Alaska is the northernmost and largest state in the United States. Its size is 1,717,855 square kilometers - more than double the area of the state of Texas. It is located at the northwestern tip of the American continent, northwest of Canada.
On October 18, Alaska celebrates "Alaska Day." This is an official holiday marking the anniversary of the formal transfer of Alaska territory from Russia to the United States, which took place on Friday, October 18, 1867.
On January 3, 1959, Alaska joined the United States and became its 49th state.
Alaska's capital city is Juneau and its largest city is Anchorage.
Although Alaska is the largest state in the United States, it has very few people relative to the area. About 740,000 people live in the country at a density of 0.4 people per square kilometer.
Life in Alaska is not easy, but never boring. The temperature in Alaska drops to minus 30 degrees Celsius in winter and the maximum that can be reached in summer is around 20. There are also a lot of earthquakes in Alaska and also some active volcanoes.
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| Juneau Alaska |
Some more interesting facts about Alaska:
The United States purchased Alaska from Russia for only $ 7.2 million in 1867.
The mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska for 20 years, from 1997 to 2017 was a cat. He was called Stubbs and he was elected mayor because the residents were not happy with any of the human candidates. His office was housed in a box at a local store. In 2013 he was attacked by a dog and managed to survive the attack. He even had his own Twitter account where he occasionally tweeted to residents. He died in good health at the age of 20 and three months.
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| Photo of the mayor of Talkeetna (source: Facebook) |
In 1964, one of the largest earthquakes in North America occurred in Alaska. The quake was followed by a 67-meter-high tsunami that destroyed a small town called Valdez. 131 people were killed in this incident.
Every Alaska resident receives an "oil royalties" check once a year, a payment for his share of the state's oil revenues. In 2008, the amount was $ 2,069.
Since 1975, personal use of marijuana has been legal in Alaska.
The highest mountain in North America, Mount Denali (also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name), is in Alaska. It is 20,156 feet (6,144 meters) above sea level.
The baked Alaska dessert is made from ice cream served cold in a dough or cake shell. The ice cream is coated in meringue that prevents heat from penetrating into it. In 1876, baked Alaska got its name when at Delmonico's Restaurant in New York it was prepared in honor of the new area purchased by the United States: Alaska.
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| Alaska flag |
October 18th is also Chocolate Cupcake Day
