATE PRODUCT |
$39.9 billion |
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| NET FARM INCOME |
$7.5 million |
| Principal products |
greenhouse/nursery, hay, dairy products |
Farming accounts for less than 1% of the annual gross
state product in Alaska. In the early 2000s the state had fewer than 1000 farms,
averaging about 600 ha (about 1500 acres) in size. In 2005 crops accounted for
about $24.8 million of the total agricultural sector output of $58.5 million;
livestock accounted for around $25.2 million, and services and forestry for some
$8.6 million. Greenhouse and nursery products, hay, dairy roducts, potatoes, and
cattle were Alaska’s top five agricultural commodities Most agricultural
activities are carried on in areas adjacent to or near the Pacific
coast. The Matanuska Valley near Anchorage is the most important
agricultural region, followed by the inland Tanana Valley and the Kenai
Peninsula. Alaska is not self-sufficient in farm products.
Although the state has vast timber resources, much of
the timberland is under federal protection. Timber worth about $210
million was shipped from Alaska in 2000; roundwood accounted for more
than 85% of the value. The principal species harvested in the state are
western hemlock, Sitka spruce, cedar, and other softwoods that are used
for lumber and for making paper.
Alaska has excellent marine and freshwater fisheries.
The value of commercial fishing in 2004 was $1.2 billion. Salmon
accounts for a major share of the value of the annual catch, followed
by shellfish (crabs, shrimp, scallops) and finfish other than salmon
(halibut, herring, flounder).
The mining industry directly accounts for one-fifth of
the annual gross state product. Petroleum dominates the annual mineral
output. Nearly all production comes from Prudhoe Bay and adjacent
areas. In the late 1990s, the state had 4.9 billion barrels of proved
reserves, accounting for about 23% of the U.S. total; other fields on,
or offshore, the Arctic coastline may contain even greater quantities
of recoverable petroleum. Natural gas output is also substantial, most
natural gas occurring with or near petroleum. Among the other minerals
produced are zinc, gold, lead, silver, copper, stone, and sand and gravel;
their combined estimated value in 2005 was $4.7 billion.
Manufacturing is a comparatively minor economic sector
in Alaska. In 2005, it accounted for no more than 2% of the annual gross state
product of $39.3 billion and had only about 8000 employees, down from 11,800 in
2000. Processing of fish and other food is the leading industry in the state,
followed by petroleum and coal, chemicals, nonmetallic minerals, fabricated metals,
and transportation equipment. Manufacturing activities occur mainly along the
Pacific coast, especially at Anchorage, but also inland at Fairbanks. In 2005
manufactured goods accounted for about 23% of Alaska’s total exports by value.
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(c) Edward A. Thomas
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Denali National Park
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Tourism is a growing industry in Alaska. In 2003 some
1.4 million tourists-- more than twice the state’s resident
population--visited Alaska, bringing in revenues of $1.5 billion, or
about 5%, of the gross state product. The cruise industry accounts for
a major share of vacationers. Large areas in Alaska. Large areas in
the state are administered by the National Park Service; Denali and
Glacier Bay national parks and preserves are two of the most popular
areas. In addition the state maintains a system of more than 120 parks
and recreation areas.
Because of Alaska's enormous size and small population,
water and air transportation are critically important. Alaska has a highly
developed ferry system, operating haul vessels that include restaurants, lodging,
and lounges. The state has numerous places that are officially recognized as ports.
In addition to Anchorage and Juneau--the most important--are Dutch Harbor, Kodiak,
Seward, Skagway, Sitka, Valdez, and Wrangell; majority of these are located on
the Pacific coast. The international airports serving Anchorage and Fairbanks are
the busiest of the state’s more than 500 airports. Alaska in 2005 also had
124 seaplane bases and 37 heliports. More than 10,000 aircraft are registered in the
state, an average of about one plane for every 65 residents, and Alaska has about
6 times as many pilots per capita as the rest of the U.S. The commuter airline
transportation is highly developed; Alaskans frequently commute by airplane. The plane
not only links settled places but also allows isolated hamlets to maintain contact with
one another and with more populated centers.
Anchorage and Fairbanks are important hubs in a network
of about 20,640 km (about 12,825 mi) of federal, state, and local
roads. There is less roadway per square mile of land area than in any
other state, and four-fifths of the roadway is unpaved. The state capital
of Juneau is not connected to the road network and must be reached by air
or sea. Principal highways connect Fairbanks with Anchorage, and Anchorage
with the Kenai Peninsula. The Alaska Highway, linked to this system, is a
major overland route to Canada and the rest of the U.S. The publicly owned
Alaska Railroad has connects Fairbanks with Anchorageand extends S to Seward.
The railroad was completed in 1923 and sold to the state by the federal government
in 1985.
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline (opened 1977), 122 cm (48 in)
in diameter, connects Prudhoe Bay to the Pacific port of Valdez,
carrying crude petroleum. The pipeline, which has a maximum throughput
of more than 2 million barrels per day, operated at less than half
capacity in 2000.
In 2003, 53% of Alaska’s electricity was generated from
natural gas,13% from petroleum, and 9% from coal. About 25% came from
hydroelectric power. A total of 6.3 billion kWh was generated.
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(c) Edward A. Thomas
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Totem Pole
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The original inhabitants of Alaska included four ethnological
subdivisions. The Aleuts of the western Alaska Peninsula were expert
mariners; their economy relied on sea otter, seal, sea lion, and
fish, and they were skilled at basketry. The Inuit (Eskimo), inhabiting
the coastal area from Bristol Bay to Point Demarcation on the Arctic,
sailed in kayaks to hunt whale, seal, and walrus and to fish. On
land they used dogs and sleds for hunting. The Inuit deftly carved
ivory into tools, utensils, and ornaments. The Tlingit-Haida Indians
of southeastern Alaska, skilled in totem-pole carving and basketry,
were great traders and canoe builders who lived from the sea. Indian
tribes of the interior belonged to the Athabascan family; they caught
salmon and hunted land animals. The seminomadic Athabascans had
few arts but made knives of stone and copper.
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Library of Congress LC-USZ62-21907
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William H. Seward
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The first Europeans to visit Alaska were part of a Russian
expedition led by the Danish navigator Vitus Bering, who landed
on the southern coast in 1741. Bering and much of the crew died
on the return voyage; the remaining crew reached Russia with otter
skins in 1742, prompting ruthless promshlenniki (“fur
traders”) to swarm into the Aleutians. In 1784 Grigory
Shelekhov (1747–95) colonized Kodiak Island; in 1786 Gerasim
Pribilof (d. 1796) located the opulent Seal Islands. The Russian-American
Co. was granted a monopoly over the fur trade in 1799.
Aleksandr Baranov (1746–1819), the first chief manager,
founded Sitka as the colony’s commercial center, along
with 23 other posts. Despite penetrations by Spanish, British, French,
and American explorers and traders, dating from the 1770s, Russian
control over Alaska lasted until 1867. Although the Russians discovered
gold, copper, and coal, they were mainly preoccupied with furs.
A decline in fur profits and a threatened invasion by the British
from Canada motivated Russia in the 1850s to consider selling Alaska
to the U.S. The American Civil War delayed the purchase, astutely
negotiated by Secretary of State William H. Seward, until 1867.
Army troops garrisoned in Alaska from 1867 to 1877 constituted
the first U.S. presence there. When the troops were withdrawn, the
only U.S. officials present were customs collectors of the U.S.
Treasury Department. After U.S. warships arrived in 1879, the commanding
officers of those ships exercised de facto jurisdiction over Alaska
until Congress established a civil and judicial district in 1884.
Salmon canning became a major industry by the 1880s; the Alaskan
gold rushes nearly doubled the population and attracted capital
in the 1890s. In 1906 Alaska was given a delegate to Congress; in
1912 it gained territorial status. Its failure to achieve self-government
hindered economic development, however, and the population declined
between 1910 and 1930. New Deal measures of the 1930s improved housing, created
public works, stimulated mining, and demonstrated greater agricultural
potential for Alaska.
During World War II, the strategic importance of Alaska was
belatedly recognized. In June 1942 the Japanese occupied the islands
of Attu and Kiska in the Aleutians; it took U.S. forces 15 months
to dislodge them. To circumvent a threat to Alaskan sealanes, the
army built the Alaska Highway, connecting Alaska with British Columbia,
in 1942.
The cold war with the USSR led to increased military construction
in 1947 and the start of the radar stations of the DEW (Distant
Early Warning) Line. The fishing industry, once the mainstay of
the Alaskan economy, declined by the late 1940s. Between 1954 and
1959 the forest products industry, the first major year-round industry,
expanded rapidly. The discovery of oil on the Kenai Peninsula in
1957 gave a new impetus to the economy.
Alaska officially became the 49th state on Jan. 3, 1959. Tourism
soon developed into a major industry, and a state ferry system was
authorized in 1961. A devastating earthquake struck south-central
Alaska in 1964.
The discovery of vast oil deposits on the Alaska North Slope
in 1968 resulted in construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, extending some
1300 km (about 800 mi) from Prudhoe Bay to the ice-free port of Valdez, where
the first oil arrived in July 1977. Oil revenues enabled the state to abolish
its personal income tax and to distribute annual cash dividends to all state residents.
In 1980 Congress passed the Alaska Lands Bill, which
excluded more than 42 million ha (more than 104 million acres) in the
state from commercial development. Many Alaskans opposed what they felt
were unjustifiable federal attempts to limit exploitation of the
state's resources, but calls for secession were rejected. One of the
worst environmental disasters in U.S. history occurred in March 1989,
when an Exxon tanker ran aground in Prince William Sound, spilling more
than 10 million gallons of oil; the cleanup costs exceeded $2.2 billion.
How to reconcile the U.S. demand for fossil fuels with
the need to protect Alaska's pristine wilderness remains a subject of
intense debate, both nationally and statewide. In recent years,
developers have sought--and environmentalists have opposed--federal
authorization to begin oil drilling in part of the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge, E of Prudhoe Bay. In 1998, over environmentalists'
objections, the NE portion of the National Petroleum Reserve, W of
Prudhoe Bay, was opened for petroleum development. A plan to build a
$10 billion pipeline to convey natural gas from the North Slope to the
lower 48 states was delayed by questions as to its economic viability
and environmental impact.
An earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale shook
the sparsely populated Alaskan interior in November 2002. Support
structures for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline were damaged, but no break was
reported in the pipeline itself. A transit line linking the Prudhoe Bay
field with pumping stations and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline sprang a leak
in March 2006, causing a 200,000-gallon oil spill; discovery of corrosion in
the transit pipeline system led to a partial shutdown of the Prudhoe Bay field
later that year.