Alaska Geostatistics
- Land area :
(land) 571,951 sq. mile
(water)051 sq. miles
(TOTAL) 658,002 sq. miles (largest US state) - Land area: (all states)
- Shoreline coastline: 6,640 miles – 33,904 miles
- Horizontal Width: 770 miles from the western tip of the Seward Peninsula, east to the Canadian border
- Vertical Length: 964 miles from Barrow, south to Alaska, just west of Kodiak Island
- Border states: (0)
- Borough/Census Areas: (16/11) Map
- Township: (largest in population) Anchorage, 260,283
- Geographic Center: Approximately 60 miles northwest of McKinley
- Highest Point : McKinley 20,320 ft.
- Lowest Point: Pacific, 0 ft.
- Latitude and longitude
- Mean Elevation: (including islands) 1,927 ft.
Alaska Lat / long
LATITUDE & LONGITUDE:
- Latitude/Longitude (Absolute Locations)
Juneau: (capital) 58º 18′ N, 134º 25′ W
Anchorage: 61º 13′ N, 149º 52′ W
Hill: 71º 17′ N, 156º 47′ W
Nom: 64º 30′ N, 165º 24’W - Latitudes and Longitudes: (specific details)
- Find any Latitude & Longitude
- Relative locations: (certain details)
RELATIVE LOCATION:
Alaska is positioned in both the eastern, northern and western hemispheres. Parsed by the Arctic Circle, it is located in the far northwest corner of North America, bordering the Canadian province of British Columbia and Canada’s Yukon Territory. It is surrounded by the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and various bays, inlets, seas and sounds.
Alaska is a US state in northwestern North America, located on the Alaska Peninsula ; from the main part of the United States is separated by the territory of Canada. Area 1, 717 thousand sq. km; population about 710 thousand people (2010). The indigenous people are Indians, Aleuts and Eskimos. Most of the population lives in southern and southeastern Alaska. The administrative center is Juneau ; large cities: Anchorage, Ketchikan, Sitka; the largest port is Valdez. In the interior, sparsely populated part of the state, there is only one large center – Fairbanks. See counties in Alaska.
In the east, Alaska borders on Canada, and is separated from the Chukchi Peninsula (Russia) by the Bering Strait; washed by the Arctic and Pacific oceans. The northern and central regions are occupied mainly by plains and plateaus (up to 1200 m high) .
Climate
The climate here is cold, continental. In Fairbanks, the average temperature in January is -24.8 °С, in July +15.7 °С; rainfall is 300 mm per year. Winter lasts 6-8 months; Permafrost is ubiquitous. Most of the territory of Alaska is occupied by tundra and sparse forests inhabited by moose, caribou, and grizzlies. Along the valleys of large rivers (Yukon, Colville) there are small plots of agricultural land.
The coastal southern, southwestern, and southeastern regions of Alaska are replete with islands and convenient ice-free bays. Here the relief is predominantly mountainous (Mount McKinley, 6193 m) , the climate is temperate, humid. In Juneau, the average January temperature is -1.6 °C, July 13.3 °C; precipitation falls 1500-4000 mm per year. Dense coniferous forests grow on the slopes of the mountains in the south and southeast, meadows in the southwest.
- AbbreviationFinder: Introduction to the state of Alaska, covering commonly used acronyms and the list of main cities and town in Alaska.
History
Opening
In the 17-18 centuries, Alaska was discovered by Russian explorers. The first settlement was founded in the 1780s. In 1799, the Russian-American Company was created with the right to monopoly use of crafts and minerals. Alaska was sold by the US tsarist government under an agreement on March 18 (30), 1867 for 7.2 million dollars. Until 1884, it was administered by the US Department of War. At the end of the 19th century, large deposits of gold were discovered in the nearby region of Canada (Klondike), a “gold rush” broke out, and those who wanted to get rich quickly rushed to Alaska.
Alaska has been a US state since 1959. A large number of airfields, air force and naval bases have been built on the territory of the state. Developed fishing and fish canning industry.
The ancestors of the natives of Alaska – Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts – entered Alaska from Northeast Asia. By the time Alaska was discovered by Russian explorers in the 17th century, the Eskimos lived mainly in coastal areas and were mainly engaged in marine hunting, fishing and deer hunting; the Aleuts lived on the Alaska Peninsula, hunted sea animals; Indians – on the southeast coast (Tlingit and Haida) and inland (Atabaskans), the main occupations are fishing and hunting. By the mid-1730s, thanks to the expeditions of P. Nagibin, V. Bering, A. Melnikov, I. Fedorov, M. Gvozdev, the first surveys of Alaska were carried out, but it is customary to associate the discovery of Alaska only with the expedition of A. Chirikov (1741). From the mid-1740s to the end of the 18th century, more than 80 research and trade expeditions were made to the northern shores of America. In 1784, on the island of Kodiak, merchant G.I. Shelikhov founded the first Russian settlement. In 1798, the merchants Shelikhov, Mylnikov and Golikov created the “United American Company”, in 1799 it was called the Russian-American Company, to the exclusive use of which all the industries and minerals located on the northwestern coast of America from 55 ° north latitude to Bering Strait and the Aleutian Islands, the Kuril Islands. She was granted the right to develop lands not occupied by other powers. The city of Novo-Arkhangelsk (now Sitka) became the center of Alaska. The first chief ruler of Russian settlements in America (1790-1818) was A. Baranov.
Round-the-world expeditions undertaken by the Russian-American Company (13 expeditions in 1804-1840) maintained regular communication between Alaska and Russia. Russian researchers have made a great contribution to the study of Alaska. The significance of the scientific expeditions of A. Kashevarov (1838) and L. Zagoskin (1842-1844) was especially great. The possession of Alaska led Russia to conflicts with Great Britain and the USA. In 1821, by decree of Alexander I Pavlovich, foreign ships were forbidden to sail along the shores of Russian possessions in Alaska, but soon Russia was forced to provide the United States (1824) and Great Britain (1825) with preferential conditions for navigation and trade in this area. In 1834, the Hudson’s Bay Company, supported by the British government, tried to gain a foothold within the Russian possessions at the mouth of the Stikine (Stakhin) River.
Sale of Alaska
The main interest of the Russian-American Company in Alaska was the procurement of furs, but by the middle of the 19th century the company suffered regular losses. Alaska cost the Russian treasury annually 200 thousand rubles. The military position of Russian Alaska was also fragile. Under these conditions, the tsarist government decided to sell it to the United States. According to the Alaska Treaty on March 18 (30), 1867, Russian America was sold to the Americans for $7.2 million (less than 11 million rubles).
Economy
At the end of the 19th century, large deposits of gold were discovered in the nearby region of Canada (Klondike), and then in Alaska, which led to the gold rush. Until 1884, Alaska was under the jurisdiction of the US Department of War, in 1884-1912 it was a district headed by a governor, in 1912 it was transformed into a “territory” of the United States; since 1959 – an independent state.
By the beginning of the 1920s, the economic profile of Alaska had developed – fishing, fish processing, hunting for fur-bearing animals, and mining. During the Second World War, large-scale military construction began here, which was continued during the Cold War. In 1965, out of a total of 70,000 people employed, about 30,000 were employed in state institutions, primarily related to servicing the army. In the 1970s, large oil fields were explored in Alaska, its production began, and the Trans-Alaska pipeline was built. Oil production attracted a large number of specialists, and also caused an intensive development of infrastructure. In the 1980s, the state’s population growth was 36%.
Agriculture
Agriculture, despite the presence of significant tracts of land suitable for cultivation, is poorly developed; there are several hundred farms, mostly small ones. The main agricultural areas are the Matanuska River Valley and the Kenai Peninsula. A significant part of food is imported; mainly local products – fresh vegetables, potatoes, milk and dairy products. Alaska has a well-developed fishing and canning industry.
Industry
The manufacturing industry is represented mainly by fish canning, sawmills, and paper and pulp mills. The state’s foreign relations are handled primarily by the navy. The Alaska Highway, much of which passes through Canada, links the state to the mainland of the United States. Airways pass through Alaska, connecting the United States with the countries of the East. Domestic transportation is carried out by rail from the Pacific coast to the Yukon Basin and the highway network. Local air transport plays an important role in the transportation of goods and passengers. In the winter season, part of the cargo is transferred on tractor sledges and partly on dog sleds.
Attractions
A natural landmark of Alaska is Denali National Park (founded in 1917 as Mount McKinley Park), which is located in the area of Mount McKinley (6193 m, the highest point in the United States) and covers an area of 2428 thousand hectares.
Other attractions include: Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (glaciers, glaciers, about 255 species of birds, Mount Ferweezer 4663 m high).
