Alaska: the Great Land

Alaska is the largest state in the United States. It has a territory of 1 717 854 square kilometers and is about two times the size of Texas, the next largest American state. Its name comes from the Aleut for «great land».

Alaska has 3 million lakes, more than 300 rivers, and over half of the world’s glaciers. Alaska has a longer coastline than all the other US states combined. It is also the only state to have coastlines on different seas: the Bering Sea, the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

Seventeen of the tallest mountains in the United States are in Alaska. They include the tallest mountain in North America, Mount McKinley. Alaska also has 29 volcanoes and some of them erupt from time to time.

One-third of Alaska is above the Arctic Circle. So there are areas in Alaska that get 24 hours of daylight and 24 hours of night. Some people think that Alaskans live in snow all the year round. Actually, in some places in Alaska it gets surprisingly warm in summer.

Many wild animals live in Alaska including wolves, bears, foxes and moose. Alaska is often called a «bear country» because it’s home to polar, brown and black bears. They are not only found in the wild. Sometimes they visit big cities.

There are 8 national parks in Alaska. No wonder many people go to Alaska on holiday. Probably the best known is Denali National Park where you can find Mount McKinley and other mountains, large glaciers, beautiful rivers and lakes. There are hotels in the park, but some visitors like to set up tents and sleep outdoors.

Native people – the Aleuts, Indians and Eskimos – have lived in Alaska for thousands of years. They lived by hunting seals, whales, caribou, bears, and by fishing. They used sleds pulled by dogs (dog mushing is the official state sport in Alaska nowadays) to travel over the snow-covered land, and lived in igloos.

In the 18^th century Russia took control of the territory. Russian whalers and fur traders founded the first settlement in Alaska in 1784. In 1867, the territory was sold to the US for 7 million dollars – about 2 cents an acre. In fact, it was one of the best deals the United States ever made.

In 1896 gold was discovered in Alaska. More than 30 000 people went to Alaska hoping to get rich. Most of them didn’t. But some of them decided to stay there. Mainly they earned money as miners, fishermen and shop owners.

Although Alaska is the largest state, it has the fewest people. Most Alaskans live in central and southern Alaska. The climate is milder there and there is more daylight during winter. Alaska’s largest city is Anchorage, with about 280 000 people. Fairbanks and Juneau, the capital, have about 35 000 each.

In the 1960s oil was discovered in northern Alaska. It is now the state’s main industry. 25% of all oil produced in the US is from Alaska. Oil brings money but also risks. In 1989, the tanker ship Exxon Valdez hit a group of underwater rocks. The ship had 5 holes in its side and 50 million liters of oil flew out of the ship into the sea. It was the worst oil spill in American history. Today, Alaskans try to protect their beautiful land, clean water and wildlife.

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