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Some fun filled facts about Alaska.
- Alaska is the only state to make have an
official state holiday named after a Secretary of
State. It is a good thing they so honor Mr.
William Henry Seward on March 28. If it wasn't for
his 7 million dollar folly in 1867, Alaska would
not be one of the United States, it would still be
a territory of Russia.
- Alaska is so big that if the state was divided
into two states of equal size, the state of Texas
would become the third largest state in the Union.
- Alaska is so large that it could hold the 21
smallest States.
- The Inuit people of Little Diomede, Alaska are
allowed to pay their taxes to the Internal Revenue
Service in ivory collected from seal hunts. They
are the only people in the United States that are
allowed to pay their taxes with something besides
U.S. currency.
| State
Symbols |
STATE
NICK NAME
"The Last
Frontier"
The name Alaska is derived from the
Aleut word "Alyeska," meaning
"great land." |
STATE
MOTTO
"North to the
Future"
Our motto was
chosen in 1967 during the Alaska
Purchase Centennial and was created
by Juneau newsman Richard Peter. The
motto is meant to represent Alaska
as a land of promise. |
STATE
CAPITAL
Juneau, located in the
southeast region of Alaska, has a population
of 30,684.
Click
here for more information from the Juneau
Convention and Visitors Bureau. Please
note that this is a visitor-oriented link,
not a research site. Also, find interesting
stuff at the Capital
City Homepage. Get the flavor of the
city by visiting http://www.juneau.com/. |
OFFICIAL
STATE HOLIDAYS
| Seward's
Day |
March
27 |
Seward's
Day commemorates the signing of the
treaty by which the United States
bought Alaska from Russian, signed
on March 30, 1867. |
|
| Alaska
Day |
October
18 |
Alaska
Day is the anniversary of the formal
transfer of the territory and the
raising of the US. flag at Sitka on
October 18, 1867. |
|
FLAG
The blue field is for the sky
and the forget-me-not, the state flower. The
North Star is for the future of the state of
Alaska, the most northerly of the Union. The
dipper is for the Great Bear, symbolizing
strength. |
|
STATE
SEAL
The state seal was originally
designed in 1910 while Alaska was a
territory and not a state. The rays above
the mountains represent the Northern Lights.
The smelter symbolizes mining. The train
stands for Alaska’s railroads, and ships
denote transportation by sea. The trees
symbolize Alaska’s wealth of forests, and
the farmer, his horse, and the three shocks
of wheat represent Alaskan agriculture. The
fish and the seals signify the importance of
fishing and wildlife to Alaska’s economy. |
|
FLOWER
The forget-me-not, which
grows well throughout Alaska, is the state
flower.
 |
 GEM
Alaska’s
state gem is jade. Alaska has large deposits
of the gem, including an entire mountain of
jade on the Seward Peninsula.
|
|
 SPORT
Dog mushing is the
state sport. It was once a primary form of
transportation in many areas of Alaska.
|
FISH
The giant king
salmon, which weighs
up to 100 pounds, is the state fish.
|
 BIRD
The
pheasant-like willow ptarmigan is
the state bird. This bird changes
color from light brown in summer to
snow white in winter.
|
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MINERAL
Gold is the state
mineral. Gold has
played a major role in Alaska’s history.
 |
TREE
The tall, stately
Sitka spruce is the state tree. It
is found in southeastern and central
Alaska.
 |
FOSSIL
Wooly
Mammoth per the 14th Legislature -
1986 |
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