60 Facts for Alaska's 60th Birthday!
This year Alaska turns 60! In honor of our fantastic state’s 6th decade, we wanted to share 60 interesting facts about Alaska that you may not know!
1. More caribou than people live in the state.
2. Juneau is the only state capital accessible only by boat or plane.
3. Juneau is the largest state capital at 3,108 square miles.
4. Glaciers cover five percent of Alaska( approximately 29,000 square miles).
5. Seventeen of the 20 highest peaks in America are in Alaska, including North America’s tallest peak, Denali.
6. Alaska first tried to become a state in 1916.
8. There are over 3 MILLION lakes in Alaska.
9. There are more active glaciers and ice fields in Alaska than in the rest of the inhabited world.
12. The most violent volcanic eruption of the century took place in 1912 when Novarupta Volcano erupted, creating the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes which is now part of Katmai National Park.
15. The name Alaska is derived from the Aleut word "Alyeska," meaning "great land.
16. Dog mushing is the official state sport.
17. The state flag was designed by a 13-year-old boy, Benny Benson, in 1927.
18. There are laws in Alaska that make is illegal to push a moose from a plane and giving a moose a beer.
19. Haines, Alaska has America’s first museum solely dedicated to hammers.
20. Alaska holds the record for the nation’s all-time lowest temperature -80° F.
21. Alaska has more coastline than all 49 other US states combined.
22. Moose, bear, and caribou killed by cars in Alaska are considered the property of the state.
23. When road kill is reported in Alaska, the carcasses are butchered by volunteers and distributed as food to charity organizations.
24. America’s largest national forest, the Tongass, is three times the size of the runner up, both of which are in Alaska.
26. There are 107 men for every 100 women in Alaska.
27. Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867 for about two cents an acre. What a bargain!
28. Alaska has 20 counties, which are referred to as boroughs.
29. Jewel is from Alaska.MOM _ what is this?
30. The highest temperature ever recorded in Alaska was 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
31. The largest lake in Alaska, Lake Illiamna, is roughly the size of Connecticut.
32. It is illegal to whisper in someone’s ear while they are moose hunting in Alaska.
34. The state flower of Alaska is the Forget-Me-Not.
35. Alaska has 20,171 square miles of inland water – more than any other state.
36. Danish explorer Vitus Jonassen Bering first discovered Alaska in 1741.
37. It is illegal to whisper in someone’s ear while they are moose hunting in Alaska.
38. Dog grooming is illegal in Juneau.
40. Twenty-five percent of the oil produced in the United States comes from Alaska.
41. Alaska is less than 50 miles from Russia.
44. More than half the world’s glaciers can be found in Alaska.
45. Alaska has no plants poisonous to the touch. Poison ivy and poison oak are found in all other states.
46. Alaska has grown a record cabbage weighing in at 94 pounds. The long summer days help them with their extreme growing.
47. Fur Rendezvous was selected as the number one winter carnival in the world by the National Geographic Traveler in 2012.
48. Fur Rendezvous originated in 1935 as a way to bring the isolated population of Alaska together for a three-day sports tournament.
49. In the early years of the Fur Rendezvous event, a law was made so all men had to grow beards for this event of they would suffer a fine.
50. The Tour of Anchorage cross country skiing event is part of the longest running series of community ski races in North America.
51. The city of Valdez, Alaska is the snowiest place in the United States. They get an average of 300 inches of snow a year.
52. The city of Anchorage got its start in 1914 when it was chosen as the site of a railroad construction port for the Alaska Railroad.
53. Anchorage was incorporated on November 23, 1920.
54. The Good Friday earthquake of 1964 is the strongest ever recorded in North America.
55. Anchorage’s location on the globe puts it within 9.5 hours of flying time to almost 90% of the industrialized world!
58. The city of Anchorage was a candidate for hosting the Winter Olympics in 1992 and 1994.
59. Juneau is the only U.S. capital to border another country (Canada, British Columbia).
60. Finding 60 (interesting) facts about Alaska was harder than we thought!