Alaska
The Last Frontier
Physical Features
When people think of Alaska, they might think of glaciers and mountains, but Alaska also has many fascinating volcanoes and rivers.
One of Alaska’s best-known landforms is the famous Mount McKinley. It is considered the third tallest mountain in the world. It is 20,237 feet high. This gigantic mountain is also known as Denali, which means “The Great One”.
Alaska also has many interesting volcanoes. Over 130 volcanoes have been active within the last two million years. These active volcanoes are dangerous to aircrafts flying above. There are approximately 1.7 eruptions a year.
Also, Alaska has many captivating glaciers . At Glacier Bay National Park, there are tours, sightseeing, and lots of glaciers. McBride Glacier is the only tidewater glacier, a glacier that flows all the way down to the ocean, in the East Arm. It is a great place to kayak because it attracts fewer motorized vessels and it is a very active glacier.
Another physical feature in Alaska is its beautiful rivers. One of the most famous rivers is the Yukon River. It is a major watercourse of North America. The river is 3190 kilometers long. The total area is more than 25% of Texas!
Natural Resources and Manufacturing
The humongous state has many natural resources. In Alaska, there was a gold rush in Sitka,1872. Many people still mine for gold in Alaska, in fact, the state mineral is gold. Alaskans also mine for coal. Small-scale mining began in the 1850s.
Another natural resource found in Alaska is the ocean! The ocean was very helpful to the native americans because they could catch fish and spear whales for food. Many people still fish today, the most common fish are the salmon and the halibut.
Also, there is a lot of manufacturing in Alaska. Oil is the number one product of Alaska. There are many oil refineries in Alaska, and they normally pump about 2.1 barrels a day. Alaska produces 8.1 of the American Oil Production. Also, timber is manufactured in Alaska. It is used to make houses,boats, and many other things.Alaska Oil Refinery
Places of Interest
Being the biggest state in the U.S.,Alaska has many tourist attractions, landmarks, and important cities and nature.
One interesting tourist attraction in Alaska is the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. This race is normally held in March, and it lasts 10-17 days.In this dog-mushing race, dog mushers come fromall over the world. The current fastest winning time record was set in 2016, this year, by Dallas Seavey, with a time of eight days, eleven hours, twenty minutes, and sixteen seconds.
Also, in Barrow, there is a famous landmark called the whalebone arch. It is two great whale jaw bones leaning together like an arched door. It was founded in 1933. Under the whalebone arch, there is a place to sit and gaze at the ocean.
Lastly, there are the famous northern lights. You can see them in Fairbanks, a city in Alaska. There are many tours of the northern lights. When charged, particles strike the Earth’s atmosphere and electrons move to a higher energy state. When the electrons drop back to a lower energy level, they release light. This creates the Aurora, or the northern lights.
National Parks
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
Alaska State Trivia
State animal- moose
Mineral- gold
- Motto- “North to the Future”
Alaska officially became the 49th state on January 3, 1959
Alaska is the biggest state, more than two times the size of Texas
Jade is the official gemstone
Coastline extends over 6,000 miles
Alaska has roughly 5,000 earthquakes a year
World record 19 pound carrot, 76 pound rutabaga, 127 pound cabbage
- Abbreviation- AK, Capital- Juneau