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Nickname: The Last
Frontier
Capital: Juneau
Rankings: #47 in population, #1 in area
Motto: North to the Future
Alaska’s nickname the Last
Frontier is a misnomer, given the fact the Russians arrived in
1741 and the Spanish, French and British were also exploring the
coast at the same time, well before the interior portions of the
Lower 48 were explored at all. By 1799, resource exploitation
and destruction of the Aleut people prompted the charter of a
Russian American company to bring order.
By 1859, the Russians had spent
so much time administering the new territory that they were
working to interest the United States in the purchase of Alaska,
an event that did not occur until 1867. Americans were sure that
the $7.2 million used for Seward’s Folly would be totally
wasted. Little did they know that there was gold in the
Klondike, discovered in 1896. The Richardson Highway soon
connected Anchorage to Fairbanks, the town built to house the
prospectors.
Alaska remained a Territory of
the United States until 1958, when it was admitted to the Union
as the 49th state. The state’s proximity to Russia brought about
a tremendous population and building boom during the 1960s, as
the state prepared to defend itself against its former Russian
owners. Fortunately for all who like to travel to incredible
destinations, all that has settled down in the “Land of the
Midnight Sun,” (referring to Alaska’s nearly 24 hour summer
daylight) and tourism now reigns as the primary industry in the
state.
You Won’t Want to Miss:
Mount McKinley and Denali
National Park, Between Anchorage and Fairbanks
The tallest mountain peak in North America at 20,320 feet,
surrounded by a six million acre nature preserve, world-renowned
for its wildlife.
Glacier Bay National Park
and the Inside Passage, Juneau Area
Famous naturalist John Muir described Glacier Bay as “a solitude
of ice, snow and newly uncovered rocks; dim, dreary and
mysterious. During the past 100 years, more of the Bay has
emerged from under the glacier, making this one of the most
dramatic National Parks in the nation.
Sitka National Historical
Park, Juneau Area
Commemorating the battle of 1804, the last major conflict
between the Alaskan natives who populated the area when the
European settlers arrived, and the Europeans who wanted to drive
them out of the area.
Kenai Peninsula, Below
Anchorage
Massive glaciers and spectacular coastline follow the 125-mile
Seward Highway to Resurrection Bay.
Alaska Cultural Center,
Valdez
Holding the world's largest private collection of Native Alaskan
art and artifacts. Exhibits which include trophy quality
wildlife mounts and representations of life and nature in Alaska
from prehistory to today. Displays include an Inupiaq Eskimo
village scene, Native Alaskan dolls, beadwork, baskets, masks,
archaeological artifacts and an impressive display of Native
carved ivory. |
Alaska National Historic Sites
Alagnak Wild River, King
Salmon
Trace the headwaters of the Alagnak Wild River to Katmai
National Park and Preserve before it makes its way to the
Bearing Sea.
Alaska Public Lands,
Anchorage, Fairbanks, Tok, Ketchikan
A variety of natural landscapes and wilderness areas
established to ensure public access to Alaska’s natural
treasures throughout the state.
Aleutian World War II
National Historic Area, Unalaska
Commemorating the servicemen who fought both the Japanese
and the extreme weather during World War II, and the Unangan
people who were driven from their homes in the area.
Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve, King Salmon
A very remote location in the volcanically active Pacific
“Ring of Fire,” home to an impressive six-mile wide, 2,500 foot
deep caldera formed 3,500 years ago.
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Nome
Three miles across the Bering Straight you could see the
activity in the USSR on Big Diomede Island. You were on Little
Diomede Island right across the strait. The Preserve
commemorates that experience.
Cape Krunsenstern National Monument, Kotzebue
Vast wetlands provide food, water and shelter for migratory
birds on beach ridges with evidence of human activity from 5,000
years ago.
Denali National Park and Preserve, Denali Park
Incredible glaciated landscape surrounding Mount McKinley,
North America’s highest at an awe inspiring 20,320 feet. The
preserve supports a great diversity of wildlife with grizzly
bears, caribou, wolves, Dali sheep and moose. Summers see a
variety of birds and wild flowers.
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Bettles
Vast wilderness at the very top of Alaska in which you will
discover craggy ridges, glacier carved valleys and fragile
flowers.
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Gustavus
Giant marine wilderness where glaciers surround a crystal
clear deep lake with ocean coastlines, deep fjords and
freshwater rivers.
Inupiat Heritage Center, Barrow
Learn the story of the Inupiat people who thrived for
thousands of years in one of the harshest climates on earth.
Katmai National Park and Preserve, King Salmon
Created in 1918 to preserve the famed Valley of Ten
Thousands Smokes, a spectacular forty square mile, 700 foot deep
ash flow deposited by the Novarupta Volcano.
Kenai Fjords National Park, Seward
Created by glaciers, earthquakes and ocean storms.
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Skagway
Gold, the headlines read in 1897, starting a stampede of
prospectors to the far reaches of interior Alaska. Learn the
story of those who struck gold and those who didn’t.
Kobuk Valley National Park, Kotzebue
Half a million caribou migrate through these sculpted dunes
every year, along the ancient path where people came for 9.000
years to harvest caribou as they swam the river.
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Port Alsworth
Created to protect the scenic beauty of volcanoes, glaciers,
wild rivers and waterfalls essential for red salmon to survive.
Noatak National Preserve, Kotzebue
The preserving surrounding the Wild and Scenic Noatak River.
Sitka National Historical Park, Sitka
Commemorating the 1804 Battle of Sitka, the last major
conflict between European settlers and the Alaskan natives they
were trying to drive out.
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Cooper Center
Confluence of the Chugach, Wrangell and Saint Elias mountain
ranges, often called the “mountain kingdom of North America.”
Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, Eagle
Water adventures floating the river range from a state of
the art vessel, homemade raft or inflatable. |
Alaska