Alaska is the largest state in the United States. Alaska was the 49th state to be brought into the Union. Here are 12 amazing facts about Alaska you may not know about.
1. America purchased Alaska for a very low price
The United States offered Russia $7,200,000, which breaks down to two cents per acre, for Alaska back in 1867. (via)
2. Alaska is extremely close to Russia
Russia is less than 50 miles away from the Alaskan border. This was a serious threat to the United States back during the Cold War. (via)
3. Alaska has an insane amount of lakes
Alaska has 3 million lakes along with 12,000 rivers. This makes up more than 40% of the United States' surface of water. Alaska’s largest lake is Lake Ilamna, which is about the size of Connecticut. (via) (via)
4. If you want to see the Northern Lights, head to Alaska
The Northern Lights can be seen an average of 243 days a year in Fairbanks. (via)
5. Alaska contains more than half of the world's glaciers
Plus, 5 percent of Alaska is covered by glaciers. There are over 1,000 glaciers in Alaska.(via)
6. Alaska has the world’s highest concentration of Brown, Black and Polar Bears
Alaska has somewhere between 85,500 to 100,500 bears. There could easily be more, since the brown bear population is estimated to be somewhere over 50,000. (via) (via)
7. Alaska has the lowest population density in the United States
There is one person for every square mile in Alaska. If New York had the same density of people, there would only be 16 people in Manhattan. (via)
8. Alaska has roughly 14 earthquakes a day
Every year, Alaska has roughly 5,000 earthquakes. 1,000 of those earthquakes measure above a 3.5 on the Richter scale. Alaska also has had 3 of the top 10 strongest earthquakes ever recorded in the world. (via)
9. Alaska is double the size of Texas
Alaska has 663,300 square miles, while Texas is 268,820 square miles. (via) (via)
10. Alaska has both the highest and lowest points in North America.
The highest point in North American is Mount Denali at 20,306 feet. The lowest point in North America is the Aleutian Trench at 25,000 feet below sea level. (via)
11. Alaska was ahead of the United States in civil rights
In 1945, Alaska enacted the Nondiscrimination Act of 1945, making it the first civil rights legislation in the U.S. Alaska also granted the right to vote to women in 1913 - six years before the 19th Amendment. (via)
12. Alaska has more coastline than the entire continental United States.
Alaska has 33,000 miles of coastline. It is also the only state to have a coastline on 3 different oceans. Its coastline is on the Pacific Ocean, Arctic Ocean, and the Bering Sea. (via)