The Alaska Info

Eight stars of gold on a field of blue.........

Alaska's flag. May it mean to you
The blue of the sea, the evening sky,
The mountain lakes, and the flow'rs nearby;
The gold of the early sourdough's dreams,
The precious gold of the hills and streams;
The brilliant stars in the northern sky,
The "Bear" - the "Dipper" - and, shining high,
The great North Star with its steady light,
Over land and sea a beacon bright.
Alaska's flag - to Alaskans dear,
The simple flag of a last frontier.

Some Various Facts

• 586,400 Square Miles
• We are 2 times the size of Texas
• We have 29 volcanoes
• 33,000 miles of coastline!
• 1,400 miles North to South
• 2,700 miles East to West
• Over 1/2 the world's Glaciers
• 55 miles east of Russia
• We are the only state to have coastlines on three different seas.
  Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea.

Records

• Record high temperature: 1915 +100 oF
• Record low temperature: Tanana -78 oF
• High tides of 37 feet
• Snow: 24 hours; 62 inches
  1 year; 974 inches (Thompson Alaska, near Valdez).

Mountain

• Mount Denali: 20,320 feet (Tallest in North America)

River

Yukon - Total of 2,300 miles, 1,875 in Alaska

Wildlife

• Kodiak Bear; 1,400 pounds, 11 feet tall
• Polar Bear; 1,400 pounds, 11 feet tall
• Grizzly Bear (Brown Bear); 800 pounds, 9 feet tall
• Moose; 1,350 pounds, 5 feet high to shoulder
  Antlers span; 72 inches

History

• Purchased from Russia in 1867 for under 2 cents an acre.

Official

• State Motto: North to the future.
• State Flower: Forget-me-not.

• State Bird: Alaska Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus alascensis Swarth)
  It can change it's color from light brown to snow white. The willow ptarmigan was named Alaska's state bird in 1955.

• State Tree: Sitka spruce (picea sitchenensis)
  The evergreen is found throughout the southeastern and central areas of Alaska.
• State Marine Mammal: Bowhead whale
• State Fish: King salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)
  King salmon weighing up to 100 lb. have been caught in Alaska. The king salmon is also known as the chinook salmon and is a popular sport fish. It became the state fish in 1962.

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