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{{about|the U.S. State of Alaska}} {{Short description|U.S. state}}
{{about|the U.S. state}}
{{pp-move-indef}}
{{redirect|Alaskan}}
{{US state
{{pp-move}}
| Name = Alaska
{{Use American English|date=January 2023}}
| Fullname = State of Alaska
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}
| Flag = Flag of Alaska.svg
{{Infobox U.S. state
| Flaglink = ]
| official_name = State of Alaska
| Seal = AlaskaStateSealTransparent.png
| native_name = <div style="padding-top:0.25em;">{{native name|ale|Alax̂sxax̂}}<br/>{{native name|ik|Alaaskaq}}<br/>{{native name|esu|Alaskaq}}<br/>{{native name|tli|Anáaski}}<br/>{{native name|ems|Alas'kaaq}}<br/>{{native name|ru|Аляска}}</div>
| Former = Alaska Territory
| Map = Map of USA highlighting Alaska.png | image_flag = Flag of Alaska.svg
| imagewidth = 280px | name = Alaska
| Nickname = "Land of the Midnight Sun" | image_seal = Seal of the State of Alaska.svg
| flag_link = Flag of Alaska
| Motto = North to the Future
| Nickname = The Last Frontier | nickname = The Last Frontier
| motto = North to the Future
| Demonym = ]
| anthem = ]<br />]
| Capital = ]
| image_map = Alaska in the Untied States.png
| OfficialLang = None<ref></ref><ref></ref>
| OfficialLangs = ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ]
| Languages = English 89.7%,<br />Native North American 5.2%,<br />] 2.9%
| Languages = {{plainlist|
| LargestCity = ]
* English 86.3%
| LargestCounty = North Slope Borough
* ] 5.2%
| Governor = ] (R)
* ] 3.4%
| Lieutenant Governor = ] (R)
* Spanish 2.9%
| Senators = ] (R)<br /> ] (D)
* Others 2.2%}}
| Representative = ] (R)
| population_demonym = Alaskan
| PostalAbbreviation = AK
| LargestCity = ]
| AreaRank = 1<sup>st</sup>
| seat = ]
| TotalArea = 1,717,854
| area_rank = 1st
| TotalAreaUS = 663,268
| area_total_sq_mi = 665,384<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2010/geo/state-area.html|title=State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates|website=Census.gov|access-date=September 1, 2023|archive-date=April 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407014954/https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2010/geo/state-area.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| LandArea = 1,481,346
| area_total_km2 = 1,723,337
| LandAreaUS = 571,951
| width_mi = 2,261
| WaterArea = 236,507
| width_km = 3,639
| WaterAreaUS = 91,316
| length_mi = 1,420
| PCWater = 13.77
| length_km = 2,285
| PopRank = 47<sup>th</sup>
| area_water_percent = 13.77
| 2000Pop (old) = 626,932
| Latitude = 51°20'N to 71°50'N
| 2005Pop = 663,661
| Longitude = 130°W to 172°E
| 2000Pop = 686,293 (2008 est.)<ref name=08CenEst>{{cite web | title = Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2008 | publisher = United States Census Bureau | accessdate = 2009-02-06 | url = http://www.census.gov/popest/states/tables/NST-EST2008-01.csv Census Bureau}}</ref> <br> 626,932 (2000)
| population_rank = 48th
| DensityRank = 50<sup>th</sup>
| population_as_of = 2020<ref name="2020 Population and Housing State Data">{{cite web |title=2020 Population and Housing State Data |url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/2020-population-and-housing-state-data.html |website=census.gov |publisher=] |access-date=November 18, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231118183454/https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/2020-population-and-housing-state-data.html|archive-date=November 18, 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| 2000Density = 0.4
| 2020Pop = 733,391
| 2000DensityUS = 1.03
| MedianHouseholdIncome = ${{round|77790|-2}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/AK/INC110220|title=US Census Bureau QuickFacts|access-date=April 30, 2022}}</ref>
| MedianHouseholdIncome = ]64,333
| 2020DensityUS = 1.10
| IncomeRank = 4th |
| 2020Density = 0.42
| AdmittanceOrder = 49th
| population_density_rank = 50th
| AdmittanceDate = January 3, 1959
| IncomeRank = ]
| TimeZone = ]: ]-9/]-8
| elevation_max_point = ]<ref name=USGS>{{cite web|url=http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html |title=Elevations and Distances in the United States |publisher=] |year=2001 |access-date=October 21, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015012701/http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html |archive-date=October 15, 2011 }}</ref>
| TZ1Where = east of 169° 30'
| elevation_max_ft = 20,310
| TimeZone2 = ]: UTC-10/]-9
| elevation_max_m = 6190.5
| TZ2Where = west of 169° 30'
| elevation_ft = 1900
| Latitude = 51°20'N to 71°50'N
| elevation_m = 580
| Longitude = 130°W to 172°E
| elevation_min_point =
| Width = 3,639
| elevation_min_m = 0
| WidthUS = 2,261
| elevation_min_ft = 0
| Length = 2,285
| Former = Territory of Alaska
| LengthUS = 1,420
| AdmittanceDate = {{start date and age|1959|01|03|mf=y}}
| HighestPoint = ]<ref name=usgs>{{cite web| date =April 29, 2005 | url =http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html#Highest| title =Elevations and Distances in the United States| publisher =U.S Geological Survey | accessdate = 2006-11-03}}</ref>
| AdmittanceOrder = 49th
| HighestElev = 6,193.7
| Governor = ] (])
| HighestElevUS = 20,320
| Lieutenant Governor = ] (])
| MeanElev = 580
| Legislature = ]
| MeanElevUS = 1900
| Judiciary = ]
| LowestPoint = ]<ref name=usgs/>
| Senators = {{plainlist|
| LowestElev = 0
* ] (])
| LowestElevUS = 0
* ] (])}}
| ISOCode = US-AK
| State song = Alaska's Flag | timezone1 = ]
| utc_offset1 = −09:00
| Website = www.alaska.gov
| timezone1_DST = AKDT
| utc_offset1_DST = −08:00
| timezone1_location = east of 169°30'
| timezone2 = ]
| utc_offset2 = −10:00
| timezone2_DST = HDT
| utc_offset2_DST = −09:00
| timezone2_location = west of 169°30'
| iso_code = US-AK
| postal_code = AK
| website = alaska.gov
| Upperhouse = ]
| Lowerhouse = ]
| Representative = ] (])
| area_land_km2 = 1,518,800
| area_land_sq_mi = 586,412 square miles<ref>{{cite web | url=https://alaska.gov/Kids/learn/aboutgeography.htm | title=Geography of Alaska, Alaska Kids' Corner, State of Alaska | access-date=January 17, 2024 | archive-date=December 3, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203064629/http://www.alaska.gov/kids/learn/aboutgeography.htm | url-status=live }}</ref>
| area_water_km2 = 236,507
| area_water_sq_mi = 91,316
| Capital = Juneau, Alaska
| LargestMetro = ]
| Representatives =
}} }}
{{Infobox U.S. state symbols {{Infobox region symbols|country={{flag|United States}}
|Flag = Flag of Alaska.svg |state = Alaska
|Name = Alaska |image_flag = Flag of Alaska.svg
|image_seal = Seal of the State of Alaska.svg
|Bird = ]
|mammal = {{Unbulleted list|'''Land:''' ]|'''Marine:''' ]}}
|Fish = ]
|dog = ]
|Flower = ]
|bird = ]
|Insect = ]
|fish = ]
|Mammal = ], ]
|flower = ]
|Tree = ]
|insect = ]
|Fossil = ]
|Mineral = ] |tree = ]
|fossil = ]
|StateRock = ]
|mineral = ]
|Slogan = ''Beyond Your Dreams, Within Your Reach''
|gemstone = ]
|Soil = ]
|sport = ]
|Song = '']''
|image_route = Alaska 2 shield.svg
|Sport = ]
|image_quarter = 2008 AK Proof.png
|Route Marker = Alaska 5 shield.svg
|quarter_release_date = 2008
|Quarter = 2008 AK Proof.png
}}
|QuarterReleaseDate = 2008
{{maplink|frame=yes|frame-width=265|frame-coordinates={{Coord|64|50|N|147|43|W}}|zoom=2|type=line|stroke-width=3|text=Interactive map showing border of Alaska (click to zoom)}}
}}

'''Alaska''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=en-us-Alaska.ogg|ə|ˈ|l|æ|s|k|ə}} {{Respell|ə|LASS|kə}}) is a ] ] on the northwest extremity of ]. Part of the ] region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside ]. Alaska is also considered to be the northernmost, westernmost, and easternmost (the Aleutian Islands cross the ] into the eastern hemisphere) state in the United States. It borders the ] of ] and the ] of ] to the east. It shares a western maritime border, in the ], with Russia's ]. The ] and ] Seas of the ] lie to the north, and the ] lies to the south. Technically, it is a ] of the U.S., and is the largest exclave in the world.

Alaska is the ] by area, comprising more total area than the following three largest states of ], ], and ] combined, and is the ]. It is the ] and ] U.S. state, but is, with a population of 736,081 as of ], the continent's most populous territory located mostly north of the ], with more than quadruple the combined populations of ] and ].<ref name="2020Census">{{cite web |title=2020 Census Apportionment Results |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2020/dec/2020-apportionment-data.html |website=census.gov |publisher=] |access-date=April 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426210008/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2020/dec/2020-apportionment-data.html |archive-date=April 26, 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref> The state contains the four ], including the state capital of ]. The state's most populous city is ], and approximately half of Alaska's residents live within ].

] have lived in Alaska for thousands of years, and it is widely believed that the region served as ] of North America by way of the ]. The ] was the first to actively ] the area beginning in the 18th century, eventually establishing ], which spanned most of the current state and promoted and maintained a native ] population.<ref name="lydiablack">{{cite book |title=Russians in Alaska, 1732-1867|first=Lydia|last=Black|publisher=University of Alaska Press|year=2004|pages=217, 218}}</ref> The expense and logistical difficulty of maintaining this distant possession prompted ] in 1867 for US$7.2 million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|USD|7.2|1867}} million in {{Inflation/year|USD}}). The area went through several administrative changes before becoming organized as a ] on May 11, 1912. It was admitted as the 49th state of the U.S. on January 3, 1959.<ref>{{cite AV media|year=1959|title=Video: 49th Star. Alaska Statehood, New Flag, Official, 1959/01/05 (1959)|url=https://archive.org/details/1959-01-05_49th_Star_Alaska_Statehood|publisher=]|access-date=February 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515054607/http://archive.org/details/1959-01-05_49th_Star_Alaska_Statehood|archive-date=May 15, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

Abundant natural resources have enabled Alaska&mdash; with one of the smallest state economies&mdash;to have one of the highest ], with ], and the extraction of ] and oil, dominating ]. U.S. Armed Forces bases and ] also contribute to the economy; more than half of the state is federally-owned land containing ], ], and ]. It is among the ], one of the first ], and is known for its ] political culture, generally supporting the ] in national elections. The Indigenous population of Alaska is proportionally the second highest of any U.S. state, at over 15 percent, after only Hawaii.<ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Alaska |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/AK |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229232038/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/AK |archive-date=December 29, 2018 |access-date=February 17, 2020 |website=census.gov}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The name "Alaska" ({{langx|ru|Аля́ска|Aljáska}}) was introduced during the ] when it was used to refer to the ]. It was derived from an ] ], {{Lang|ale|alaxsxaq}}, meaning "the mainland" or, more literally, "the object towards which the action of the sea is directed".<ref name=Aleut>{{cite book|title=Aleut Dictionary: Unangam Tunudgusii |editor=Bergsland, Knut |publisher=Alaska Native Language Center|year=1994|isbn=978-1-55500-047-9}}, at pp. 49 (Alaxsxi-x = mainland Alaska), 50 (''alagu-x'' = ''sea''), 508 (''-gi'' = suffix, ''object of its action'').</ref><ref name=Bright>{{cite book |title=Native American Placenames in the United States|last=Bright|first=William|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0806135984}}</ref><ref>Ransom, J. Ellis. 1940. "Derivation of the Word 'Alaska'", ''American Anthropologist'' n.s., 42: pp. 550–551</ref>

==History==
{{Main|Prehistory of Alaska|History of Alaska}}

===Pre-colonization===
{{Main|Alaska Natives}}Numerous indigenous peoples occupied Alaska for thousands of years before the arrival of European peoples to the area. Linguistic and DNA studies done here have provided evidence for the settlement of North America by way of the ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=UCL |date=2012-07-12 |title=Native American populations descend from three key migrations |url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2012/jul/native-american-populations-descend-three-key-migrations |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=UCL News |language=en |archive-date=December 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209214252/https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2012/jul/native-american-populations-descend-three-key-migrations |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Handwerk |first=Brian |date=June 5, 2019 |title=Ancient DNA Reveals Complex Story of Human Migration Between Siberia and North America |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/ancient-dna-reveals-complex-story-human-migration-between-siberia-and-north-america-180972356/ |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en |archive-date=December 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231222035011/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/ancient-dna-reveals-complex-story-human-migration-between-siberia-and-north-america-180972356/ |url-status=live }}</ref> At the ] in the ] in Alaska, remains of a six-week-old infant were found. The baby's DNA showed that she belonged to a population that was genetically separate from other native groups present elsewhere in the ] at the end of the ]. Ben Potter, the ] archaeologist who unearthed the remains at the Upward Sun River site in 2013, named this new group ].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/01/alaska-dna-ancient-beringia-genome/|title=Lost Native American Ancestor Revealed in Ancient Child's DNA|magazine=National Geographic|date=January 3, 2018|access-date=January 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103235253/https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/01/alaska-dna-ancient-beringia-genome/|archive-date=January 3, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The ] developed a society with a ] kinship system of property inheritance and descent in what is today Southeast Alaska, along with parts of ] and the ]. Also in Southeast were the ], now well known for their unique arts. The ] people came to Alaska from British Columbia in 1887, when President ], and later the U.S. Congress, granted them permission to settle on ] and found the town of ]. All three of these peoples, as well as other ], experienced ] outbreaks from the late 18th through the mid-], with the most devastating ] occurring in the 1830s and 1860s, resulting in high fatalities and social disruption.<ref>Brian C. Hosmer, ''American Indians in the Marketplace: Persistence and Innovation among the Menominees and Metlakatlans, 1870–1920'' (Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1999), pp. 129–131, 200.</ref>

===Colonization===
{{Main|Russian America|Alaskan Creole people|Department of Alaska|District of Alaska|Fairbanks Gold Rush|Kobuk River Stampede|Nome Gold Rush|Alaska Purchase}}
]), ], 1814|left]]
] during the 1898 ].|left]]

Some researchers believe the first Russian settlement in Alaska was established in the 17th century.<ref>Свердлов Л. М. Русское поселение на Аляске в XVII в.? "Природа". М., 1992. No. 4. С.67–69.</ref> According to this hypothesis, in 1648 several ] of ]'s expedition came ashore in Alaska by storm and founded this settlement. This hypothesis is based on the testimony of ] geographer Nikolai Daurkin, who had visited Alaska in 1764–1765 and who had reported on a village on the Kheuveren River, populated by "bearded men" who "pray to the ]". Some modern researchers associate Kheuveren with ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4877141/ALEXEI-V-POSTNIKOV-nautical-charts-compiled-by-these-promyshlenniki |title=Outline of the History of Russian Cartography |website=Regions: a Prism to View the Slavic Eurasian World |year=2000 |first=Alexey V. |last=Postnikov |author-link=Alexey Postnikov |access-date=June 6, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117073034/http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4877141/ALEXEI-V-POSTNIKOV-nautical-charts-compiled-by-these-promyshlenniki |archive-date=January 17, 2013 }}</ref>

The first European vessel to reach Alaska is generally held to be the ''St. Gabriel'' under the authority of the surveyor ] and assistant navigator ] on August 21, 1732, during an expedition of Siberian Cossack A. F. Shestakov and Russian explorer ] (1729–1735).<ref>Аронов В. Н. Патриарх Камчатского мореходства. // "Вопросы истории рыбной промышленности Камчатки": Историко-краеведческий сб.—Вып. 3.—2000. Вахрин С. Покорители великого океана. Петроп.-Камч.: Камштат, 1993.</ref> Another European contact with Alaska occurred in 1741, when ] led an ] for the Russian Navy aboard the ''St. Peter''. After his crew returned to Russia with ] pelts judged to be the finest fur in the world, small associations of ]rs began to sail from the shores of Siberia toward the Aleutian Islands. The first permanent European settlement was founded in 1784.

Between 1774 and 1800, ] sent several ] to assert its claim over the Pacific Northwest. In 1789, a Spanish settlement and ] were built in ]. These expeditions gave names to places such as ], ], and ]. Later, the ] carried out an expanded colonization program during the early-to-mid-19th century. ], renamed ] from 1804 to 1867, on ] in the ] in what is now ], became the capital of ]. It remained the capital after the colony was transferred to the United States. The Russians never fully colonized Alaska, and the colony was never very profitable. Evidence of Russian settlement in names and churches survives throughout southeastern Alaska.

In 1867, ], the ] under President ], negotiated the ] (referred to pejoratively as Seward's Folly) with the Russians for $7.2 million.<ref>] (2024). ''The Age of Reconstruction: How Lincoln's New Birth of Freedom Remade the World''. Princeton & Oxford: Princeton University Press, pp. 99-120.</ref> Russia's contemporary ruler ] ], the ], ] and ], also planned the sale;<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201085507/https://www.adn.com/alaska-life/we-alaskans/2017/03/05/the-man-who-old-alaska/ |date=December 1, 2020 }} – Anchorage Daily News</ref> the purchase was made on March 30, 1867. Six months later the commissioners arrived in Sitka and the formal transfer was arranged; the formal flag-raising took place at Fort Sitka on October 18, 1867. In the ceremony, 250 uniformed U.S. soldiers marched to the governor's house at "Castle Hill", where the Russian troops lowered the Russian flag and the U.S. flag was raised. This event is celebrated as ], a legal holiday on October 18.

Alaska was loosely governed by the military initially and was administered as a ] starting in 1884, with a governor appointed by the United States president. A federal ] was headquartered in Sitka. For most of Alaska's first decade under the United States flag, Sitka was the only community inhabited by American settlers. They organized a "provisional city government", which was Alaska's first municipal government, but not in a legal sense.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wheeler|first=Keith|chapter=Learning to cope with 'Seward's Icebox'|title=The Alaskans|url=https://archive.org/details/alaskans00time|url-access=registration|year=1977|publisher=]|location=]|isbn=978-0-8094-1506-9|pages=}}</ref> Legislation allowing Alaskan communities to legally ] did not come about until 1900, and ] for cities was extremely limited or unavailable until statehood took effect in 1959.

===U.S. territorial incorporation===
{{Main|Organic act#List of organic acts|Territory of Alaska}}

Starting in the 1890s and stretching in some places to the early 1910s, gold rushes in Alaska and the nearby Yukon Territory brought thousands of miners and settlers to Alaska. From 1879 to 1920, Alaska produced a cumulative total of over $460,000,000 ($6,691,927,500 inflation-adjusted) of mineral production.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brooks |first=Alfred H. |display-authors=etal |date=1920 |title=Mineral Resources of Alaska, 1920 |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/0722a/report.pdf |journal=USGS |pages=7}}</ref> Alaska was officially incorporated as an organized territory in 1912. Alaska's capital, which had been in Sitka until 1906, was moved north to ]. Construction of the ] began that same year. European immigrants from Norway and Sweden also settled in southeast Alaska, where they entered the fishing and logging industries.
] in May 1943.]]

During ], the ] focused on ], ] and ], all of which were occupied by the ].{{efn|These three Aleutian outer islands are about {{convert|460|mi|km}} away from mainland USSR, {{convert|920|mi|km}} from mainland Alaska, {{convert|950|mi|km}} from Japan.}} During the Japanese occupation, an American civilian and two ] personnel were killed at Attu and Kiska respectively, and nearly a total of 50 Aleut civilians and eight sailors were interned in Japan. About half of the Aleuts died during the period of internment.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cloe |first1=John Haile |title=Attu: the forgotten battle |date=2017 |publisher=United States National Park Service |isbn=978-0-9965837-3-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-t6J21RGruEC |access-date=November 5, 2019 |archive-date=March 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331025223/https://books.google.com/books?id=-t6J21RGruEC |url-status=live }}</ref> ]/] and ] became significant bases for the ], ] and United States Navy. The United States ] program involved flying American warplanes through Canada to ] and then ]; Soviet pilots took possession of these aircraft, ferrying them to fight the German invasion of the ]. The construction of military bases contributed to the population growth of some Alaskan cities.

===Statehood===
{{See also|Alaska Statehood Act|Admission to the Union|List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union}}
] and ], Alaska's inaugural U.S. Senators, hold the 49 star U.S. Flag after the admission of Alaska as the 49th state.]]

Statehood for Alaska was an important cause of ] early in his tenure as a congressional delegate.<ref>{{cite book | last=McBeath | first=G.A. | title=The Alaska State Constitution | publisher=Oxford University Press | series=Oxford commentaries on the state constitutions of the United States | year=2011 | isbn=978-0-19-977829-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NvBMAgAAQBAJ | access-date=November 6, 2024 | page=7}}</ref> Decades later, the statehood movement gained its first real momentum following a territorial referendum in 1946. The Alaska Statehood Committee and Alaska's Constitutional Convention would soon follow. Statehood supporters also found themselves fighting major battles against political foes, mostly in the U.S. Congress but also within Alaska. Statehood was approved by the U.S. Congress on July 7, 1958; Alaska was officially proclaimed a state on January 3, 1959.<ref>{{cite book | last=Whitehead | first=J.S. | title=Completing the Union: Alaska, Hawai'i, and the Battle for Statehood | publisher=University of New Mexico Press | series=Histories of the American frontier | year=2004 | isbn=978-0-8263-3637-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FCHeHe_sIl4C | access-date=November 6, 2024 | pages=273-300}}</ref>

===Good Friday earthquake===
{{Main|1964 Alaska earthquake}}

On March 27, 1964, the massive ] killed 133 people and destroyed several villages and portions of large coastal communities, mainly by the resultant ] and landslides. It was the ] in recorded history, with a ] of 9.2 (more than a thousand times as powerful as the ]).<ref>{{Cite news|last=Taylor|first=Alan|title=1964: Alaska's Good Friday Earthquake – The Atlantic|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/05/1964-alaskas-good-friday-earthquake/100746/|access-date=2021-02-04|newspaper=The Atlantic|archive-date=February 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213045525/https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/05/1964-alaskas-good-friday-earthquake/100746/|url-status=live}}</ref> The time of day (5:36 pm), time of year (spring) and location of the ] were all cited as factors in potentially sparing thousands of lives, particularly in Anchorage. Alaska suffered a more severe ] on July 11, 1585, estimated at magnitude 9.25, which remains the most powerful earthquake recorded in ]n history, and the second ] in world history.

The Good Friday earthquake lasted 4 minutes and 38 seconds. {{convert|600|mi|spell=In|||}} of fault ruptured at once and moved up to {{cvt|60|ft||||}}, releasing about 500 years of stress buildup. ], fissures, landslides, and other ground failures caused major structural damage in several communities and much damage to property. ] sustained great destruction or damage to many inadequately ] houses, buildings, and infrastructure (paved streets, sidewalks, water and sewer mains, electrical systems, and other human-made equipment), particularly in the several landslide zones along ]. {{convert|200|mi|spell=In|||}} southwest, some areas near ] were permanently raised by {{convert|30|ft|m|0}}. Southeast of Anchorage, areas around the head of ] near ] and ] dropped as much as {{convert|8|ft|m}}, requiring reconstruction and fill to raise the ] above the new high ] mark.

In ], ] suffered a massive underwater landslide, resulting in the deaths of 32 people between the collapse of the ] city harbor and docks, and inside the ship that was docked there at the time. Nearby, a {{convert|27|ft|m|adj=on}} tsunami destroyed the village of ], killing 23 of the 68 people who lived there; survivors out-ran the wave, climbing to high ground. Post-quake tsunamis severely affected ], ], Kodiak, and other Alaskan communities, as well as people and property in British Columbia, ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite web |title=1964 Alaskan Tsunami|url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/tsunamis/alaska/1964/webpages/|publisher=University of Southern California Tsunami Research Group |access-date=July 18, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508154813/http://www.usc.edu/dept/tsunamis/alaska/1964/webpages/|archive-date=May 8, 2015}}</ref> Tsunamis also caused damage in ] and ]. Evidence of motion directly related to the earthquake was also reported from ] and ].

Alaska had never experienced a major disaster in a highly populated area before and had very limited resources for dealing with the effects of such an event. In Anchorage, at the urging of geologist ], the City of Anchorage and the Alaska State Housing Authority appointed a team of 40 scientists, including geologists, soil scientists, and engineers, to assess the damage done by the earthquake to the city.<ref name=":0a">Friedel, Megan K. (2010). Guide to the Anchorage Engineering Geology Evaluation Group papers, 1964. UAA/APU Consortium Library Archives and Special Collections. HMC-0051. https://archives.consortiumlibrary.org/collections/specialcollections/hmc-0051/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328165246/https://archives.consortiumlibrary.org/collections/specialcollections/hmc-0051/ |date=March 28, 2019 }}</ref> The team, called the Engineering and Geological Evaluation Group, was headed by ], a geology professor at the ]. The team of scientists came into conflict with local developers and downtown business owners who wanted to immediately rebuild; the scientists wanted to identify future dangers to ensure that the rebuilt infrastructure would be safe.<ref>"Ruth Anne Marie Schmidt Ph.D." ]. 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.</ref> The team produced a report on May 8, 1964, just a little more than a month after the earthquake.<ref name=":0a" /><ref>Saucier, Heather (April 2014). "PROWESS Honors Historic Earthquake Survivor". ]. Retrieved July 31, 2018.</ref>

The United States military, which has a large active presence in Alaska, also stepped in to assist within moments of the end of the quake. The U.S. Army rapidly re-established communications with the lower 48 states, deployed troops to assist the citizens of Anchorage, and dispatched a convoy to Valdez.<ref name="Hand">Cloe, John Haile {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027054632/http://alaskahistoricalsociety.org/helping-hand-military-response-to-good-friday-earthquake/ |date=2016-10-27 }} Alaska Historical Society, 3/4/2014</ref> On the advice of military and civilian leaders, President ] declared all of Alaska a major disaster area the day after the quake. The U.S. Navy and ] deployed ships to isolated coastal communities to assist with immediate needs. Bad weather and poor visibility hampered air rescue and observation efforts the day after the quake, but on Sunday the 29th the situation improved and rescue helicopters and observation aircraft were deployed.<ref name="Hand" /> A military airlift immediately began shipping relief supplies to Alaska, eventually delivering {{convert|2,570,000|lbs}} of food and other supplies.<ref name="Galvin" /> Broadcast journalist, ], assisted in recovery and relief efforts, staying on the ] air waves over Anchorage for more than 24 continuous hours as the voice of calm from her temporary post within the Anchorage Public Safety Building.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=When a Quake Shook Alaska, a Radio Reporter Led the Public Through the Devastating Crisis|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-quake-shook-alaska-radio-reporter-led-public-through-devastating-crisis-180974450/|access-date=2020-12-02|website=Smithsonian Magazine|language=en|archive-date=March 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321054507/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-quake-shook-alaska-radio-reporter-led-public-through-devastating-crisis-180974450/|url-status=live}}</ref> She was effectively designated as the public safety officer by the city's police chief.<ref name=":2" /> Chance provided breaking news of the catastrophic events that continued to develop following the magnitude 9.2 earthquake, and she served as the voice of the public safety office, coordinating response efforts, connecting available resources to needs around the community, disseminating information about shelters and prepared food rations, passing messages of well-being between loved ones, and helping to reunite families.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barbaro |first=Michael |date=May 22, 2020 |title=Genie Chance and the Great Alaska Earthquake |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/podcasts/the-daily/this-is-chance-alaska-earthquake.html?showTranscript=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102185032/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/podcasts/the-daily/this-is-chance-alaska-earthquake.html?showTranscript=1 |archive-date=January 2, 2021 |access-date=January 23, 2023 |website=]}}</ref>

In the longer term, the ] led the effort to rebuild roads, clear debris, and establish new townsites for communities that had been completely destroyed, at a cost of $110 million.<ref name=Galvin>Galvin, John {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027062138/http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a1967/4219868/ |date=2016-10-27 }} '']'', 6/29/2007</ref> The ] was formed as a direct response to the disaster. Federal disaster relief funds paid for reconstruction as well as financially supporting the devastated infrastructure of Alaska's government, spending hundreds of millions of dollars that helped keep Alaska financially solvent until the discovery of massive oil deposits at ]. At the order of the ], the ] founded the Alaska Division of Emergency Services to respond to any future disasters.<ref name=Hand/>

=== Oil boom ===
The 1968 discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay and the 1977 completion of the ] led to an oil boom. Royalty revenues from oil have funded large state budgets from 1980 onward.

]

Oil production was not the only economic value of Alaska's land. In the second half of the 20th century, Alaska discovered ] as an important source of revenue. Tourism became popular after World War II when military personnel stationed in the region returned home praising its natural splendor. The ], built during the war, and the ], completed in 1963, made the state more accessible than before. Tourism has become increasingly important in Alaska, and today over 1.4 million people visit the state each year.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Alaskan Oil Boom |url=https://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1969111200 |access-date=2022-09-27 |website=CQ Researcher by CQ Press |series=CQ Researcher Online |year=1969 |pages=835–854 |publisher=CQ Press |doi=10.4135/cqresrre1969111200 |language=en |archive-date=July 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731235042/https://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1969111200 |url-status=live |last1=Phillips |first1=James G. |s2cid=264579055 }}</ref>

With tourism more vital to the economy, ] also rose in importance. The ] (ANILCA) of 1980 added 53.7 million acres (217,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) to the ], parts of 25 rivers to the ], 3.3 million acres (13,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) to ], and 43.6 million acres (176,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) to ]. Because of the Act, Alaska now contains two-thirds of all American national parklands. Today, more than half of Alaskan land is owned by the ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wells |first=Bruce |date=2022-07-12 |title=First Alaska Oil Wells |url=https://aoghs.org/petroleum-pioneers/first-alaska-oil-well/ |access-date=2022-09-27 |website=American Oil & Gas Historical Society |language=en-US |archive-date=March 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307042212/https://aoghs.org/petroleum-pioneers/first-alaska-oil-well/ |url-status=live }}</ref>


In 1989, the '']'' hit a reef in the Prince William Sound, ] more than 11 million gallons (42 megalitres) of crude oil over {{convert|1100|mi}} of coastline. Today, the battle between philosophies of development and conservation is seen in the contentious debate over oil drilling in the ] and the proposed ].{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}
'''Alaska''' ({{Audio-IPA|en-us-Alaska.ogg|/əˈlæskə/}}) is the largest ] of the ] by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the ]n continent, with ] to the east, the ] to the north, and the ] to the west and south, with ] further west across the ]. Approximately half of Alaska's 683,478 residents reside within the ] metropolitan area. As of 2009, Alaska remains the least densely populated state of the U.S.<ref></ref>


The ] approved the ] from the ] on March 30, 1867, for $7.2&nbsp;million at about 2 cents per acre ($4.74/km<sup>2</sup>). The land went through several administrative changes before becoming an ] on May 11, 1912 and the 49th state of the U.S. on January 3, 1959. The name "Alaska" (Аляска) was already introduced in the Russian colonial time, when it was used only for the ] and is derived from the ] ''alaxsxaq'', meaning "the mainland" or more literally, "the object towards which the action of the sea is directed".<ref>Ransom, J. Ellis. 1940. ''Derivation of the Word ‘Alaska’''. American Anthropologist n.s., 42: pp. 550-551</ref> It is also known as ], the "great land", an Aleut word derived from the same root.
==Geography== ==Geography==
{{Very long|section|date=October 2009}}
{{Main|Geography of Alaska}} {{Main|Geography of Alaska}}
]|thumb|left|240px]]


Alaska has a longer coastline than all the other U.S. states combined.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF14/1404.html |title=Alaska's Size in Perspective |accessdate=2007-11-19 |author=Benson, Carl|date=1998-09-02 |publisher=Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks}}</ref> It is the only non-] on continental North America; about {{convert|500|mi|km|-1}} of British Columbia (Canada) separate Alaska from ]. Alaska is thus an ] of the United States. It is technically part of the ], but is often not included in colloquial use; Alaska is not part of the contiguous U.S., often called "the Lower 48."<ref> The other three exclaves of the United States are the ] of ], ] and ].</ref> The capital city, ], is situated on the mainland of the North American continent, but is not connected by road to the rest of the North American highway system. Located at the northwest corner of ], Alaska is the northernmost and westernmost state in the United States, but also has the most easterly longitude in the United States because the ] extend into the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://alaska.gov/kids/learn/facts.htm|title=Facts About Alaska, Alaska Kids' Corner, State of Alaska|date=n.d.|website=alaska.gov|access-date=April 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109130340/http://alaska.gov/kids/learn/facts.htm|archive-date=January 9, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Alaska is the only non-] U.S. state on continental North America; about {{convert|500|mi|km|-1}} of Canadian territory consisting of ] (in ]) separates Alaska from ]. It is technically part of the ], but is not usually included in the colloquial use of the term; Alaska is not part of the ], often called "]". The capital city, ], is situated on the mainland of the North American continent but is not connected by road to the rest of the North American highway system. The largest lake in Alaska is ].


The state is bordered by the ] and ] in Canada, to the east, the ] and the Pacific Ocean to the south, the ], ], and ] to the west and the Arctic Ocean to the north. Alaska's territorial waters touch Russia's territorial waters in the Bering Strait, as the Russian and Alaskan islands are only {{convert|3|mi|km}} apart. As it extends into the eastern hemisphere, it is technically both the westernmost and easternmost state in the United States, as well as also being the northernmost. The state is bordered by Canada's ] and ] to the east (making it the only state to border only a ]); the ] and the Pacific Ocean to the south and southwest; the ], ], and ] to the west; and the Arctic Ocean to the north. Alaska's territorial waters touch Russia's territorial waters in the Bering Strait, as the Russian ] and Alaskan ] are only {{convert|3|mi|km}} apart. Alaska has a longer coastline than all the other U.S. states combined.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF14/1404.html |title=Alaska's Size in Perspective |access-date=November 19, 2007 |last=Benson |first=Carl |date=September 2, 1998 |publisher=], ] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071125211706/http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF14/1404.html |archive-date=November 25, 2007 |url-status=dead }}
</ref>
] (])]]


At {{convert|663268|sqmi|km2|0}} in total area, Alaska is by far the largest state in the United States. Alaska is more than twice the size of the second-largest U.S. state (Texas), and it is larger than the next three largest states (Texas, California, and Montana) combined. Alaska is the seventh ]. If it was an independent nation, it would be the 18th largest country in the world; almost the same size as ].


Alaska is the largest state in the United States in land area at {{convert|586412|sqmi|km2|0}}, much larger than ], the next largest state. Geologists have identified Alaska as part of ], a large region consisting of multiple ] and Canadian provinces in the ] which is actively undergoing ]. Alaska is larger than all but 18 sovereign countries. With its myriad of islands, Alaska has nearly {{convert|34000|mi|km|-3}} of tidal shoreline. The Aleutian Islands chain extends west from the southern tip of the ]. Many active ] are found in the Aleutians and in coastal regions. ], for example, is home to ], which is an occasionally smoldering volcano that rises to {{convert|10000|ft|m|-3}} above the North Pacific. The chain of volcanoes extends to ], west of Anchorage on the mainland. Geologists have identified Alaska as part of ], a large region consisting of multiple states and Canadian provinces in the ], which is actively undergoing ].


One of the world's largest tides occurs in ], just south of Anchorage, where tidal differences can be more than {{convert|35|ft|m|1}}.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Porco |first=Peter|date = June 23, 2003 | title = Long said to be second to Fundy, city tides aren't even close | journal=] | pages = A1}}</ref>
Counting territorial waters, Alaska is larger than the combined area of the next three largest states: ], ], and ].<!-- Texas (268,820 sq.mi) + California (163,696 sq mi) + Montana (147,165 sq mi)=579,681 sq mi < Alaska (656,424 sq mi) --> It is also larger than the combined area of the 22 smallest U.S. states.


Alaska has more than 409,000 natural ] at least one ] or bigger.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Geography of Alaska lake districts: Identification, description, and analysis of lake-rich regions of a diverse and dynamic state {{!}} U.S. Geological Survey |url=https://www.usgs.gov/publications/geography-alaska-lake-districts-identification-description-and-analysis-lake-rich |access-date=2024-08-08 |website=www.usgs.gov |language=en}}</ref> ]s and wetland ] cover {{convert|188320|sqmi|km2|}} (mostly in northern, western and southwest flatlands). Glacier ice covers about {{convert|28957|sqmi|km2}} of Alaska.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.usgs.gov/climate_landuse/glaciers/glaciers_alaska.asp|title=Glacier and Landscape Change in Response to Changing Climate|website=www2.usgs.gov|access-date=February 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203064615/https://www2.usgs.gov/climate_landuse/glaciers/glaciers_alaska.asp|archive-date=February 3, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The ] is the largest glacier in North America, covering {{convert|2008|sqmi|km2}} alone.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beringglacier.org/|title=Beringglacier.org|website=beringglacier.org|access-date=February 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102193358/http://www.beringglacier.org/|archive-date=January 2, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
'''The regions:'''<ref></ref>
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]


===Regions===
With its myriad islands, Alaska has nearly {{convert|34000|mi|km|-1}} of tidal shoreline. The ] chain extends west from the southern tip of the ]. Many active ]es are found in the Aleutians. ], for example, is home to ], which is an occasionally smoldering volcano that rises to {{convert|10000|ft|m}} above the North Pacific. It is the most perfect volcanic cone on Earth, even more symmetrical than Japan's ]. The chain of volcanoes extends to ], west of Anchorage on the mainland. Alaska has the most volcanoes of any of the fifty US states.<ref>{{cite book | last = Decker | first = Robert | last2 = Decker | first2 = Barbara | title = Volcanoes In America's National Parks | publisher = WW Norton & Company Inc. | date = 2001 | location = New York | page = 115 | isbn = 9622176771}}</ref>
There are no officially defined borders demarcating the various regions of Alaska, but there are five/six regions that the state is most commonly broken up into:


====South Central====
One of the world's largest tides occurs in ], just south of Anchorage&nbsp;– tidal differences can be more than {{convert|35|ft|m|1}}. (Many sources say Turnagain has the second-greatest tides in North America, but several areas in Canada have larger tides.)<ref>{{cite journal | author = Porco, Peter|date = June 23, 2003 | title = Long said to be second to Fundy, city tides aren't even close | journal = ] | pages = A1}}</ref>
{{Main|South Central Alaska}}


The most populous region of Alaska contains ], the ] and the ]. Rural, mostly unpopulated areas south of the ] and west of the ] also fall within the definition of South Central, as do the ] area and the communities of ] and ].<ref name=cities>{{cite web|title=Travel Information on South Central Alaska|year=2006|url=http://www.welcometoalaska.com/SouthCentral.htm|access-date=April 22, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110419212447/http://welcometoalaska.com/SouthCentral.htm|archive-date=April 19, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>
Alaska has more than three million lakes.<ref>{{Cite Web | title=Alaska Hydrology Survey | publisher=Division of Mining, Land, and Water; ] | url=http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/water/hydro/ }}</ref><ref></ref> ]s and wetland ] cover {{convert|188320|sqmi|km2|0}} (mostly in northern, western and southwest flatlands). Frozen water, in the form of glacier ice, covers some {{convert|16000|sqmi|km2|-1}} of land and {{convert|1200|sqmi|km2|-1}} of tidal zone. The ] complex near the southeastern border with Yukon covers {{convert|2250|sqmi|km2|0}} alone. With over 100,000 of them, Alaska has half of the world's glaciers.


====Southeast====
The ] was drawn west of 180° to keep the whole state, and thus the entire North American continent, within the same legal day.
{{Main|Southeast Alaska}}
</ref>]]
According to an October 1998 report by the ], approximately 65% of Alaska is owned and managed by the ] as public lands, including a multitude of ], national parks, and ]s. Of these, the ] manages 87 million acres (350,000&nbsp;km²), or 23.8% of the state. The ] is managed by the ]. It is the world's largest wildlife refuge, comprising {{convert|16|e6acre|km2}}.


Also referred to as the Panhandle or ], this is the region of Alaska closest to the contiguous states. As such, this was where most of the initial non-indigenous settlement occurred in the years following the ]. The region is dominated by the ] as well as the ], the largest national forest in the United States. It contains the state capital ], the former capital ], and ], at one time Alaska's largest city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sitnews.us/Kiffer/Ketchikan/043007_ketchikan_1927.html |title=1927: When Ketchikan was the Largest City in Alaska |website=Sitnews US |date=April 30, 2007 |access-date=July 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510144910/http://www.sitnews.us/Kiffer/Ketchikan/043007_ketchikan_1927.html |archive-date=May 10, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> The ] provides a vital surface transportation link throughout the area and country, as only three communities (], ] and ]) enjoy direct connections to the contiguous North American road system.<ref name="DOT Document">{{cite web |publisher= Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities |url= http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/doc/presskit.pdf |title= The Alaska Marine Highway System |access-date= April 21, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130330013507/http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/doc/presskit.pdf |archive-date= March 30, 2013 |df= mdy-all }}</ref>
Of the remaining land area, the State of Alaska owns {{convert|101|e6acre|km2}}; another {{convert|44|e6acre|km2}} are owned by 12 regional and dozens of local Native corporations created under the ]. Thus, indirectly, the 84,000 Eskimo, Aleut and American Indian inhabitants of Alaska own one-ninth of the state. Various private interests own the remaining land, totaling about one percent of the state.


====Interior====
{{ussm|alaska.png|ak}}
{{Main|Alaska Interior}}
Alaska is administratively divided into "]," as opposed to "counties" or "parishes." The function is the same, but whereas some states use a three-tiered system of decentralization—state/county/township—most of Alaska uses only two tiers—state/borough. Owing to the low population density, most of the land is located in the ] which, as the name implies, has no intermediate borough government of its own, but is administered directly by the state government. Currently (]) 57.71% of Alaska's area has this status, with 13.05% of the population. For statistical purposes the ] divides this territory into ]s. Anchorage merged the city government with the Greater Anchorage Area Borough in 1975 to form the Municipality of Anchorage, containing the city proper and the communities of Eagle River, Chugiak, Peters Creek, Girdwood, Bird, and Indian. Fairbanks has a separate borough (the ]) and municipality (the City of Fairbanks).
] is the highest peak in North America]]


The Interior is the largest region of Alaska; much of it is uninhabited wilderness. ] is the only large city in the region. ] is located here. ], formerly Mount McKinley, is the highest mountain in North America and is also located here.
===Climate===
{{Main|Climate of Alaska}}
The climate in Juneau and the southeast panhandle is a mid-latitude ] (] ''Cfb'') in the southern sections and a subarctic oceanic climate (Köppen ''Cfc'') in the northern parts. On an annual basis, the panhandle is both the wettest and warmest part of Alaska with milder temperatures in the winter and high precipitation throughout the year. Juneau averages over {{convert|50|in|mm|-1}} of precipitation a year, while other areas receive over {{convert|275|in|mm|-1}}.<ref name="AK-YK Precip">. Oregon Climate Service at ]. Last accessed October 23, 2006.</ref> This is also the only region in Alaska in which the average daytime high temperature is above freezing during the winter months.


====North Slope====
The climate of Anchorage and south central Alaska is mild by Alaskan standards due to the region's proximity to the seacoast. While the area gets less rain than southeast Alaska, it gets more snow, and days tend to be clearer. On average, Anchorage receives {{convert|16|in|mm|0}} of precipitation a year, with around {{convert|75|in|mm|0}} of snow, although there are areas in the south central which receive far more snow. It is a subarctic climate (Köppen ''Dfc'') due to its brief, cool summers.
{{Main|Alaska North Slope}}


The North Slope is mostly ] peppered with small villages. The area is known for its massive reserves of crude oil and contains both the ] and the ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Alaska.com |url=http://www.alaska.com/regions/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603064023/http://www.alaska.com/regions/ |archive-date=June 3, 2010 |access-date=June 2, 2010 |publisher=Alaska.com}}</ref> The city of ], formerly known as Barrow, is the northernmost city in the United States and is located here. The ], anchored by ] and also containing the ] valley, is often considered part of this region. The respective ] of the North Slope and of the Northwest Arctic seldom consider themselves to be one people.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hersher |first1=Rebecca |date=December 1, 2016 |title=Barrow, Alaska, Changes Its Name Back To Its Original 'Utqiaġvik' |work=National Public Radio |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/12/01/503979353/barrow-alaska-changes-its-name-back-to-its-original-utqiagvik?t=1607969665408 |url-status=live |access-date=December 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220153259/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/12/01/503979353/barrow-alaska-changes-its-name-back-to-its-original-utqiagvik?t=1607969665408 |archive-date=February 20, 2021}}</ref>
] is the northernmost city in the United States.]]
The climate of Western Alaska is determined in large part by the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. It is a subarctic oceanic climate in the southwest and a continental subarctic climate farther north. The temperature is somewhat moderate considering how far north the area is. This area has a tremendous amount of variety in precipitation. The northern side of the Seward Peninsula is technically a desert with less than {{convert|10|in|mm|-1}} of precipitation annually, while some locations between Dillingham and Bethel average around {{convert|100|in|mm|-1}} of precipitation.<ref name="AK-YK Precip"/>


====Southwest====
The climate of the interior of Alaska is subarctic. Some of the highest and lowest temperatures in Alaska occur around the area near Fairbanks. The summers may have temperatures reaching into the 90s°F (the low to mid 30s °C), while in the winter, the temperature can fall below −60 °F (-52 °C). Precipitation is sparse in the Interior, often less than {{convert|10|in|mm|-1}} a year, but what precipitation falls in the winter tends to stay the entire winter.
{{Main|Southwest Alaska}}Southwest Alaska is a sparsely inhabited region stretching some {{convert|500|mi|km}} inland from the Bering Sea. Most of the population lives along the coast. ] is also located in the Southwest. The massive ], one of the largest river deltas in the world, is here. Portions of the ] are considered part of the Southwest, with the Aleutian Islands often (but not always) being grouped in as well.


====Aleutian Islands====
The highest and lowest recorded temperatures in Alaska are both in the Interior. The highest is 100 °F (38 °C) in ] (which is just {{convert|8|mi|km}} inside the arctic circle) on June 27, 1915,<ref name="NOAA-All Hazards">{{cite web | title = NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards Information&nbsp;— Alaska Weather Interesting Facts and Records | publisher = ] | format = PDF | url = http://www.arh.noaa.gov/docs/AKWXfacts.pdf | accessdate = 2007-01-03 }}</ref><ref name=DRI>{{cite web | title = State Extremes | publisher = Western Regional Climate Center, ] | url = http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/htmlfiles/state.extremes.html | accessdate = 2007-01-03 }}</ref> tied with ] as the lowest high temperature in the United States.<ref>{{cite web | title = SD Weather History and Trivia for May: May 1 | publisher = ] | url = http://www.crh.noaa.gov/fsd/?n=fsdtrivia05 NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | accessdate = 2007-01-03 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = FAQ ALASKA&nbsp;— Frequently Asked Questions About Alaska: Weather | publisher = Statewide Library Electronic Doorway, ] | date= 2005-01-17 | url=http://sled.alaska.edu/akfaq/aksuper.html#wea University of Alaska | accessdate = 2007-01-03 }}</ref> The lowest official Alaska temperature is −80 °F (-62 °C) in ] on January 23, 1971,<ref name="NOAA-All Hazards"/><ref name=DRI/> one degree above the lowest temperature recorded in continental North America (in ]).<ref>{{cite web | author = Ned Rozell | title = The Coldest Place in North America | publisher = Geophysical Institute of the ] | date= 2003-01-23 | url = http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF16/1630.html | accessdate = 2007-01-03 }}</ref>
{{Main|Aleutian Islands}}
] (the triangular kink in the line was agreed upon the ]), the Aleutian Islands cross the ], such that they contain both the westernmost (]) and the easternmost (].) points in the United States.]]
While primarily part of Southwest Alaska when grouped economically, the Aleutian islands are sometimes recognized as an alternate group from the rest of the region due to the geographic separation from the continent. More than 300 small volcanic islands make up this chain, which stretches more than {{convert|1200|mi}} into the Pacific Ocean. Some of these islands fall in the Eastern Hemisphere, but the ] was drawn west of ] to keep the whole state, and thus the entire North American continent, within the same legal day. Two of the islands, ] and ], were occupied by Japanese forces during World War II.


=== Land ownership ===
The climate in the extreme north of Alaska is ] (Köppen ''ET'') with long, very cold winters and short, cool summers. Even in July, the average low temperature in ] is 34 °F (1 °C).<ref>. ]. Last accessed October 23, 2006.</ref> Precipitation is light in this part of Alaska, with many places averaging less than {{convert|10|in|mm|-1}} per year, mostly in the form of snow which stays on the ground almost the entire year.
According to an October 1998 report by the ], approximately 65% of Alaska is owned and managed by the ] as public lands, including a multitude of ], national parks, and ]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nrm.salrm.uaf.edu/~stodd/AlaskaPlanningDirectory/landOwnership.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020628125756/http://nrm.salrm.uaf.edu/~stodd/AlaskaPlanningDirectory/landOwnership.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 28, 2002 |title=Alaska Land Ownership |access-date=May 4, 2014 }}</ref> Of these, the ] manages {{convert|87|e6acre|e6ha|abbr=off}}, or 23.8% of the state. The ] is managed by the ]. It is the world's largest wildlife refuge, comprising {{convert|16|e6acre|e6ha|abbr=off}}.


Of the remaining land area, the state of Alaska owns {{convert|101|e6acre|e6ha|abbr=off}}, its entitlement under the ]. A portion of that acreage is occasionally ceded to the organized boroughs presented above, under the statutory provisions pertaining to newly formed boroughs. Smaller portions are set aside for rural subdivisions and other homesteading-related opportunities. These are not very popular due to the often remote and roadless locations. The ], as a ], also owns substantial acreage which it manages independently.
==History==
{{Main|History of Alaska}}
] during the ]]]
The first European contact with Alaska occurred in the year 1741, when ] led an ] for the Russian Navy aboard the ''St. Peter''. After his crew returned to Russia bearing sea otter pelts judged to be the finest ] in the world, small associations of fur traders began to sail from the shores of Siberia towards the Aleutian islands. The first permanent European settlement was founded in 1784, and the ] carried out an expanded colonization program during the early to mid-1800s. New Archangel on Kodiak Island was Alaska's first capital, but for a century under both Russia and the U.S. Sitka was the capital. The Russians never fully colonized Alaska, and the ] was never very profitable. ], the ], negotiated the ] with the Russians in 1867 for $7.2&nbsp;million. Alaska was loosely governed by the military initially, and was unofficially a territory of the United States from 1884 on.


Another {{convert|44|e6acre|e6ha|abbr=off}} are owned by 12 regional, and scores of local, Native corporations created under the ] (ANCSA) of 1971. ] ] often promotes itself as the largest private landowner in Alaska in advertisements and other communications. Provisions of ANCSA allowing the corporations' land holdings to be sold on the open market starting in 1991 were repealed before they could take effect. Effectively, the corporations hold title (including subsurface title in many cases, a privilege denied to individual Alaskans) but cannot sell the land. ] are sold on the open market.
In the 1890s, ] in Alaska and the nearby Yukon Territory brought thousands of miners and settlers to Alaska. Alaska was granted official territorial status in 1912. At this time the capital was moved to ].


Various private interests own the remaining land, totaling about one percent of the state. Alaska is, by a large margin, the state with the smallest percentage of private land ownership when Native corporation holdings are excluded.
During World War II, the ] focused on the three outer Aleutian Islands&nbsp;– ], ] and ]<ref> these three Aleutian outer islands are about {{convert|460|mi|km}} away from continental USSR, {{convert|920|mi|km}} from continental Alaska (U.S.), {{convert|950|mi|km}} from Japan.</ref> – that were invaded by Japanese troops and occupied between June 1942 and August 1943. Unalaska/Dutch Harbor became a significant base for the U.S. Army Air Corps and Navy submariners.


=== Alaska Heritage Resources Survey ===
The U.S. ] program involved the flying of American warplanes through Canada to Fairbanks and thence Nome; Soviet pilots took possession of these aircraft, ferrying them to fight the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The construction of military bases contributed to the population growth of some Alaskan cities.
The Alaska Heritage Resources Survey (AHRS) is a restricted ] of all reported ] and ] sites within the U.S. state of Alaska; it is maintained by the Office of History and Archaeology. The survey's inventory of cultural resources includes objects, structures, buildings, sites, districts, and travel ways, with a general provision that they are more than fifty years old. {{as of|2012|January|31|df=}}, more than 35,000 sites have been reported.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513010517/http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/oha/ahrs/ahrs.htm |date=May 13, 2014 }}, Department of Natural Resources—Alaska.gov (retrieved May 9, 2014)</ref>


===Cities, towns and boroughs===
Statehood was approved on July 7, 1958. Alaska was officially proclaimed a state on January 3, 1959.<!--Stub para-->
{{Further|List of cities in Alaska|List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska}}
{{See also|List of Alaska locations by per capita income}}


], Alaska's largest city]]
In 1964, the massive "]" killed 131 people and destroyed several villages, mainly by the resultant ]. It was the second most powerful earthquake in the recorded history of the world, with a ] of 9.2. It was 100 times more powerful than the ]. Luckily, the epicenter was in an unpopulated area or thousands more would have been killed.
], Alaska's second-largest city and by a significant margin the largest city in ]]]
], Alaska's third-largest city and ]]]
], the largest city in the ] and in ]]]
], showing (from bottom to top) the edge of downtown, ] and ]]]
] (Browerville neighborhood near ] Middle School shown), known colloquially for many years by the nickname "Top of the World", is the northernmost city in the United States.]]
], built in the early 20th century to support the ] and the ], has been preserved as a fishing community since their closure.]]
]]]


Alaska is not divided into ], as most of the other U.S. states, but it is divided into '']''.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.countystate.info/alaska.htm| title=Alaska Boroughs—"Official" sites| website=Official Borough Websites| publisher=CountyState.Info| access-date=September 13, 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071027120825/http://www.countystate.info/Alaska.htm| archive-date=October 27, 2007| url-status=live}}</ref> Delegates to the ] wanted to avoid the pitfalls of the traditional county system and adopted their own unique model.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.akhistorycourse.org/governing-alaska/local-government/|title=Local Government|work=Alaska Humanities Forum|access-date=November 4, 2021|archive-date=November 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105013431/https://www.akhistorycourse.org/governing-alaska/local-government/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Many of the more densely populated parts of the state are part of Alaska's 16 boroughs, which function somewhat similarly to counties in other states. Unlike county-equivalents in the other states, the boroughs do not cover the state's entire land area. The area not part of any borough is referred to as the ].
The 1968 discovery of oil at ] and the 1977 completion of the ] led to an oil boom. In 1989, the '']'' hit a reef in the ], spilling over 11 million gallons of crude oil over 1,100&nbsp;miles (1,600&nbsp;km) of coastline. Today, the battle between philosophies of development and conservation is seen in the contentious debate over oil drilling in the ].

The Unorganized Borough has no government of its own, but the ] in cooperation with the state divided the Unorganized Borough into 11 ]s solely for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation. A ''recording district'' is a mechanism for management of the ] in Alaska. The state is divided into 34 recording districts which are centrally administered under a state ]. All recording districts use the same acceptance criteria, fee schedule, etc., for accepting documents into the public record.

Whereas many U.S. states use a three-tiered system of decentralization—state/county/township—most of Alaska uses only two tiers—state/borough. Owing to the low population density, most of the land is located in the ]. As the name implies, it has no intermediate borough government but is administered directly by the state government. In 2000, 57.71% of Alaska's area has this status, with 13.05% of the population.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dixon|first=Mim|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=35SwDwAAQBAJ&q=Fairbanks+has+a+separate+borough+%28the+Fairbanks+North+Star+Borough%29+and+municipality+%28the+City+of+Fairbanks%29&pg=PT44|title=What Happened To Fairbanks?: The Effects of the Trans-alaska Oil Pipeline on the Community Of Fairbanks, Alaska|date=September 18, 2019|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-000-01076-3|access-date=November 8, 2020|archive-date=March 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331025411/https://books.google.com/books?id=35SwDwAAQBAJ&q=Fairbanks+has+a+separate+borough+%28the+Fairbanks+North+Star+Borough%29+and+municipality+%28the+City+of+Fairbanks%29&pg=PT44|url-status=live}}</ref>

Anchorage merged the city government with the Greater Anchorage Area Borough in 1975 to form the Municipality of Anchorage, containing the city proper and the communities of Eagle River, Chugiak, Peters Creek, Girdwood, Bird, and Indian. Fairbanks has a separate borough (the ]) and municipality (the City of Fairbanks).

The state's most populous city is ], home to 291,247 people in 2020.<ref name="2020 Census Data" /> The richest ] is ] ($42,245). ], Sitka, Juneau, and Anchorage are the four ].

====Cities and census-designated places (by population)====
As reflected in the ], Alaska has a total of 355 incorporated cities and ]s (CDPs).<ref name="2020 Census Gazetter">{{cite web | url = https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_02.txt | title = Places (2020): Alaska | format = ] | publisher = United States Census Bureau | access-date = October 31, 2021 | archive-date = March 18, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210318010748/https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_02.txt | url-status = live }}</ref> The tally of cities includes four unified municipalities, essentially the equivalent of a ]. The majority of these communities are located in the rural expanse of Alaska known as "]" and are unconnected to that contiguous North American road network. The table at the bottom of this section lists the 100 largest cities and census-designated places in Alaska, in population order.

Of Alaska's 2020 U.S. census population figure of 733,391, 16,655 people, or 2.27% of the population, did not live in an incorporated city or census-designated place.<ref name="2020 Census Data" /> Approximately three-quarters of that figure were people who live in urban and suburban neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city limits of Ketchikan, Kodiak, Palmer and Wasilla. CDPs have not been established for these areas by the United States Census Bureau, except that seven CDPs were established for the Ketchikan-area neighborhoods in the ] (Clover Pass, Herring Cove, Ketchikan East, Mountain Point, ], ] and ] East), but have not been used since. The remaining population was scattered throughout Alaska, both within organized boroughs and in the Unorganized Borough, in largely remote areas.

{|
|
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! No. !! Community name !! Type !! ] Pop.<ref name="2020 Census Data">{{cite web|url = https://live.laborstats.alaska.gov/cen/2020-census-data.html|title = 2020 Census Data – Cities and Census Designated Places|format = Web|publisher = State of Alaska, Department of Labor and Workforce Development|access-date = October 31, 2021|archive-date = August 13, 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210813033233/https://live.laborstats.alaska.gov/cen/2020-census-data.html|url-status = live}}</ref>
|-
| 1 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 291,247
|-
| 2 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 32,515
|-
| 3 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 32,255
|-
| 4 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 19,297
|-
| 5 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 19,031
|-
| 6 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 11,332
|-
| 7 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 9,450
|-
| 8 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 9,197
|-
| 9 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 9,054
|-
| 10 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 8,817
|-
| 11 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 8,487
|-
| 12 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 8,458
|-
| 13 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 8,192
|-
| 14 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 7,424
|-
| 15 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 6,437
|-
| 16 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 6,325
|-
| 17 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 6,015
|-
| 18 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 5,918
|-
| 19 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 5,888
|-
| 20 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 5,748
|-
| 21 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 5,581
|-
| 22 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 5,522
|-
| 23 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 5,229
|-
| 24 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 5,048
|-
| 25 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 4,927
|-
| 26 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 4,704
|-
| 27 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 4,456
|-
| 28 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 4,342
|-
| 29 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 4,254
|-
| 30 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 4,216
|-
| 31 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 3,985
|-
| 32 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 3,833
|-
| 33 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 3,699
|-
| 34 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 3,589
|-
| 35 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 3,299
|-
| 36 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 3,102
|-
| 37 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 3,043
|-
| 38 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 2,747
|-
| 39 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 2,717
|-
| 40 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 2,610
|-
| 41 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 2,609
|-
| 42 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 2,416
|-
| 43 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 2,359
|-
| 44 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 2,249
|-
| 45 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 2,248
|-
| 46 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 2,243
|-
| 47 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 2,196
|-
| 48 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 2,136
|-
| 49 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 2,129
|-
| 50 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 2,127
|}
| valign="top" |
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! No. !! Community name !! Type !! ] Pop.
|-
| 51 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 2,105
|-
| 52 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 1,975
|-
| 53 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,852
|-
| 54 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,673
|-
| 55 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,657
|-
| 56 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 1,589
|-
| 57 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,564
|-
| 58 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,506
|-
| 59 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,471
|-
| 60 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,454
|-
| 61 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 1,375
|-
| 62 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,330
|-
| 63 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,310
|-
| 64 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,243
|-
| 65 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,164
|-
| 66 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,103
|-
| 67 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,078
|-
| 68 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,055
|-
| 69 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,038
|-
| 70 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 1,036
|-
| 71 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 1,021
|-
| 72 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 977
|-
| 73 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 966
|-
| 74 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 951
|-
| 75 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 931
|-
| 76 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 918
|-
| 77 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 845
|-
| 78 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 835
|-
| 79 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 830
|-
| 80 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 825
|-
| 81 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 817
|-
| 82 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 812
|-
| 83 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 809
|-
| 84 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 792
|-
| 85 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 776
|-
| 86 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 765
|-
| 87 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 757
|-
| 88 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 756
|-
| 89 || ]|| CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 743
|-
| 90 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 720
|-
| 91 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 713
|-
| 92 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 704
|-
| 93 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 694
|-
| 94 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 677
|-
| 95 || ] || City || style="text-align:right;" | 658
|-
| 96 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 657
|-
| rowspan="2" |97 || ] || CDP || rowspan="2" style="text-align:right;" | 655
|-
| ] || CDP
|-
| 99 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 650
|-
| 100 || ] || CDP || style="text-align:right;" | 644
|}
|}

===Climate===
{{Main|Climate of Alaska}}
]

Alaska is the coldest state in the United States.<ref>{{cite web | title = These Are the 10 Coldest States in the U.S. | publisher = usnews | url = https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/slideshows/coldest-states-in-the-us?slide=11 | author = Julia Haines | access-date = February 12, 2024 | archive-date = February 12, 2024 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240212173820/https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/slideshows/coldest-states-in-the-us?slide=11 | url-status = live }}</ref> The climate in the south and southeastern Alaska is a mid-latitude ] (]: ''Cfb''), and a subarctic oceanic climate (Köppen ''Cfc'') in the northern parts, with cool summers and relatively mild winters. On an annual basis, the southeast is both the wettest and warmest part of Alaska with milder temperatures in the winter and high precipitation throughout the year. Juneau averages over {{convert|50|in|cm|abbr=on}} of precipitation a year, and ] averages over {{convert|150|in|cm|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web | title = Monthly Climate Summary, Ketchikan, Alaska | publisher = Western Regional Climate Center | url = http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?akketc | access-date = February 7, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130516005502/http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?akketc | archive-date = May 16, 2013 | url-status = live }}</ref> This is also the only region in Alaska in which the average daytime high temperature is above freezing during the winter months.] of Alaska]]The climate of ] and south central Alaska is mild by Alaskan standards due to the region's proximity to the seacoast. While the area gets less rain than southeast Alaska, it gets more snow, and days tend to be clearer. On average, ] receives {{convert|16|in|cm|abbr=on}} of precipitation a year, with around {{convert|75|in|cm|abbr=on}} of snow, although there are areas in the south central which receive far more snow. It is a subarctic climate (]) due to its brief, cool summers.

The climate of ] is determined in large part by the ] and the ]. It is a subarctic oceanic climate in the southwest and a continental subarctic climate farther north. The temperature is somewhat moderate considering how far north the area is. This region has a tremendous amount of variety in precipitation. An area stretching from the northern side of the Seward Peninsula to the ] valley (i.e., the region around ]) is technically a ], with portions receiving less than {{convert|10|in|cm|abbr=on}} of precipitation annually. On the other extreme, some locations between ] and ] average around {{convert|100|in|cm|abbr=on}} of precipitation.<ref name="AK-YK Precip">{{cite web|title=Mean Annual Precipitation, Alaska-Yukon|url=http://www.pitt.edu/~mabbott1/climate/mark/Images/AK-PPT-mm.gif|website=Spatial Climate Analysis Service|publisher=Oregon State University|access-date=June 5, 2012|date=February 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025125522/http://www.pitt.edu/~mabbott1/climate/mark/Images/AK-PPT-mm.gif|archive-date=October 25, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

The climate of the interior of Alaska is subarctic and is a classic example of a continental subarctic climate, except in a few valleys where the climate approaches ] (Köppen: ''Dfb''). Some of the highest and lowest temperatures in Alaska occur around the area near ]. Summers are warm (albeit generally short) and may have temperatures reaching into the 90s °F (the low-to-mid 30s °C), while in the long and very cold winters, the temperature can fall below {{convert|-60|°F}}. Precipitation is sparse in the Interior, often less than {{convert|10|in|cm|abbr=on}} a year, but what precipitation falls in the winter tends to stay the entire winter.

The highest and lowest recorded temperatures in Alaska are both in the Interior. The highest is {{convert|100|°F}} in ] (which is just {{convert|8|mi|km|disp=or|abbr=on}} inside the arctic circle) on June 27, 1915,<ref name="NOAA-All Hazards">{{cite web|title=NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards Information—Alaska Weather Interesting Facts and Records |publisher=] |url=http://www.arh.noaa.gov/docs/AKWXfacts.pdf |access-date=January 3, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060929022606/http://www.arh.noaa.gov/docs/AKWXfacts.pdf |archive-date=September 29, 2006 }}</ref><ref name=DRI>{{cite web|title=State Extremes |publisher=Western Regional Climate Center, ] |url=http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/htmlfiles/state.extremes.html |access-date=January 3, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070105015744/http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/htmlfiles/state.extremes.html |archive-date=January 5, 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> making Alaska tied with Hawaii as the state with the lowest high temperature in the United States.<ref>{{cite web | title = SD Weather History and Trivia for May: May 1 | publisher = ] | url = http://www.crh.noaa.gov/fsd/?n=fsdtrivia05 | access-date = January 3, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070208132328/http://www.crh.noaa.gov/fsd/?n=fsdtrivia05 | archive-date = February 8, 2007 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=FAQ Alaska—Frequently Asked Questions About Alaska: Weather |publisher=Statewide Library Electronic Doorway, ] |date=January 17, 2005 |url=http://sled.alaska.edu/akfaq/aksuper.html#wea |access-date=January 3, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070102180919/http://sled.alaska.edu/akfaq/aksuper.html#wea |archive-date=January 2, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The lowest official Alaska temperature is {{convert|−80|°F}} in ] on January 23, 1971,<ref name="NOAA-All Hazards" /><ref name=DRI /> one degree above the lowest temperature recorded in continental North America (in ]).<ref>{{cite web |first=Ned |last=Rozell |title=The Coldest Place in North America |publisher=Geophysical Institute of the ] |date=January 23, 2003 |url=http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF16/1630.html |access-date=January 3, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202040955/http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF16/1630.html |archive-date=February 2, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The climate in the extreme north of Alaska, north of the ], is ] (]) with long, very cold winters and short, cool summers. Even in July, the average low temperature in ] is {{convert|34|°F}}.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703031927/https://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/PABR/2006/7/23/MonthlyHistory.html |date=July 3, 2017 }}. ]. Retrieved October 23, 2006.</ref> Precipitation is light in this part of Alaska, with many places averaging less than {{convert|10|in|cm|abbr=on}} per year, mostly as snow which stays on the ground almost the entire year.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:auto;"
|+Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for selected locations in Alaska<ref name="Alaska climate averages">{{cite web|url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/city.php3?c=US&s=AK&statename=Alaska-United-States-of-America|title=Alaska climate averages|publisher=Weatherbase|access-date=November 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151101165515/http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/city.php3?c=US&s=AK&statename=Alaska-United-States-of-America|archive-date=November 1, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
!Location
!July ({{not a typo|°F}})
!July (°C)
!January ({{not a typo|°F}})
!January (°C)
|-
|] || 65/51 || 18/10 || 22/11 || −5/−11
|-
|] || 64/50 || 17/11 || 32/23 || 0/−4
|-
|] || 64/51 || 17/11 || 38/28 || 3/−1
|-
|] || 57/46 || 14/8 || 36/28 || 2/−2
|-
|] || 72/53 || 22/11 || 1/−17 || −17/−27
|-
|] || 73/51 || 23/10 || −11/−27 || −23/−33
|-
|] || 58/46 || 14/8 || 13/−2 || −10/−19
|-
|] || 47/34 || 8/1 || −7/−19 || −21/−28
|}

===Fauna===
{{Main|Wildlife of Alaska}}


==Demographics== ==Demographics==
{{Main|Demographics of Alaska}} {{Main|Demographics of Alaska}}
{{US Census population
{{USCensusPop
|1880= 33426
|1950=128643
|1890= 32052
|1960=226167
|1900= 63592
|1970=300382
|1910= 64356
|1980=401851
|1920= 55036
|1990=550043
|1930= 59278
|2000=626932
|1940= 72524
|estyear = 2008<ref name=08CenEst/>
|1950= 128643
|estimate = 686293
|1960= 226167
|1970= 300382
|1980= 401851
|1990= 550043
|2000= 626932
|2010= 710231
|2020= 733391
|estyear=2024
|estimate=740133
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2024">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.html|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2024|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=December 26, 2024|archive-date=April 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407074341/https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
|align-fn=center
|footnote=1930 and 1940 censuses taken in preceding autumn<br />Sources: 1910–2020<ref name="Census2010">{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/popchange-data-text.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429012609/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/popchange-data-text.html|title=Historical Population Change Data (1910-2020) |archive-date=April 29, 2021|website=Census.gov}}</ref>
}} }}


The ] found in the ] that the population of Alaska was 733,391 on April 1, 2020, a 3.3% increase since the ].<ref name="2020Census" /> According to the 2010 United States Census, the U.S. state of Alaska had a population of 710,231, a 13.3% increase from 626,932 at the 2000 U.S. census.
<!---it is a lousy idea to update with census updates. These, for example, do not match the box figures. Better to stick with 2000 figures until the next census--->
The ], as of July 1, 2008, estimated Alaska's population at 686,293,<ref name=08CenEst/> which represents an increase of 59,361, or 9.5%, since the last census in 2000.<ref name=census_cum>{{cite web |title=Cumulative Estimates of the Components of Population Change for the United States, Regions and States: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2008 (NST-EST2008-04) |url=http://www.census.gov/popest/states/tables/NST-EST2008-04.csv |author=U. S. Census Bureau |authorlink=United States Census Bureau |date=2008-12-15 |accessdate=2009-01-16 |format=CSV}}</ref> This includes a natural increase since the last census of 60,994 people (that is 86,062 births minus 25,068 deaths) and a decrease due to net migration of 5,469 people out of the state.<ref name=census_cum/> ] resulted in a net increase of 4,418 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 9,887 people.<ref name=census_cum/> In 2000 Alaska ranked the 48th state by population, ahead of ] and ] (and ]).<ref></ref> Alaska is the least densely populated state, and one of the most sparsely populated areas in the world, at 1.0 person per square mile (0.42/km²), with the next state, Wyoming, at 5.1 per square mile (1.97/km²). Alaska is the largest U.S. state by ], and the sixth wealthiest (per capita income).


In 2020, Alaska ranked as the 48th largest state by population, ahead of only ] and ].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2020/dec/2020-apportionment-data.html |title=2020 Census Apportionment Results, Table 2 Resident Population for the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico: 2020 Census |date=April 26, 2021 |publisher=] |access-date=April 26, 2021 |archive-date=April 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426194109/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2020/dec/2020-apportionment-data.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Alaska is the least densely populated state, and one of the most sparsely populated areas in the world, at {{convert|1.2|PD/sqmi}}, with the next state, Wyoming, at {{convert|5.8|PD/sqmi}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Resident Population Data: Population Density |url=http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/apportionment-dens-text.php |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=June 6, 2012 |year=2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028061117/http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/apportionment-dens-text.php |archive-date=October 28, 2011 }}</ref> Alaska is by far the largest U.S. state by ], and the tenth wealthiest (per capita income).<ref>{{cite web|title=State Per Capita Income 2011|url=https://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/spi/2012/pdf/spi0312pc_fax.pdf|publisher=Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce|access-date=June 6, 2012|date=March 28, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915190231/http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/spi/2012/pdf/spi0312pc_fax.pdf|archive-date=September 15, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> {{as of|2018}} due to its population size, it is one of 14 U.S. states that still have only one telephone ].<ref name="US area codes">{{cite web|url=https://www.50states.com/areacodes/|title=State Area Codes|website=50states.com|access-date=February 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213080220/https://www.50states.com/areacodes/|archive-date=February 13, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Race and ancestry==
According to the ], ]s made up 69.3% of Alaska's population. ]s made up 3.5% of Alaska's population. In addition, ] and ]s were the largest minority group; they made up 15.6% of Alaska's population. ]s made up 4.0% of Alaska's population. ]s made up 0.5% of Alaska's population. Individuals from some other race made up 1.6% of Alaska's population while individuals from ] made up 5.4% of the state's population. In addition, ] made up 4.1% of Alaska's population.<ref></ref>


According to ]'s 2022 ], there were an estimated 2,320 ] people in Alaska.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2007-2022 PIT Counts by State |url=https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huduser.gov%2Fportal%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fxls%2F2007-2022-PIT-Counts-by-State.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK |access-date=March 11, 2023 |archive-date=March 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314020239/https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huduser.gov%2Fportal%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fxls%2F2007-2022-PIT-Counts-by-State.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress |url=https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2022-AHAR-Part-1.pdf |access-date=March 11, 2023 |archive-date=March 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311234217/https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2022-AHAR-Part-1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
In terms of ancestry, ]s were the largest single ethnic group in Alaska; they made up 16.6% of Alaska's population and they were the only ethnic group in the state to number over 100,000 members. ]s made up 10.8% of Alaska's population while English Americans made up 9.6% of the state's population. ]s made up 4.2% of Alaska's population and ]s made up 3.2% of the state's population.<ref></ref>


===Race and ethnicity===
As of the 2005-2007 ] conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, White Americans made up 68.5% of Alaska's population. Blacks or African Americans made up 3.8% of Alaska's population. American Indians and Alaska Natives made up 13.4% of Alaska's population; still remaining the largest minority group. Asian Americans made up 4.6% of Alaska's population. Pacific Islander Americans remained at 0.5% of the state's population. Individuals from some other race made up 1.9% of Alaska's population while individuals from two or more races made up 7.2% of the state's population. Hispanics or Latinos made up 5.5% of Alaska's population.<ref></ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible"
|+ Alaska racial breakdown of population
|-
! Racial composition !! 1970<ref name="census" /> !! 1990<ref name="census">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725044857/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 25, 2008 |title=Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, For The United States, Regions, Divisions, and States |first=Laura K. |last=Yax }}</ref> !! 2000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://censusviewer.com/state/AK|title=Population of Alaska—Census 2010 and 2000 Interactive Map, Demographics, Statistics, Quick Facts—CensusViewer|website=censusviewer.com|access-date=January 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305010352/http://censusviewer.com/state/AK|archive-date=March 5, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>!! 2010<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.2010.html|title=2010 Census Data|website=census.gov|access-date=December 11, 2017|archive-date=May 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170522200920/https://census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.2010.html|url-status=live}}</ref>!! 2020<ref name=CensusACS2020>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/racial-and-ethnic-diversity-in-the-united-states-2010-and-2020-census.html|title=Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the United States: 2010 Census and 2020 Census|date=August 12, 2021|publisher=]|access-date=August 12, 2021|archive-date=August 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812181603/https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/racial-and-ethnic-diversity-in-the-united-states-2010-and-2020-census.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| ] || 78.8% || 75.5% || 69.3% || 66.7% || 59.4%
|-
| ] || 16.9% || 15.6% || 15.6% || 14.8% || 15.2%
|-
| ] || 0.9% || 3.6% || 4.0% || 5.4% || 6.0%
|-
| ] || 3.0% || 4.1% || 3.5% || 3.3% || 3.0%
|-
| ] and <br />] || – || – || 0.5% || 1.0% || 1.7%
|-
| ] || 0.4% || 1.2% || 1.6% || 1.6% || 2.5%
|-
| ] || – || – || 5.5% || 7.3% || 12.2%
|}
]
]The 2019 ] estimated 60.2% of the population was ], 3.7% ], 15.6% ], 6.5% ], 1.4% ], 7.5% two or more races, and 7.3% ] of any race. At the survey estimates, 7.8% of the total population was foreign-born from 2015 to 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|title=2019 QuickFacts|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/AK/PST040219|website=U.S. Census Bureau}}</ref> In 2015, 61.3% was non-Hispanic white, 3.4% black or African American, 13.3% American Indian or Alaska Native, 6.2% Asian, 0.9% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 0.3% some other race, and 7.7% multiracial. Hispanics and Latin Americans were 7% of the state population in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|title=2015 Demographic and Housing Estimates|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=Alaska%20population&tid=ACSDP1Y2015.DP05|access-date=2021-05-21|website=data.census.gov|archive-date=May 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521040742/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=Alaska%20population&tid=ACSDP1Y2015.DP05|url-status=live}}</ref> From 2015 to 2019, the largest Hispanic and Latin American groups were ], ], and ]. The largest Asian groups living in the state were ], ], and ] and ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=2019 Demographic and Housing Estimates|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=Alaska%20population&tid=ACSDP1Y2019.DP05|access-date=2021-05-21|website=data.census.gov|archive-date=March 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328092609/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=Alaska%20population&tid=ACSDP1Y2019.DP05|url-status=live}}</ref>


The state was 66.7% white (64.1% non-Hispanic white), 14.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 5.4% Asian, 3.3% black or African American, 1.0% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 1.6% from some other race, and 7.3% from two or more races in 2010. Hispanics or Latin Americans of any race made up 5.5% of the population in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/ |title=U.S. Census website |publisher=] |date=October 5, 2010 |access-date=May 29, 2011 |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709054630/https://www.census.gov/ |url-status=live }}</ref> {{as of|2011}}, 50.7% of Alaska's population younger than one year of age belonged to minority groups (i.e., did not have two parents of non-Hispanic white ancestry).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2012/06/americas_under_age_1_populatio.html|title=Americans under age 1 now mostly minorities, but not in Ohio: Statistical Snapshot|last=Exner|first=Rich|date=June 3, 2012|work=]|access-date=August 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160714084214/http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2012/06/americas_under_age_1_populatio.html|archive-date=July 14, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1960, the United States Census Bureau reported Alaska's population as 77.2% white, 3% black, and 18.8% American Indian and Alaska Native.<ref>{{cite web|title=Alaska—Race and Hispanic Origin: 1880 to 1990 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html |access-date=April 18, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224151538/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html |archive-date=December 24, 2014 }}</ref>
In terms of ancestry, German Americans remained the largest single ethnic group in Alaska; they made up 19.3% of Alaska's population and were still the only ethnic group in the state with over 100,000 members. Irish Americans made up 12.5% of Alaska's population while English Americans made up 10.8% of the state's population. Norwegian Americans remained at 4.2% of Alaska's population and French Americans made up 3.6% of the state's population.<ref></ref>

In 2018, the top countries of origin for Alaska's immigrants were the ], ], ], ] and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/immigrants_in_alaska.pdf|title=Immigrants in Alaska|access-date=September 24, 2023|archive-date=February 13, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213222032/https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/immigrants_in_alaska.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>


===Languages=== ===Languages===
{{Further|Alaska Native languages}}
]
According to the 2005-2007 American Community Survey, 84.7% of people over the age of five speak only English at home. About 3.5% speak Spanish at home. About 2.2% speak another ] at home and about 4.3% speak an ] at home. And about 5.3% speak other languages at home.<ref></ref>


According to the 2011 American Community Survey, 83.4% of people over the age of five spoke only English at home. About 3.5% spoke Spanish at home, 2.2% spoke another ], about 4.3% spoke an ] language (including ]),<ref>"50 Quick Facts about Alaska" {{ISBN|978-1-783-33276-2}}</ref> and about 5.3% spoke other languages at home.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2013/acs/acs-22.pdf|title=Language use in the United States, 2011|access-date=May 18, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513042213/http://census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2013/acs/acs-22.pdf|archive-date=May 13, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, the American Community Survey determined 83.7% spoke only English, and 16.3% spoke another language other than English. The most spoken European language after English was Spanish, spoken by approximately 4.0% of the state population. Collectively, Asian and Pacific Islander languages were spoken by 5.6% of Alaskans.<ref>{{Cite web|title=2019 Language Statistics|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=Alaska%20languages&tid=ACSST1Y2019.S1601|access-date=2021-05-22|website=data.census.gov|archive-date=May 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522170320/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=Alaska%20languages&tid=ACSST1Y2019.S1601|url-status=live}}</ref> Since 2010, a total of 5.2% of Alaskans speak one of the state's 20 ],<ref>Graves, K, PhD, MSW, Rosich, R, PhD, McBride, M, PhD, RN, Charles, G, Phd and LaBelle, J, MA: Health and health care if Alaska Native Older Adults. {{cite web |url=http://geriatrics.stanford.edu/ethnomed/alaskan/ |title=Ethno Med - Alaska Native - Description - Geriatrics - Stanford Medicine |access-date=October 7, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140128175847/http://geriatrics.stanford.edu/ethnomed/alaskan/ |archive-date=January 28, 2014 }}. In Periyakoil VS, eds. eCampus Geriatrics, Stanford Ca, 2010.</ref> known locally as "native languages".
A total of 5.2% of Alaskans speak one of the state's 22 ], known locally as "native languages". These languages belong to two major language families: ] and ]. As the homeland of these two major language families of North America, Alaska has been described as the crossroads of the continent, providing evidence for the recent settlement of North America via the ].

The ] at the ] claims that at least 20 ] exist and there are also some languages with different dialects.<ref name="uaf.edu">{{cite web |title=Languages, Alaska Native Language Center |url=http://www.uaf.edu/anlc/languages/ |access-date=August 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727073141/http://www.uaf.edu/anlc/languages/ |archive-date=July 27, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> Most of Alaska's native languages belong to either the ] or ] language families; some languages are thought to be ] (e.g. ]) or have not yet been classified (e.g. ]).<ref name="uaf.edu" /> {{as of|2014}} nearly all of Alaska's native languages were classified as either threatened, shifting, moribund, nearly extinct, or dormant languages.<ref>Languages, Alaska Native Language Center, ] (classifications), http://www.uaf.edu/anlc/languages/stats/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140706170402/http://www.uaf.edu/anlc/languages/stats/ |date=July 6, 2014 }}</ref>

In October 2014, the governor of Alaska signed a bill declaring the state's 20 indigenous languages to have official status.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212093511/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/24/alaskas-indigenous-languages-official |date=February 12, 2017 }}, Reuters.com, October 24, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=HB%20216&session=28|title=Bill History/Action for 28th Legislature HB 216|website=The Alaska State Legislature|access-date=January 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204183710/http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=HB%20216&session=28|archive-date=February 4, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> This bill gave them symbolic recognition as official languages, though they have not been adopted for official use within the government. The 20 languages that were included in the bill are:

{{div col}}
# ]
# ]
# ]
# ]
# ]
# ]
# ]
# ]
# ]
# ]
# ]
# ]
# ]
# ]
# ]
# ]
# ]
# ]
# ]
# ]
{{div col end}}


===Religion=== ===Religion===
{{See also|Alaska Native religion|Shamanism among Alaska Natives}}
Alaska has been identified, along with Pacific Northwest states Washington and Oregon, as being the least religious in the U.S.<ref></ref><ref> Anchorage Daily News, 2008 July 13.</ref> According to statistics collected by the Association of Religion Data Archives, about 39% of Alaska residents were members of religious congregations. Evangelical Protestants had 78,070 members, Roman Catholics had 54,359, and mainline Protestants had 37,156.<ref name = ARDA>{{cite web | title = Religious Affiliations 2000 | work = Alaska State Membership Report | publisher = Association of Religion Data Archives | url = http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/state/02_2000.asp | accessdate = 2008-03-31 }}</ref> After Catholics and ], the largest single denominations are The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons/LDS) with 29,460, Southern Baptists with 22,959, and Orthodox with 20,000. The large ] (with 49 parishes and up to 50,000 followers)<ref></ref> population is a result of early ] and ] work among Alaska Natives.<ref></ref> In 1795, the First ] was established in ]. Intermarriage with Alaskan Natives helped the Russian immigrants integrate into society. As a result, more and more Russian Orthodox churches<ref></ref> gradually became established within Alaska. Alaska also has the largest ] population (by percentage) of any state.<ref></ref> In 2003 there were 3,000 Jews in Alaska (for whom observance of the ] ]).<ref> </ref> Estimates for the number of Alaskan ]s range from 2,000<ref></ref><ref></ref> to 5,000.<ref></ref> Alaskan Hindus often share venues and celebrations with members of other religious communities including ] and ].<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref>
] in downtown ]|left|265x265px]]{{Pie chart|thumb=right|caption=Religious self-identification in Alaska per the ]'s 2020 survey<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 24, 2023 |title=2020 American Values Atlas: Religious Tradition |url=https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2020/States/religion/m/US-AK |access-date=March 30, 2023 |website=] |archive-date=April 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404161714/https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2022/States/religion/m/US-AK |url-status=live }}</ref>|label1=]|value1=37|color1=White|label2=]|value2=36|color2=DarkBlue|label3=]|value3=14|color3=Purple|label4=]|value4=4|color4=Yellow|label5=]|value5=2|color5=Teal|label6=]|color6=Green|label7=Other|color7=Gray|label8=|value6=1|value7=6}}Multiple surveys have ranked Alaska among ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Green |first=Emma |date=2017-09-06 |title=The 20 States Where Non-Religious People Make Up the Greatest Share of the Population |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/09/no-religion-states-prri/538821/ |access-date=2023-09-16 |website=The Atlantic |language=en |archive-date=October 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002064510/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/09/no-religion-states-prri/538821/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-09-04 |title=Survey Finds Alaskans Less Religious Than Other Americans |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2008/09/04/survey-finds-alaskans-less-religious-than-other-americans/ |access-date=2023-09-16 |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |language=en-US |archive-date=October 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002064510/https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2008/09/04/survey-finds-alaskans-less-religious-than-other-americans/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Multiple image
| align = right
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| footer = ChangePoint in south Anchorage (left) and Anchorage Baptist Temple in east Anchorage (right) are Alaska's largest churches in terms of attendance and membership.
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According to statistics collected by the ] (ARDA) from 2010, about 34% of Alaska residents were members of religious congregations. Of the religious population, roughly 4% were Mormon, 0.5% ], 0.5% Muslim, 1% Buddhist, 0.2% Baháʼí, and 0.5% Hindu.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://religions.pewforum.org/maps|title=Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics—Pew Research Center|date=May 11, 2015|website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|access-date=November 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150506033840/http://religions.pewforum.org/maps|archive-date=May 6, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The largest religious denominations in Alaska {{as of|2010|lc=y}} was the ] with 50,866 adherents; non-denominational Evangelicals with 38,070 adherents; ] with 32,170 adherents; and the ] with 19,891 adherents.<ref name="www.thearda.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/02/rcms2010_02_state_adh_2010.asp |title=The Association of Religion Data Archives—State Membership Report |publisher=thearda.com |access-date=November 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212162841/http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/02/rcms2010_02_state_adh_2010.asp |archive-date=December 12, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/02/rcms2010_02_state_adh_2010.asp|title=The Association of Religion Data Archives—Maps & Reports|website=thearda.com|access-date=November 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212162841/http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/02/rcms2010_02_state_adh_2010.asp|archive-date=December 12, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Alaska has been identified, along with Washington and Oregon in the Pacific Northwest, as being ], in terms of church membership.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_472.html |title=Adherents.com |publisher=Adherents.com |access-date=June 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505013647/http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_472.html |archive-date=May 5, 2010 |url-status=usurped }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116035021/http://www.adn.com/life/story/463303.html |archive-date=January 16, 2009 |url=http://www.adn.com/life/story/463303.html |title=Believe it or not, Alaska's one of nation's least religious states |newspaper=Anchorage Daily News |date=July 13, 2008 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 23, 2008 }}</ref>

The Pew Research Center in 2014 determined 62% of the adult population practiced Christianity. Of the Christian denominations, Catholicism was the largest Christian group. When Protestant denominations were combined, Protestantism was the largest Christian tradition, with Evangelicalism being the largest movement within the Protestant group. The unaffiliated population made up the largest non-Christian religious affiliation at 37%. ] made up 5% of the population and the largest non-Christian religion was ]. In 2020, the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) determined 57% of adults were Christian.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PRRI – American Values Atlas |url=https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2020/States/religion/m/US-AK |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=ava.prri.org |archive-date=April 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404161714/https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2020/States/religion/m/US-AK |url-status=live }}</ref> By 2022, Christianity increased to 77% of the population according to the PRRI.

Through the Association of Religion Data Archives in 2020, its Christian population was dominated by ] as the single largest Christian cohort, with 73,930 adherents. Roman Catholics were second with 40,280 members; throughout its Christian population, non-denominational Christians had an adherence rate of 100.81 per 1,000 residents, and Catholics 54.92 per 1,000 residents.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=2020 Congregational Membership |url=https://www.thearda.com/us-religion/census/congregational-membership?y=2020&y2=0&t=1&c=02 |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=Association of Religion Data Archives |archive-date=April 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419105607/https://thearda.com/us-religion/census/congregational-membership?y=2020&y2=0&t=1&c=02 |url-status=live }}</ref> Per 2014's Pew study, religion was seen as very important to 41% of the population, although 29% considered it somewhat important.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |date=May 11, 2015 |title=Adults in Alaska |url=http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/alaska/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114210213/http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/alaska/ |archive-date=January 14, 2016 |access-date=January 1, 2016 |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project}}</ref> In 2014, Pew determined roughly 55% believed in God with absolute certainty, and 24% believed fairly certainly. Reflecting the separate 2020 ARDA study, the 2014 Pew study showed 30% attended religious services once a week, 34% once or twice a month, and 36% seldom/never.<ref name=":0" /> In 2018, '']'' published an article using Pew data and determined non-churchgoing Christians nationwide did not attend religious services often through the following: practicing the faith in other ways, not finding a house of worship they liked, disliking sermons and feeling unwelcomed, and logistics.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carter |first=Joe |title=Why Christians Don't Go to Church (and Why They Must) |url=https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/americans-christians-dont-go-church-must/ |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=The Gospel Coalition |date=October 13, 2018 |language=en-US |archive-date=April 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419170251/https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/americans-christians-dont-go-church-must/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1795, the first ] was established in ]. Intermarriage with Alaskan Natives helped the Russian immigrants integrate into society. As a result, an increasing number of Russian Orthodox churches gradually became established within Alaska.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://vilda.alaska.edu/u?/cdmg11,4904 |title=An early Russian Orthodox Church |publisher=Vilda.alaska.edu |access-date=June 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225102019/http://vilda.alaska.edu/u/?%2Fcdmg11%2C4904 |archive-date=February 25, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> Alaska also has the largest ] population (by percentage) of any state.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/maps/map.asp?state=101&variable=201 |title=Association of Religion Data Archive |publisher=Thearda.com |access-date=June 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113080504/http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/maps/map.asp?state=101&variable=201 |archive-date=January 13, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2009, there were 6,000 Jews in Alaska (for whom observance of ] ]).<ref>. U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2011.</ref> Alaskan Hindus often share venues and celebrations with members of other Asian religious communities, including ] and ].<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201151519/http://caia.arctic.us/?Shri_Ganesha_Mandir_of_Alaska |archive-date=February 1, 2009 |url=http://www.caia.arctic.us/?Shri_Ganesha_Mandir_of_Alaska |title=Shri Ganesha Mandir of Alaska |publisher=Cultural Association of India Anchorage |last1=Kalyan |first1=Mala |url-status=dead |access-date=September 26, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hindumandir.us/west-coast.html#AK |title=Hindu Temples on West Coast USA |publisher=Hindu Temples in USA—Hindu Mandirs in USA |access-date=June 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616130334/http://www.hindumandir.us/west-coast.html |archive-date=June 16, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201151459/http://caia.arctic.us/?Holi_%2F_Baisakhi_Celebration%3A |archive-date=February 1, 2009 |url=http://www.caia.arctic.us/?Holi_%2F_Baisakhi_Celebration%3A |title=Holi / Baisakhi Celebration |publisher=Cultural Association of India Anchorage |url-status=dead |access-date=September 26, 2009 }}</ref> In 2010, Alaskan Hindus established the ], making it the first Hindu Temple in Alaska and the northernmost Hindu Temple in the world. There are an estimated 2,000–3,000 Hindus in Alaska. The vast majority of Hindus live in Anchorage or Fairbanks.

Estimates for the number of Muslims in Alaska range from 2,000 to 5,000.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116035850/http://dwb.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_alaska/story/8656236p-8548061c.html |archive-date=January 16, 2009 |url=http://dwb.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_alaska/story/8656236p-8548061c.html |title=First Muslim cemetery opens in Alaska |first1=Julia |last1=O'Malley |website=Anchorage Daily News |date=February 20, 2007 |url-status=dead |access-date=August 30, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215202834/http://engagingmuslims.alaskapacific.edu/ |archive-date=February 15, 2009 |url=http://engagingmuslims.alaskapacific.edu/ |website=engagingmuslims.alaskapacific.edu |title=Engaging Muslim: Religion, Culture, Politics |url-status=dead |access-date=August 30, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.humanitynews.net/index.php/main/more/alaskan_muslims_avoid_conflict/ |title=Alaskan Muslims Avoid Conflict |publisher=Humanity News |date=July 7, 2005 |first1=Robert |last1=Howk |access-date=June 2, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113085537/http://www.humanitynews.net/index.php/main/more/alaskan_muslims_avoid_conflict/ |archive-date=January 13, 2009 }}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> In 2020, ARDA estimated there were 400 Muslims in the state.<ref name=":1" /> The ] began efforts in the late 1990s to construct a mosque in Anchorage. They broke ground on a building in south Anchorage in 2010 and were nearing completion in late 2014. When completed, the mosque was the first in the state and one of the northernmost mosques in the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/video/americas/2010/12/20101225111741183159.html |title=Mosque milestone for Alaska Muslims—Americas |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=December 25, 2010 |access-date=May 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110204061054/http://english.aljazeera.net/video/americas/2010/12/20101225111741183159.html |archive-date=February 4, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> There is also a ] center,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.akbahai.org/ |title=Alaska Bahá'í Community |access-date=January 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190117013401/http://www.akbahai.org/ |archive-date=January 17, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> and there were 690 adherents in 2020.<ref name=":1" /> Additionally, there were 469 adherents of ] and ] altogether in 2020, and a small number of ] were present.


==Economy== ==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of Alaska}}
]]]
{{See also|Alaska locations by per capita income|List of Alaska companies}}
] transports oil, Alaska's most important export, from the ] to ]. Pertinent are the ]s in the column mounts.]]
]]]As of October 2022, Alaska had a total employment of 316,900. The number of employer establishments was 21,077.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/AK |title=U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Alaska |access-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015020906/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/AK |archive-date=October 15, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>
] per capita.<ref></ref>]]

The 2007 ] was $44.9 billion, 45th in the nation. Its ] for 2007 was $40,042, ranking 15th in the nation. The oil and gas industry dominates the Alaskan economy, with more than 80% of the state's revenues derived from petroleum extraction. Alaska's main export product (excluding oil and natural gas) is seafood, primarily salmon, cod, Pollock and crab. Agriculture represents only a fraction of the Alaskan economy. Agricultural production is primarily for consumption within the state and includes nursery stock, dairy products, vegetables, and livestock. Manufacturing is limited, with most foodstuffs and general goods imported from elsewhere. Employment is primarily in government and industries such as natural resource extraction, shipping, and transportation. Military bases are a significant component of the economy in both Fairbanks and Anchorage. Federal subsidies are also an important part of the economy, allowing the state to keep taxes low. Its industrial outputs are crude petroleum, natural gas, coal, gold, precious metals, zinc and other mining, seafood processing, timber and wood products. There is also a growing service and tourism sector. Tourists have contributed to the economy by supporting local lodging.
The 2018 ] was $55 billion, 48th in the U.S. Its ] for 2018 was $73,000, ranking 7th in the nation. According to a 2013 study by Phoenix Marketing International, Alaska had the fifth-largest number of millionaires per capita in the United States, with a ratio of 6.75 percent.<ref>{{cite web|last=Frank|first=Robert|title=Top states for millionaires per capita|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2014/01/15/top-states-for-millionaires-per-capita.html|publisher=CNBC|access-date=January 22, 2014|date=January 15, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140122061516/https://www.cnbc.com/id/101338309|archive-date=January 22, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> The oil and gas industry dominates the Alaskan economy, with more than 80% of the state's revenues derived from petroleum extraction. Alaska's main export product (excluding oil and natural gas) is seafood, primarily salmon, cod, pollock and crab.

Agriculture represents a very small fraction of the Alaskan economy. Agricultural production is primarily for consumption within the state and includes nursery stock, dairy products, vegetables, and livestock. Manufacturing is limited, with most foodstuffs and general goods imported from elsewhere.

Employment is primarily in government and industries such as natural resource extraction, shipping, and transportation. Military bases are a significant component of the economy in the Fairbanks North Star, Anchorage and Kodiak Island boroughs, as well as Kodiak. Federal subsidies are also an important part of the economy, allowing the state to keep taxes low. Its industrial outputs are crude petroleum, natural gas, coal, ], ], ] and other mining, seafood processing, timber and wood products. There is also a growing service and tourism sector. Tourists have contributed to the economy by supporting local lodging.


===Energy=== ===Energy===
{{See also|Natural gas in Alaska}} {{See also|Natural gas in Alaska|List of power stations in Alaska|Energy law#Alaska law}}
] transports oil, Alaska's most financially important export, from the ] to ]. The ]s in the column mounts are pertinent, since they disperse heat upwards and prevent melting of ].]]
{{See also|Energy law#Alaska law}}
] ] peaked in 1973 and have declined more than 60% since then. ]]
]
Alaska has vast energy resources. Major oil and gas reserves are found in the Alaska North Slope (ANS) and Cook Inlet basins. According to the ], Alaska ranks second in the nation in crude oil production. Prudhoe Bay on Alaska’s North Slope is the highest yielding oil field in the United States and on North America, typically producing about {{convert|400000|oilbbl/d|m3/d}}. The ] can pump up to {{convert|2.1|Moilbbl|m3}} of crude oil per day, more than any other crude oil pipeline in the United States. Additionally, substantial coal deposits are found in Alaska’s bituminous, sub-bituminous, and lignite coal basins. The United States Geological Survey estimates that there are {{convert|85.4|Tcuft|km3}} of undiscovered, technically recoverable gas from natural gas hydrates on the Alaskan North Slope.<ref></ref> Alaska also offers some of the highest hydroelectric power potential in the country from its numerous rivers. Large swaths of the Alaskan coastline offer wind and geothermal energy potential as well.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=AK |title= EIA State Energy Profiles: Alaska |date=2008-06-12 |accessdate=2008-06-24}}</ref>


Alaska has vast energy resources, although its oil reserves have been largely depleted. Major oil and gas reserves were found in the ] (ANS) and Cook Inlet basins, but according to the ], by February 2014 Alaska had fallen to fourth place in the nation in crude oil production after Texas, ], and ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=ak |title=EIA State Energy Profiles: Alaska |publisher=U.S. Energy Information Administration |date=March 27, 2014 |access-date=May 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522070348/http://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=ak |archive-date=May 22, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Rankings: Crude Oil Production, February 2013|url=http://www.eia.gov/state/rankings/?sid=US&CFID=11011948&CFTOKEN=1da5d5e517e7a485-37ABEB4E-25B3-1C83-549C71EE21A56018&jsessionid=84305d8fd0e59a4565705d1e106846494687#/series/46|publisher=United States Energy Information Administration|access-date=May 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019131529/http://www.eia.gov/state/rankings/?sid=US&CFID=11011948&CFTOKEN=1da5d5e517e7a485-37ABEB4E-25B3-1C83-549C71EE21A56018&jsessionid=84305d8fd0e59a4565705d1e106846494687#/series/46|archive-date=October 19, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Prudhoe Bay on Alaska's North Slope is still the second highest-yielding oil field in the United States, typically producing about {{convert|400000|oilbbl/d|m3/d}}, although by early 2014 North Dakota's ] was producing over {{convert|900000|oilbbl/d|m3/d}}.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/stats/historicalbakkenoilstats.pdf | title=ND Monthly Bakken Oil Production Statistics | publisher=North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources | access-date=May 21, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714181113/https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/stats/historicalbakkenoilstats.pdf | archive-date=July 14, 2014 | url-status=live }}</ref> Prudhoe Bay was the largest ] field ever discovered in North America, but was much smaller than Canada's enormous ] field, which by 2014 was producing about {{convert | 1500000 | oilbbl/d | m3/d}} of ], and had hundreds of years of producible reserves at that rate.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.capp.ca/getdoc.aspx?DocId=227308 | title=Crude Oil Forecast, Markets and Transportation | publisher=Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers | date=June 2013 | access-date=May 21, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522084514/http://www.capp.ca/getdoc.aspx?DocId=227308 | archive-date=May 22, 2014 | url-status=dead }}</ref>
]
Alaska's economy depends heavily on increasingly expensive diesel fuel for heating, transportation, electric power and light. Though wind and hydroelectric power are abundant and underdeveloped, proposals for state-wide energy systems (e.g. with special ]) were judged uneconomical (at the time of the report, 2001) due to low (<$0.50/Gal) fuel prices, long distances and low population.<ref>, April, 2001</ref> The cost of a ] of gas in urban Alaska today is usually $0.30-$0.60 higher than the national average; prices in rural areas are generally significantly higher but vary widely depending on transportation costs, seasonal usage peaks, nearby petroleum development infrastructure and many other factors.


The ] can transport and pump up to {{convert|2.1|Moilbbl|m3}} of crude oil per day, more than any other crude oil pipeline in the United States. Additionally, substantial coal deposits are found in Alaska's bituminous, sub-bituminous, and lignite coal basins. The ] estimates that there are {{convert|85.4|Tcuft|km3}} of undiscovered, technically recoverable gas from natural gas hydrates on the Alaskan North Slope.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usgs.gov/corecast/details.asp?ep=74 |title=Gas Hydrates on Alaska's North Slope |publisher=Usgs.gov |access-date=June 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601170523/http://www.usgs.gov/corecast/details.asp?ep=74 |archive-date=June 1, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Alaska also offers some of the highest hydroelectric power potential in the country from its numerous rivers. Large swaths of the Alaskan coastline offer wind and geothermal energy potential as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=AK |title=EIA State Energy Profiles: Alaska |publisher=Tonto.eia.doe.gov |date=August 27, 2009 |access-date=November 7, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101103203218/http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=AK |archive-date=November 3, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Alaska accounts for 1/5 (20%) of domestically produced United States oil production. Prudhoe Bay (North America's largest oil field) alone accounts for 8% of the U.S. domestic oil production.


Alaska's economy depends heavily on increasingly expensive diesel fuel for heating, transportation, electric power and light. Although wind and hydroelectric power are abundant and underdeveloped, proposals for statewide energy systems were judged uneconomical (at the time of the report, 2001) due to low (less than 50¢/gal) fuel prices, long distances and low population.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216014031/http://www.dced.state.ak.us/dca/AEIS/PDF_Files/AIDEA_Energy_Screening.pdf |archive-date=February 16, 2008 |url=http://www.dced.state.ak.us/dca/AEIS/PDF_Files/AIDEA_Energy_Screening.pdf |title=Screening Report for Alaska Rural Energy Plan |date=April 2001 |url-status=dead |access-date=April 11, 2006 }}</ref> The cost of a gallon of gas in urban Alaska is usually thirty to sixty cents higher than the national average; prices in rural areas are generally significantly higher but vary widely depending on transportation costs, seasonal usage peaks, nearby petroleum development infrastructure and many other factors.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alaska Profile |url=https://www.eia.gov/state/print.php?sid=AK |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=www.eia.gov |archive-date=December 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231222034426/https://www.eia.gov/state/print.php?sid=AK |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author-link=Alaska |date=January 2015 |title=Alaska Fuel Price Report: Current Community Conditions (January 2015) |url=https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/Portals/4/pub/Fuel_Price_Report_Jan-2015.pdf |access-date=December 22, 2023 |archive-date=January 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119085012/https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/Portals/4/pub/Fuel_Price_Report_Jan-2015.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Permanent Fund===

The ] is a legislatively controlled appropriation established in 1976 to manage a surplus in state petroleum revenues from the recently constructed ]. From its initial principal of $734,000, the fund has grown to $40 billion as a result of oil royalties and capital investment programs.<ref></ref> Starting in 1982, dividends from the fund's annual growth have been paid out each year to eligible Alaskans, ranging from $331.29 in 1984 to $3,269.00 in 2008 (which included a one-time $1200 "Resource Rebate"). Every year, the state legislature takes out 8 percent from the earnings, puts 3 percent back into the principal for inflation proofing, and the remaining 5 percent is distributed to all qualifying Alaskans. To qualify for the Alaska State Permanent Fund one must have lived in the state for a minimum of 12 months, and maintain constant residency.<ref></ref>
====Permanent Fund====
The ] is a constitutionally authorized appropriation of oil revenues, established by voters in 1976 to manage a surplus in state petroleum revenues from oil, largely in anticipation of the then recently constructed ]. The fund was originally proposed by Governor ] on the eve of the 1969 Prudhoe Bay lease sale, out of fear that the legislature would spend the entire proceeds of the sale (which amounted to $900&nbsp;million) at once. It was later championed by Governor ] and ] ] Hugh Malone. It has served as an attractive political prospect ever since, diverting revenues which would normally be deposited into the general fund.

The ] was written so as to discourage dedicating state funds for a particular purpose. The Permanent Fund has become the rare exception to this, mostly due to the political climate of distrust existing during the time of its creation. From its initial principal of $734,000, the fund has grown to $50&nbsp;billion as a result of oil royalties and capital investment programs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.apfc.org/|title=Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation|website=apfc.org|access-date=May 29, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070520095308/http://www.apfc.org/|archive-date=May 20, 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> Most if not all the principal is invested conservatively outside Alaska. This has led to frequent calls by Alaskan politicians for the Fund to make investments within Alaska, though such a stance has never gained momentum.

Starting in 1982, dividends from the fund's annual growth have been paid out each year to eligible Alaskans, ranging from an initial $1,000 in 1982 (equal to three years' payout, as the distribution of payments was held up in a lawsuit over the distribution scheme) to $3,269 in 2008 (which included a one-time $1,200 "Resource Rebate"). Every year, the state legislature takes out 8% from the earnings, puts 3% back into the principal for inflation proofing, and the remaining 5% is distributed to all qualifying Alaskans. To qualify for the Permanent Fund Dividend, one must have lived in the state for a minimum of 12 months, maintain constant residency subject to allowable absences,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pfd.state.ak.us/dividendamounts/index.aspx |title=State of Alaska Permanent Fund Division |publisher=Pfd.state.ak.us |access-date=June 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420014117/http://www.pfd.state.ak.us/dividendamounts/index.aspx |archive-date=April 20, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and not be subject to court judgments or criminal convictions which fall under various disqualifying classifications or may subject the payment amount to civil garnishment.

The Permanent Fund is often considered to be one of the leading examples of a ] policy in the world.<ref>{{cite web|title = Alaska's Citizens' Dividend Set To Be Near Highest Ever|url = http://www.basicincome.org/news/2015/08/alaska-usa-dividend-amount-estimated-to-be-near-highest-ever/|website = BIEN| date=August 31, 2015 |access-date = November 3, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151103055141/http://www.basicincome.org/news/2015/08/alaska-usa-dividend-amount-estimated-to-be-near-highest-ever/|archive-date = November 3, 2015|url-status = live}}</ref>


===Cost of living=== ===Cost of living===
The cost of goods in Alaska has long been higher than in the contiguous 48 states. This has changed for the most part in Anchorage and to a lesser extent in Fairbanks, where the cost of living has dropped somewhat in the past five years. Federal government employees, particularly ] (USPS) workers and active-duty military members, receive a Cost of Living Allowance usually set at 25% of base pay because, while the cost of living has gone down, it is still one of the highest in the country. The cost of goods in Alaska has long been higher than in the contiguous 48 states. Federal government employees, particularly ] (USPS) workers and active-duty military members, receive a Cost of Living Allowance usually set at 25% of base pay because, while the cost of living has gone down, it is still one of the highest in the country.<ref name=":1a">{{Cite web|title=Economic Forecast Released|url=https://www.alaskanomics.com/|access-date=2021-02-04|website=Economic Forecast Released|archive-date=May 6, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100506033032/https://www.alaskanomics.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Rural Alaska suffers from extremely high prices for food and consumer goods compared to the rest of the country, due to the relatively limited transportation infrastructure.<ref name=":1a" />

===Agriculture and fishing===
], both as a sport fish and commercially, is important to the state's economy.]]

Due to the northern climate and short growing season, relatively little farming occurs in Alaska. Most farms are in either the ], about {{convert|40|mi|km}} northeast of ], or on the ], about {{convert|60|mi|km}} southwest of Anchorage. The short 100-day growing season limits the crops that can be grown, but the long sunny summer days make for productive growing seasons. The primary crops are potatoes, carrots, lettuce, and cabbage.

The ] is another notable agricultural locus, especially the ] area, about {{convert|100|mi|km}} southeast of Fairbanks, with a sizable concentration of farms growing agronomic crops; these farms mostly lie north and east of ]. This area was largely set aside and developed under a state program spearheaded by Hammond during his second term as governor. Delta-area crops consist predominantly of barley and hay. West of Fairbanks lies another concentration of small farms catering to restaurants, the hotel and tourist industry, and ].

Alaskan agriculture has experienced a surge in growth of ]s, small farms and ]s in recent years, with the highest percentage increase (46%) in the nation in growth in farmers' markets in 2011, compared to 17% nationwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdamediafb?contentid=2011/08/0338.xml&printable=true&contentidonly=true |title=More than 1,000 New Farmers Markets Recorded Across Country as USDA Directory Reveals 17 Percent Growth—USDA Newsroom |publisher=Usda.gov |date=August 5, 2011 |access-date=June 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117072838/http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdamediafb?contentid=2011%2F08%2F0338.xml&printable=true&contentidonly=true |archive-date=January 17, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The ] industry has also taken off, as the growing season allows farmers to harvest during a gap in supply elsewhere in the world, thereby filling a niche in the flower market.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://alaskapeonies.org/ |title=Welcome to The Alaska Peony Growers Association |publisher=Alaskapeonies.org |access-date=June 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630050159/http://alaskapeonies.org/ |archive-date=June 30, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{multiple image
| align = left
| image1 = Heavy-lift_melon.jpg
| width1 = 200
| alt1 =
| caption1 =
| image2 = Monster vegetable display at the Tanana Valley State Fair 2010.jpg
| width2 = 200
| alt2 =
| caption2 =
| footer = Oversized vegetables on display at the ] (left) and the ] (right)
}}

Alaska, with no counties, lacks county fairs. Instead, a small assortment of state and local fairs (with the ] in ] the largest), are held mostly in the late summer. The fairs are mostly located in communities with historic or current agricultural activity, and feature local farmers exhibiting produce in addition to more high-profile commercial activities such as carnival rides, concerts and food. "Alaska Grown" is used as an agricultural slogan.

Alaska has an abundance of seafood, with the primary fisheries in the Bering Sea and the North Pacific. Seafood is one of the few food items that is often cheaper within the state than outside it. Many Alaskans take advantage of salmon seasons to harvest portions of their household diet while fishing for subsistence, as well as sport. This includes fish taken by hook, net or ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishingPersonalUse.main |title=Alaska Department of Fish and Game |publisher=Adfg.alaska.gov |access-date=May 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624202032/http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishingPersonalUse.main |archive-date=June 24, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Hunting for subsistence, primarily ], ], and ] is still common in the state, particularly in remote ] communities. An example of a traditional native food is ], the Eskimo ice cream, which can consist of reindeer fat, seal oil, dried fish meat and local berries.

Alaska's reindeer herding is concentrated on ], where wild caribou can be prevented from mingling and migrating with the domesticated reindeer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://reindeer.salrm.uaf.edu/about_reindeer/seward_peninsula.php |title=Reindeer Herding |publisher=Reindeer.salrm.uaf.edu |access-date=November 7, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119004453/http://reindeer.salrm.uaf.edu/about_reindeer/seward_peninsula.php |archive-date=November 19, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Most food in Alaska is transported into the state from ] (the other 49 U.S. states), and shipping costs make food in the cities relatively expensive. In rural areas, subsistence hunting and gathering is an essential activity because imported food is prohibitively expensive. Although most small towns and villages in Alaska lie along the coastline, the cost of importing food to remote villages can be high because of the terrain and difficult road conditions, which change dramatically due to varying climate and precipitation changes. Transport costs can reach 50¢ per pound ($1.10/kg) or higher in some remote areas during times of inclement weather or rough terrain conditions, if these locations can be reached at all. The cost of delivering a gallon (3.8 L) of milk is about $3.50 in many villages where per capita income can be $20,000 or less. Fuel cost per gallon is routinely twenty to thirty cents higher than the contiguous United States average, with only Hawaii having higher prices.<ref>{{cite web|title=Daily Fuel Gauge Report|url=http://fuelgaugereport.aaa.com/?redirectto=http://fuelgaugereport.opisnet.com/index.asp|publisher=Automobile Association of America|access-date=May 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620090230/http://fuelgaugereport.aaa.com/?redirectto=http%3A%2F%2Ffuelgaugereport.opisnet.com%2Findex.asp|archive-date=June 20, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Retail Fuel Pricing and News|url=http://www.opisnet.com/retail-fuel-prices.aspx|publisher=Oil Price Information Service|access-date=May 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602043909/http://www.opisnet.com/retail-fuel-prices.aspx|archive-date=June 2, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Culture==
{{cleanup merge|Sports in Alaska}}
{{see also|List of artists and writers from Alaska}}
], arguably the most popular winter event in Alaska]]
]]]
Some of Alaska's popular annual events are the ] from Anchorage to Nome, World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, the Blueberry Festival and Alaska Hummingbird Festival in ], the Sitka Whale Fest, and the Stikine River Garnet Fest in ]. The ] attracts the largest springtime concentration of ]s in the world.

The ] celebrates the rich heritage of Alaska's 11 cultural groups. Their purpose is to encourage cross-cultural exchanges among all people and enhance self-esteem among ]. The ] promotes and markets Native art from all regions and cultures in the State, using the internet.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alaskanativearts.org|title=Alaska Native Arts Foundation|website=alaskanativearts.org|access-date=November 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717094500/http://www.alaskanativearts.org/|archive-date=July 17, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Music===
{{Main|Music of Alaska}}

Influences on music in Alaska include the traditional music of Alaska Natives as well as folk music brought by later immigrants from Russia and Europe. Prominent musicians from Alaska include singer ], traditional Aleut flautist ], folk singer-songwriter ], Christian music singer-songwriter ], metal/post hardcore band ] and the groups ] and ].

There are many established music festivals in Alaska, including the ], the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, the Anchorage Folk Festival, the ], the Sitka Jazz Festival, the ], and the Anchorage Chamber Music Festival. The most prominent orchestra in Alaska is the ], though the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra and ] are also notable. The ] is currently the state's only professional opera company, though there are several volunteer and semi-professional organizations in the state as well.

The official ] of Alaska is "]", which was adopted in 1955; it celebrates the ].

===Film and television===
{{see also|List of films set in Alaska}}

The 1983 Disney movie '']'' was at least partially shot in Alaska. The 1991 film '']'', based on ]'s 1906 novel and starring ], was filmed in and around ]. ]'s 1994 '']'', starring ], was filmed in part at the ] near ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filminamerica.com/Movies/OnDeadlyGround/ |title=On Deadly Ground |publisher=Filminamerica.com |access-date=November 7, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227140459/http://www.filminamerica.com/Movies/OnDeadlyGround/ |archive-date=December 27, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Many reality television shows are filmed in Alaska. In 2011, the ''Anchorage Daily News'' found ten set in the state.<ref name="hopkins20110214">{{cite news|url=http://www.adn.com/2011/02/14/1699528/alaska-based-shows-what-do-the.html |title=Rating the Alaska reality shows: The best and the worst |work=Anchorage Daily News |date=February 14, 2011 |access-date=March 2, 2013 |last=Hopkins |first=Kyle |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302051556/http://www.adn.com/2011/02/14/1699528/alaska-based-shows-what-do-the.html |archive-date=March 2, 2013 }}</ref>

===Sports===
{{see also|Alaska Sports Hall of Fame}}The following is a list of sporting venues, events, and teams based in Alaska.

==== Anchorage ====

===== Venues =====
]

* ]
* ], a {{convert|495000|acre|km2|adj=on}} high alpine park.<ref name="ngs">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/nationalgeograph00nat_o27/page/340 |title=Guide to the State Parks of the United States-2nd Edition |publisher=The National Geographic Society |year=2004 |isbn=0-7922-6628-5 |location=Washington, D.C. |pages= |url-access=registration}}</ref>
* Anchorage has many groomed ] trails within the urban core. There are {{convert|105|mi|km}} of maintained ski trails in the city,<ref>{{cite web |title=Trails |url=http://www.muni.org/departments/parks/pages/trails.aspx |access-date=26 February 2014 |work=Parks and Recreation |publisher=Municipality of Anchorage |archive-date=March 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240318160209/https://www.muni.org/departments/parks/pages/trails.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> some of which reach downtown.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tony Knowles Coastal Trail |url=http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/aktrails/ats/anc/knowlsct.htm |access-date=26 February 2014 |work=Alaska Trails |publisher=State of Alaska}}</ref>
* ]
* ]
* ]

===== Teams =====

* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ] (soccer)
* ] (soccer)
* ] (men's soccer)

===== Events =====

* ], an annual ]Division I basketball tournament<ref>{{cite web |title=Great Alaska Shootout |url=http://www.anchorage.net/articles/great-alaska-shootout |access-date=25 February 2014 |work=Anchorage: 100 years of big wild life |publisher=Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau |archive-date=July 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703143839/http://www.anchorage.net/articles/great-alaska-shootout |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ] wheelchair race between Fairbanks and Anchorage<ref name="auto">{{cite news |last=Pedeferri |first=Tony |date=18 October 2012 |title=Alaska Race will Return in 2013 |url=http://www.ushf.org/index.php/news-mainmenu-82/us-handcycling-news-mainmenu-73/2127-alaska-race-will-return-in-2013 |access-date=25 February 2014 |newspaper=US Handcycling – News |archive-date=March 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331095438/http://www.ushf.org/index.php/news-mainmenu-82/us-handcycling-news-mainmenu-73/2127-alaska-race-will-return-in-2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The ] is an annual 50-kilometer (31 mi) ski race within the city.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tour of Anchorage |url=http://www.anchorage.net/articles/tour-anchorage |access-date=25 February 2014 |work=Anchorage: 100 years of big wild life |publisher=Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau |archive-date=April 28, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150428023059/http://www.anchorage.net/articles/tour-anchorage |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ]

==== Fairbanks ====

===== Venues =====

* ]

===== Teams =====

* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ] (soccer)

===== Events =====

* ] wheelchair race between Fairbanks and Anchorage<ref name="auto"/>
* ]
* ]

==== Elsewhere ====

===== Teams =====

* ] (men's soccer)
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

===== Events =====

* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

====== Dog mushing ======

* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

==Public health and safety==
{{See also|Dentistry in rural Alaska}}

The ] are Alaska's statewide police force. They have a long and storied history, but were not an official organization until 1941. Before the force was officially organized, law enforcement in Alaska was handled by various federal agencies. Larger towns usually have their own local police and some villages rely on "Public Safety Officers" who have police training but do not carry firearms. In much of the state, the troopers serve as the only police force available. In addition to enforcing traffic and criminal law, wildlife Troopers enforce hunting and fishing regulations. Due to the varied terrain and wide scope of the Troopers' duties, they employ a wide variety of land, air, and water patrol vehicles.

Many rural communities in Alaska are considered "dry", having outlawed the importation of alcoholic beverages.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dps.state.ak.us/AST/ABI/docs/SDEUreports/2003AnnualReport.pdf |title=Alaska State Troopers Alaska Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Enforcement Control Board |publisher=Dps.state.ak.us |access-date=May 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230011202/http://www.dps.state.ak.us/AST/ABI/docs/SDEUreports/2003AnnualReport.pdf |archive-date=December 30, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Suicide rates for rural residents are higher than urban.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hss.state.ak.us/suicideprevention/statistics_pages_sspc/AKsuiciderate_rural_urban_90-00.htm |title=State of Alaska |publisher=Hss.state.ak.us |access-date=June 2, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925085430/http://hss.state.ak.us/suicideprevention/statistics_pages_sspc/AKsuiciderate_rural_urban_90-00.htm |archive-date=September 25, 2009 }}</ref>

] and other violent crimes are also at high levels in the state; this is in part linked to alcohol abuse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adn.com/2010/09/30/1480089/survey-finds-high-rates-of-sexual.html |title=Survey reveals higher rate of violence against Alaska women |access-date=May 30, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531105355/http://www.adn.com/2010/09/30/1480089/survey-finds-high-rates-of-sexual.html |archive-date=May 31, 2014 }}</ref> Alaska has the highest rate of sexual assault in the nation, especially in rural areas. The average age of sexually assaulted victims is 16 years old. In four out of five cases, the suspects were relatives, friends or acquaintances.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-01-29-alaska-sexualassaults_N.htm |title=Rural Alaska steeped in sexual violence |work=USA Today |date=January 30, 2008 |access-date=December 31, 2010 |first=Rachel |last=D'oro |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105151430/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-01-29-alaska-sexualassaults_N.htm |archive-date=November 5, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Health insurance ===
{{As of|2022}}, ] and ] account for 47% and 46% of private health insurance, respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Competition in health care research |url=https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/patient-support-advocacy/competition-health-care-research |access-date=2023-01-15 |website=American Medical Association |language=en |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013110236/https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/patient-support-advocacy/competition-health-care-research |url-status=live }}</ref> Premera and ] offer insurance on the federally-run Affordable Care Exchange.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-10-01 |title=Health insurance in Alaska: find affordable coverage |url=https://www.healthinsurance.org/states/alaska/ |access-date=2023-01-15 |website=healthinsurance.org |language=en |archive-date=April 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422120253/https://www.healthinsurance.org/states/alaska/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Hospitals ===
{{Main|List of hospitals in Alaska}}
] in Anchorage is the largest hospital in the state as of 2021;<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ruskin |first=Liz |date=2021-09-20 |title=How Alaska's largest hospital reached its tipping point |url=https://alaskapublic.org/2021/09/20/how-alaskas-largest-hospital-reached-its-tipping-point/ |access-date=2023-06-09 |website=Alaska Public Media |language=en-US |archive-date=June 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609054643/https://alaskapublic.org/2021/09/20/how-alaskas-largest-hospital-reached-its-tipping-point/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Anchorage also hosts ] and ].

Alaska's other major cities such as Fairbanks and Juneau also have local hospitals.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Individual Hospital Statistics for Alaska |url=https://www.ahd.com/states/hospital_AK.html |access-date=2023-06-09 |website=American Hospital Directory |archive-date=June 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609054642/https://www.ahd.com/states/hospital_AK.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In Southeast Alaska, ], runs healthcare facilities across 27 communities as of 2022, including hospitals in Sitka and Wrangell;<ref>{{Cite web |title=SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium |url=https://www.pmcak.org/uploads/3/1/1/0/31108911/searhc_slide_deck_3.24.22.pdf |date=March 24, 2022 |website=Petersburg Medical Center |access-date=July 21, 2023 |archive-date=June 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609054643/https://www.pmcak.org/uploads/3/1/1/0/31108911/searhc_slide_deck_3.24.22.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> although it originally served Native Americans only, it has expanded access and combined with other local facilities over time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stremple |first=Claire |date=2021-11-03 |title=ICYMI: Southeast Alaska's tribal health provider has expanded its service in Juneau |url=http://www.ktoo.org/2021/11/03/searhc-expands-service-to-all-juneau-residents/ |access-date=2023-06-09 |website=KTOO |language=en-US |archive-date=June 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609110726/https://www.ktoo.org/2021/11/03/searhc-expands-service-to-all-juneau-residents/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first=Robert |last=Woolsey |date=2017-06-02 |title=SEARHC takes on questions of ethnicity, access, and workplace values |url=https://www.kcaw.org/2017/06/02/searhc-takes-questions-ethnicity-access-workplace-values/ |access-date=2023-06-09 |website=KCAW |language=en-US |archive-date=June 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609054649/https://www.kcaw.org/2017/06/02/searhc-takes-questions-ethnicity-access-workplace-values/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Education==
] of the ], located in downtown Homer]]


The ] administers many ] in Alaska. In addition, the state operates a boarding school, ] in ], and provides partial funding for other boarding schools, including ] in ] and The Galena Interior Learning Academy in ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alaskaice.org/material.php?matID=138 |title=Asset Building in Residence Life |publisher=Alaska ICE |date=April 4, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009144551/http://www.alaskaice.org/material.php?matID=138 |archive-date=October 9, 2007 }}</ref>
The introduction of ]s in Anchorage, Fairbanks (Wal-Mart in March 2004), and Juneau also did much to lower prices. However, rural Alaska suffers from extremely high prices for food and consumer goods, compared to the rest of the country due to the relatively limited transportation infrastructure. Many rural residents come into these cities and purchase food and goods in bulk from warehouse clubs like ] and ]. Some have embraced the free shipping offers<ref> for examples of companies offering free shipping to Alaska</ref> of some online retailers to purchase items much more cheaply than they could in their own communities, if they are available at all.


There are more than a dozen ]. Accredited universities in Alaska include the ], ], ], and ].<ref>These are the only three universities in the state ranked by ]. {{cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php |title=USNews.com: America's Best Colleges 2007 |access-date=January 3, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070101130054/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php |archive-date=January 1, 2007 }}</ref> Alaska is the only state that has no collegiate athletic programs that are members of ], although both Alaska-Fairbanks and Alaska-Anchorage maintain single sport membership in Division I for ].
===Agriculture===
Due to the northern climate and steep terrain, relatively little farming occurs in Alaska. Most farms are in either the ], about {{convert|40|mi|km}} northeast of ], or on the ], about {{convert|60|mi|km}} southwest of Anchorage. The short 100-day growing season limits the crops that can be grown, but the long sunny summer days make for productive growing seasons. The primary crops are potatoes, carrots, lettuce, and cabbage. Farmers exhibit produce at the Alaska State Fair.<!---and at all state fairs BTW. so what?---> "Alaska Grown" is used as an agricultural slogan.


The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development operates AVTEC, Alaska's Institute of Technology.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://avtec.labor.state.ak.us/ |title=AVTECHome Page |publisher=Avtec.labor.state.ak.us |access-date=September 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009132015/http://avtec.labor.state.ak.us/ |archive-date=October 9, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> Campuses in Seward and Anchorage offer one-week to 11-month training programs in areas as diverse as Information Technology, Welding, Nursing, and Mechanics.
Alaska has an abundance of seafood, with the primary fisheries in the Bering Sea and the North Pacific, and seafood is one of the few food items that is often cheaper within the state than outside it. Many Alaskans fish the rivers during salmon season to gather significant quantities of their household diet while fishing for subsistence, sport, or both.


Alaska has had a problem with a "]". Many of its young people, including most of the highest academic achievers, leave the state after high school graduation and do not return. {{as of|2013}}, Alaska did not have a ] or medical school.<ref>{{cite web |date=February 5, 2013 |title=House Bill 43 'University Institutes of Law And Medicine' |work=States News Service |url=http://akdemocrats.org/?bill=hb43 |access-date=December 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230080140/http://akdemocrats.org/?bill=hb43 |archive-date=December 30, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> The ] has attempted to combat this by offering partial four-year scholarships to the top 10% of Alaska high school graduates, via the Alaska Scholars Program.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alaska.edu/scholars/faq.xml#scholars_award |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080309023826/http://www.alaska.edu/scholars/faq.xml#scholars_award |archive-date=March 9, 2008 |title=UA Scholars Program—Frequently Asked Questions |access-date=December 28, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Hunting for subsistence, primarily ], ], and ] is still common in the state, particularly in remote ] communities. An example of a traditional native food is ], the Eskimo ice cream, which can consist of reindeer fat, seal oil, dried fish meat and local berries.


Beginning in 1998, schools in rural Alaska must have at least 10 students to retain funding from the state, and campuses not meeting the number close. This was due to the loss in oil revenues that previously propped up smaller rural schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/us/26alaska.html|title=Alaska's Rural Schools Fight Off Extinction|newspaper=]|date=2009-11-25|access-date=2021-07-15|archive-date=November 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091126032742/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/us/26alaska.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2015, there was a proposal to raise that minimum to 25,<ref>{{cite web|last=Colton|first=Hannah|url=https://www.alaskapublic.org/2015/10/26/proposed-increase-to-minimum-enrollment-threatens-funding-for-dozens-of-small-schools/|title=Proposed increase to minimum enrollment threatens funding for dozens of small schools|agency=]|publisher=]|date=2015-10-26|access-date=2021-07-15|archive-date=October 28, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151028124742/https://www.alaskapublic.org/2015/10/26/proposed-increase-to-minimum-enrollment-threatens-funding-for-dozens-of-small-schools/|url-status=live}}</ref> but legislators in the state largely did not agree.<ref>{{cite web|last=Colton|first=Hannah|url=https://www.kdlg.org/post/bill-cut-funding-small-schools-finds-little-support-among-alaska-lawmakers|title=Bill to cut funding to small schools finds little support among Alaska lawmakers|publisher=]|date=2015-11-11|access-date=2021-07-15|archive-date=November 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151116180921/https://www.kdlg.org/post/bill-cut-funding-small-schools-finds-little-support-among-alaska-lawmakers|url-status=live}}</ref>
Most food in Alaska is transported into the state from "outside", and shipping costs make food in the cities relatively expensive. In rural areas, subsistence hunting and gathering is an essential activity because imported food is prohibitively expensive. The cost of importing food to villages begins at 7¢ per pound (15¢/kg) and rises rapidly to 50¢ per pound ($1.10/kg) or more. The cost of delivering a seven-pound gallon of milk is about $3.50 in many villages where per capita income can be $20,000 or less. Fuel for snow machines and boats that consume a couple gallons per hour can exceed $8.00.<!--These prices are too chageable: suggest trimming this section-->
] held Alaska's sole U.S. House seat for 49 years, from 1973 to 2022.]]


==Transportation== ==Transportation==
{{Main|Transportation in Alaska}} {{Main|Transportation in Alaska}}
===Roads=== ===Road===
].]]
{{See also|List of Alaska Routes}} {{See also|List of Alaska Routes}}
Alaska has few road connections compared to the rest of the U.S. The state's road system covers a relatively small area of the state, linking the central population centers and the ], the principal route out of the state through Canada. The state capital, Juneau, is not accessible by road, only a car ferry, which has spurred several debates over the decades about moving the capital to a city on the road system, or building a road connection from ]. The western part of Alaska has no road system connecting the communities with the rest of Alaska.
] bridge on the ] is {{convert|1036|ft}} long.]]
One unique feature of the Alaska Highway system is the ], an active ] tunnel recently upgraded to provide a paved roadway link with the isolated community of ] on ] to the ] about {{convert|50|mi|km}} southeast of Anchorage. At {{convert|2.5|mi|km}} the tunnel was the longest road tunnel in North America until 2007.<ref>completion of the 3.5 mile (5.6 km) ] tunnel as part of the "]" project in ].</ref> The tunnel is the longest combination ] in North America.


Alaska has few road connections compared to the rest of the U.S. The state's road system, covering a relatively small area of the state, linking the central population centers and the ], the principal route out of the state through Canada. The state capital, Juneau, is not accessible by road, with access only being through ferry or flight;<ref>{{cite web|last=Yardley|first=William|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/us/06road.html|url-access=subscription|title=In Juneau, Firm Resistance to a Road Out of Isolation|work=]|date=June 6, 2008|accessdate=May 7, 2023|archive-date=March 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328012425/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/us/06road.html|url-status=live}}</ref> this has spurred debate over decades about moving the capital to a city on the road system, or building a road connection from ]. The western part of Alaska has no road system connecting the communities with the rest of Alaska.
===Rail===


The ] consists of a total of {{Convert | 1082 | mi}}. One unique feature of the Alaska Highway system is the ], an active ] tunnel recently upgraded to provide a paved roadway link with the isolated community of ] on ] to the ] about {{convert|50|mi|km}} southeast of Anchorage at ]. At {{convert|2.5|mi|km|1}}, the tunnel was the longest road tunnel in North America until 2007.<ref>completion of the {{convert|3.5|mi|km|adj=on|1}} ] tunnel as part of the "]" project in Boston, Massachusetts.</ref> The tunnel is the longest combination ] in North America.
]
Built around 1915, the ] (ARR) played a key role in the development of Alaska through the 20th century. It links north Pacific shipping through providing critical infrastructure with tracks that run from ] to ] via ], passing through Anchorage, ], Wasilla, ], ], and Fairbanks, with spurs to ], ] and ]. The cities, towns, villages, and region served by ARR tracks are known statewide as "The Railbelt". In recent years, the ever-improving paved highway system began to eclipse the railroad's importance in Alaska's economy.


Southwest Alaska is largely coastal, sparsely populated, and unconnected to the road system. Access to most communities in Southwest Alaska is primarily by air taxi, although larger towns like Kodiak, Bethel, King Salmon, Dillingham, and Dutch Harbor are accessible by scheduled air service. Additionally, some coastal communities can be reached via the Alaska Marine Highway ferry.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alaska's Southwest Region {{!}} Travel Alaska |url=https://www.travelalaska.com/Destinations/Regions/Southwest |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=www.travelalaska.com |language=en}}</ref>
The railroad, though famed for its summertime tour passenger service, played a vital role in Alaska's development, moving freight into Alaska while transporting natural resources southward (i.e., coal from the Usibelli coal mine near ] to Seward and gravel from the Matanuska Valley to Anchorage.)


<gallery mode="packed" heights="150px">
The Alaska Railroad was one of the last railroads in North America to use ]s in regular service and still uses them on some gravel trains. It continues to offer one of the last ] routes in the country. A stretch of about {{convert|60|mi|km|-1}} of track along an area north of Talkeetna remains inaccessible by road; the railroad provides the only transportation to rural homes and cabins in the area; until construction of the Parks Highway in the 1970s, the railroad provided the only land access to most of the region along its entire route.
File:Sterling Highway.jpg|The ], near its intersection with the ]
File:Susitnabridge.JPG|The ] bridge on the ] is {{convert|1036|ft}} long.
File:Interstate Routes in Alaska.svg|]
File:AlaskaSign.jpg|right|Alaska welcome sign on the ]
</gallery>


===Rail===
In northern Southeast Alaska, the ] also partly runs through the State from ] northwards into Canada (British Columbia and Yukon Territory), crossing the border at ] Summit. This line is now mainly used by tourists, often arriving by cruise liner at Skagway. It featured in the 1983 ] television series ].


Built around 1915, the ] (ARR) played a key role in the development of Alaska through the 20th century. It links shipping lanes on the North Pacific with ] with tracks that run from ] by way of ], passing through ], ], ], ], ], and ], with spurs to ], ] and ]. The cities, towns, villages, and region served by ARR tracks are known statewide as "The Railbelt". In recent years, the ever-improving paved highway system began to eclipse the railroad's importance in Alaska's economy.
===Marine transport===
Most cities, towns and villages in the state do not have road or highway access; the only modes of access involve travel by air, river, or the sea.


The railroad played a vital role in Alaska's development, moving freight into Alaska while transporting natural resources southward, such as coal from the Usibelli coal mine near ] to Seward and gravel from the ] to Anchorage. It is well known for its summertime tour passenger service.
Alaska's well-developed state-owned ferry system (known as the ]) serves the cities of ], the Gulf Coast and the Alaska Peninsula. The system also operates a ferry service from ] and ] in ] via the ] to ]. The ] also serves as an important marine link for many communities in the ] region of Southeast and works in concert with the Alaska Marine Highway.


The Alaska Railroad was one of the last railroads in North America to use ]s in regular service and still uses them on some gravel trains. It continues to offer one of the last ] routes in the country. A stretch of about {{convert|60|mi|km|-1}} of track along an area north of Talkeetna remains inaccessible by road; the railroad provides the only transportation to rural homes and cabins in the area. Until construction of the Parks Highway in the 1970s, the railroad provided the only land access to most of the region along its entire route.
In recent years, large cruise ships began creating a summertime tourism market, mainly connecting the Pacific Northwest to Southeast Alaska and, to a lesser degree, towns along the north gulf coast. Several times each summer, the population of ] sharply rises for a few hours when two ships dock to debark more than a thousand passengers each while four other ships lie at anchor nearby, waiting their turn at the dock.


In northern Southeast Alaska, the ] also partly runs through the state from ] northwards into Canada (] and ]), crossing the border at ] Summit. This line is now mainly used by tourists, often arriving by cruise liner at Skagway. It was featured in the 1983 ] television series ''].''
===Air transport===
] ]]]
Cities not served by road, sea, or river can be reached only by air, foot, dogsled, or snowmachine accounting for Alaska's extremely well-developed ] air services—an Alaskan novelty. Anchorage itself, and to a lesser extent Fairbanks, are served by ]. Because of limited highway access, air travel remains the most efficient form of transportation in and out of the state. Anchorage recently completed extensive remodeling and construction at ] to help accommodate the upsurge in tourism (in 2000–2001, the latest year for which data is available, 2.4&nbsp;million total arrivals to Alaska were counted, 1.7&nbsp;million via air travel; 1.4&nbsp;million were visitors).<ref>State of Alaska Office of Economic Development. ''''. November, 2002; retrieved September 11, 2006.</ref><ref>State of Alaska Office of Economic Development. ''''. November, 2002; retrieved September 11, 2006.</ref>


These two railroads are connected neither to each other nor any other railroad. The nearest link to the North American railway network is the northwest terminus of the ] at ], several hundred miles to the southeast. In 2000, the U.S. Congress authorized $6&nbsp;million to study the feasibility of a rail link between Alaska, Canada, and the ].<ref name="RailLink1">{{cite web|url=http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/powerplay/archive/2010/12/13/transporting-oil-across-b-c.aspx |title=Alaska Oil / BC Tar sands via rail |first=Barbara |last=Yaffe |date=January 2, 2011 |access-date=January 2, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101219014658/http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/powerplay/archive/2010/12/13/transporting-oil-across-b-c.aspx |archive-date=December 19, 2010 }}</ref><ref name="RailLink2">{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2138860820070622 | title=Economic study touts Alaska-Canada rail link | first=Allan |last=Dowd | date=June 27, 2007 | access-date=January 2, 2011 | work=Reuters | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713120019/https://www.reuters.com/article/environment-alaska-railway-dc/economic-study-touts-alaska-canada-rail-link-idUSN2138860820070621 | archive-date=July 13, 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="RailLink3">{{cite web|url=http://alaskacanadarail.com/index.html |title=Alaska Canada Rail Link |website=AlaskaCanadaRail.org |date=January 2, 2005 |access-date=January 2, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425025223/http://alaskacanadarail.com/index.html |archive-date=April 25, 2011 }}</ref> As of 2021, the ] had been placed into receivership.
Regular flights to most villages and towns within the state that are commercially viable are challenging to provide, so they are heavily subsidized by the federal government through the ] program. ] is the only major airline offering in-state travel with jet service (sometimes in combination cargo and passenger ]-400s) from Anchorage and Fairbanks to regional hubs like ], ], ], ], ], and other larger communities as well as to major Southeast and Alaska Peninsula communities. The bulk of remaining commercial flight offerings come from small regional commuter airlines such as ], ], and ]. The smallest towns and villages must rely on scheduled or chartered bush flying services using general aviation aircraft such as the ], the most popular aircraft in use in the state. Much of this service can be attributed to the Alaska bypass mail program which subsidizes bulk mail delivery to Alaskan rural communities. The program requires 70% of that subsidy to go to carriers who offer passenger service to the communities. Many communities have small air taxi services, such as Hudson's Air Service, Kantishna Air Taxi, and ]. These operations, though now catering primarily to tourists, originated from the demand for customized transport to remote areas. Perhaps the most quintessentially Alaskan plane is the bush seaplane. The world's busiest seaplane base is ], located next to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, where flights bound for remote villages without an airstrip carry passengers, cargo, and many items from stores and warehouse clubs. Alaska has the highest number of pilots per capita of any U.S. state: out of the estimated 663,661 residents, 8,550 are pilots, or about one in 78.<ref>Federal Aviation Administration. ''''</ref>


Some private companies provides ] service between ] and ].
===Other transport===
Another Alaskan transportation method is the ]. In modern times (that is, any time after the mid-late 1920s), dog ] is more of a sport than a true means of transportation. Various races are held around the state, but the best known is the ], a 1150-mile (1850&nbsp;km) trail from Anchorage to Nome (although the mileage varies from year to year, the official distance is set at 1049 miles). The race commemorates the famous ] in which mushers and dogs like ] and ] took much-needed medicine to the ]-stricken community of ] when all other means of transportation had failed. Mushers from all over the world come to Anchorage each March to compete for cash, prizes, and prestige. The "Serum Run" is another sled dog race that more accurately follows the route of the famous 1925 relay, leaving from the community of Nenana (southwest of Fairbanks) to Nome.<ref></ref>


<gallery mode="packed" heights="150px">
President ] admitted in his autobiography that he pushed to have Alaska admitted into the union as a state, partially because he wanted an American win in the 1959 World Sled Dog Championships, held in Finland. The previous W.S.D.C. titles had been won by the ].
File:Alaska Railroad, Girdwood, Alaska, Estados Unidos, 2017-08-31, DD 40.jpg|An ] locomotive over a bridge in Girdwood approaching Anchorage (2007)
File:Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, In to the Tunnel.jpg|The ] traverses rugged terrain north of ] near the ].
</gallery>


===Sea===
In areas not served by road or rail, primary transportation in summer is by ] and in winter by ] or "snow machine," as it is commonly referred to in Alaska.
Many cities, towns and villages in the state do not have road or highway access; the only modes of access involve travel by air, river, or the sea.


]) is one of the state's many ferries, providing service between the ], ] and the ].]]
==Law and government==
{{Main|Government of Alaska}}


Alaska's well-developed state-owned ferry system (known as the ]) serves the cities of ], the Gulf Coast and the Alaska Peninsula. The ferries transport vehicles as well as passengers. The system also operates a ferry service from ] and ], in Canada through the ] to ]. The ] also serves as an important marine link for many communities in the ] region of Southeast and works in concert with the Alaska Marine Highway.
===State government===
Like all other U.S. states, Alaska is governed as a republic, with three ]: an ] consisting of the ] and the other independently elected constitutional officers; a ] consisting of the ] and ]; and a ] consisting of the ] and lower courts.


In recent years, cruise lines have created a summertime tourism market, mainly connecting the Pacific Northwest to Southeast Alaska and, to a lesser degree, towns along Alaska's gulf coast. The population of ] for example fluctuates dramatically on many days—up to four large cruise ships can dock there at the same time.
The State of Alaska employs approximately 15,000 employees statewide.<ref></ref>


===Air===
The ] consists of a 40-member ] and a 20-member ]. Senators serve four year terms and House members two. The ] serves four-year terms. The ] runs separately from the governor in the ], but during the ], the nominee for governor and nominee for lieutenant governor run together on the same ticket.
Cities not served by road, sea, or river can be reached only by air, foot, ], or ], accounting for Alaska's extremely well developed ] air services—an Alaskan novelty. Anchorage, and to a lesser extent Fairbanks, is served by ]. Because of limited highway access, air travel remains the most efficient form of transportation in and out of the state. Anchorage recently completed extensive remodeling and construction at ] to help accommodate the upsurge in tourism (in 2012–2013, Alaska received almost two million visitors).<ref>
State of Alaska Office of Economic Development. '' {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522032359/http://commerce.alaska.gov/dnn/ded/DEV/TourismDevelopment/TourismResearch.aspx |date=May 22, 2014 }} ''. January 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
</ref>


Making regular flights to most villages and towns within the state commercially viable is difficult, so they are heavily subsidized by the federal government through the ] program. ] is the only major airline offering in-state travel with jet service (sometimes in combination cargo and passenger ]-400s) from Anchorage and ] to regional hubs like ], ], ], ], ], and other larger communities as well as to major Southeast and Alaska Peninsula communities.
Alaska's court system has four levels: the ], the court of appeals, the superior courts and the district courts.<ref name="cts"></ref> The superior and district courts are ]s. Superior courts are courts of general jurisdiction, while district courts only hear certain types of cases, including misdemeanor criminal cases and civil cases valued up to $100,000.<ref name="cts"/> The Supreme Court and the Court Of Appeals are ]s. The Court Of Appeals is required to hear appeals from certain lower-court decisions, including those regarding criminal prosecutions, juvenile delinquency, and ].<ref name="cts"/> The Supreme Court hears civil appeals and may in its discretion hear criminal appeals.<ref name="cts"/>
], operated by ], on approach to ]]]


The bulk of remaining commercial flight offerings come from small regional commuter airlines such as ], ], and ]. The smallest towns and villages must rely on scheduled or chartered bush flying services using general aviation aircraft such as the ], the most popular aircraft in use in the state. Much of this service can be attributed to the Alaska bypass mail program which subsidizes bulk mail delivery to Alaskan rural communities. The program requires 70% of that subsidy to go to carriers who offer passenger service to the communities.
===State politics===
Although Alaska entered<!--"entered"?--> the union as a ] state, since the early 1970s Alaska has been characterized as a ]-leaning state.<ref></ref> Local political communities have often worked on issues related to land use development, fishing, tourism, and individual rights. ]s, while organized in and around their communities, have been active within the ]. These have been given ownership over large tracts of land, which require stewardship.


Many communities have small air taxi services. These operations originated from the demand for customized transport to remote areas. Perhaps the most quintessentially Alaskan plane is the bush seaplane. The world's busiest seaplane base is ], located next to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, where flights bound for remote villages without an airstrip carry passengers, cargo, and many items from stores and warehouse clubs.
Alaska is the only state in which possession of one ounce or less of marijuana in one's home is completely legal under state law, though the federal law remains in force.<ref name=seattle_times>{{cite web |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003118645_webpot10.html |title="Judge rules against Alaska marijuana law" |accessdate=2008-05-22 |last=Volz |first=Matt |date=2006-07-11 |work=] |publisher=Frank A. Blethen}}</ref>


In 2006, Alaska had the highest number of pilots per capita of any U.S. state.<ref>
The state has an independence movement favoring a vote on secession from the United States, with the ] labeled as one of "the most significant state-level third parties operating in the 20th century".<ref>Doughtery, J. (2001, February 25). Alaska party stumps for independence. World Net Daily. Retrieved from </ref>
Out of the estimated 663,661 residents, 8,550 were pilots, or about one in 78, Federal Aviation Administration. '' {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229221505/http://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics/2005/ |date=December 29, 2009 }} ''</ref> In Alaska there are 8,795 active pilot certificates as of 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics/|title=U.S. Civil Airmen Statistics|website=www.faa.gov|language=en-us|access-date=2020-11-01|archive-date=May 10, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510111705/https://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics/|url-status=live}}</ref>


===Snow===
Most Alaskan governors have been conservatives, generally Republicans, but some have not always been elected under the official Republican banner. For example, Republican Governor ] was elected to the office for a second term in 1990 after leaving the Republican party and briefly joining the Alaskan Independence Party ticket just long enough to be reelected. He subsequently officially rejoined the Republican party in 1994.
Another Alaskan transportation method is the ]. In modern times (that is, any time after the mid-late 1920s), dog ] is more of a sport than a true means of transportation. Various races are held around the state, but the best known is the ], a {{convert|1150|mi|adj=on}} trail from Anchorage to Nome (although the distance varies from year to year, the official distance is set at {{convert|1049|mi|km|disp=or|abbr=out}}). The race commemorates the famous ] in which mushers and dogs like ] and ] took much-needed medicine to the ]-stricken community of ] when all other means of transportation had failed. Mushers from all over the world come to Anchorage each March to compete for cash, prizes, and prestige. The "Serum Run" is another sled dog race that more accurately follows the route of the famous 1925 relay, leaving from the community of ] (southwest of Fairbanks) to Nome.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.serumrun.org/ |title=Norman Vaughan Serum Run |publisher=United Nations |date=April 15, 2010 |access-date=June 2, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303205023/http://serumrun.org/ |archive-date=March 3, 2009 }}</ref>


In areas not served by road or rail, primary transportation in summer is by ] and in winter by ] or "snow machine", as it is commonly referred to in Alaska.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newsminer.com/features/outdoors/snowmachine-or-snowmobile-whatever-you-call-it-there-s-a/article_5fd98c50-df56-11e4-a289-b3b886d32b2c.html |title=Snowmachine or snowmobile? Whatever you call it, there's a lot riding on it |last=Friedman |first=Sam |date=April 10, 2015 |publisher=Fairbanks Daily Newsminer |access-date=October 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201205955/http://www.newsminer.com/features/outdoors/snowmachine-or-snowmobile-whatever-you-call-it-there-s-a/article_5fd98c50-df56-11e4-a289-b3b886d32b2c.html |archive-date=February 1, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{further|]}}


===Taxes=== ==Communication==
Alaska's internet and other data transport systems are provided largely through the two major telecommunications companies: ] and ]. GCI owns and operates what it calls the Alaska United Fiber Optic system<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alaskaunited.com/|title=Alaska United Fiber Optic System homepage|publisher=Alaskaunited.com|access-date=July 24, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206052641/http://www.alaskaunited.com/|archive-date=February 6, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> and, as of late 2011, Alaska Communications advertised that it has "two fiber optic paths to the lower 48 and two more across Alaska.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107193333/http://www.alaskacommunications.com/Personal/Wireless/Coverage-Map.aspx |date=January 7, 2012 }}. Alaska Communications.</ref> In January 2011, it was reported that a $1&nbsp;billion project to connect Asia and rural Alaska was being planned, aided in part by $350&nbsp;million in stimulus from the federal government.<ref>
To finance state government operations, Alaska depends primarily on petroleum revenues and federal subsidies. This allows it to have the lowest individual tax burden in the United States,<ref>CNN Money (2005). "How tax friendly is your state?" Retrieved from .</ref> and be one of only five states with no state ], one of seven states that do not levy an individual ], and one of two states that has neither. The Department of Revenue Tax Division<ref></ref> reports regularly on the state's revenue sources. The Department also issues an annual overview of its operations, including new state laws that directly affect the tax division.
{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111123619/http://www.adn.com/2010/01/13/1091946/arctic-fiber-optic-cable-could.html |date=January 11, 2012 }} . ''Anchorage Daily News''.
</ref>


==Law and government==
While Alaska has no state sales tax, 89 municipalities collect a local sales tax, from 1–7.5%, typically 3–5%. Other local taxes levied include raw fish taxes, hotel, motel, and bed-and-breakfast 'bed' taxes, severance taxes, liquor and tobacco taxes, gaming (pull tabs) taxes, tire taxes and fuel transfer taxes. A percentage of revenue collected from certain state taxes and license fees (such as petroleum, aviation motor fuel, telephone cooperative) is shared with municipalities in Alaska.
===State government===
{{Main|Government of Alaska}}
]. The large buildings in the background are, from left to right: the Court Plaza Building (known colloquially as the "]"), the State Office Building (behind), the Alaska Office Building, the ] State Courthouse, and the ]. Many of the smaller buildings in the foreground are also occupied by state government agencies.]]


Like all other U.S. states, Alaska is governed as a republic, with three ]: an ] consisting of the ] and their appointees which head executive departments; a ] consisting of the ] and ]; and a ] consisting of the ] and lower courts.
] has one of the highest property taxes in the state as no sales or income taxes are assessed in the ] (FNSB). A sales tax for the FNSB has been voted on many times, but has yet to be approved, leading law makers to increase taxes dramatically on other goods such as liquor and tobacco.


The state of Alaska employs approximately 16,000 people statewide.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://doa.alaska.gov/dop/fileadmin/DOP_Home/pdf/dopannualreport.pdf |title=State of Alaska Workforce Profile Fiscal Year 2013 |publisher=Dop.state.ak.us |access-date=May 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330005824/http://doa.alaska.gov/dop/fileadmin/DOP_Home/pdf/dopannualreport.pdf |archive-date=March 30, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 2008 the ] ranked Alaska as having the 4th most "business friendly" tax policy. More "friendly" states were ], ], and ].<ref></ref>


The ] consists of a 40-member ] and a 20-member ]. Senators serve four-year terms and House members two. The ] serves four-year terms. The ] runs separately from the governor in the ], but during the general election, the nominee for governor and nominee for lieutenant governor run together on the same ticket.
===Federal politics===

{| align="right" border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 76%;"
Alaska's court system has four levels: the ], the ], the superior courts and the district courts.<ref name="cts">{{cite web|url=http://www.state.ak.us/courts/ctinfo.htm |title=About the Alaska Court System |publisher=State.ak.us |access-date=June 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090913093708/http://www.state.ak.us/courts/ctinfo.htm |archive-date=September 13, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The superior and district courts are ]s. Superior courts are courts of general jurisdiction, while district courts hear only certain types of cases, including misdemeanor criminal cases and civil cases valued up to $100,000.<ref name="cts" />
|+ '''Presidential elections results'''

|- bgcolor=lightgrey
The Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals are ]s. The Court of Appeals is required to hear appeals from certain lower-court decisions, including those regarding criminal prosecutions, juvenile delinquency, and ].<ref name="cts" /> The Supreme Court hears civil appeals and may in its discretion hear criminal appeals.<ref name="cts" />

===State politics===
{{Main|Politics of Alaska}}
{{Further|Political party strength in Alaska|Alaska political corruption probe}}
{| class="wikitable floatright" style="font-size:95%;"
|+ Alaska vote|Gubernatorial election results<ref name="Leip, David">{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/|title=General Election Results—Alaska|publisher=United States Election Atlas|access-date=November 18, 2016|last=Leip|first=David|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604224433/http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/|archive-date=June 4, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>
|- style="background:lightgrey;"
! Year ! Year
! ] ! ]
! ] ! ]
! Others
|- |-
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''59.49%''' ''192,631 | {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''59.6%''' ''29,189''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|39.4% ''19,299''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|37.83% ''122,485
|- |-
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''61.07%''' ''190,889 | {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''52.3%''' ''29,627''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|47.7% ''27,054''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|35.52% ''111,025
|- |-
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|48.4% ''32,065''
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''58.62%''' ''167,398
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''50.0%''' ''33,145''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|27.67% ''79,004
|- |-
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''50.80%''' ''122,746 | {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''52.4%''' ''42,309''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|46.1% ''37,264''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|33.27% ''80,380
|- |-
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|47.4% ''45,553''
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''39.46%''' ''102,000
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''47.7%''' ''45,840''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|30.29% '' ''78,294
|- |-
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|20.2% ''25,656''
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''59.59%''' ''119,251
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''39.1%''' ''49,580''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|36.27% ''72,584
|- |-
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''66.65%''' ''138,377 | {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''46.1%''' ''89,918''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|37.1% ''72,291''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|29.87% ''62,007
|- |-
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''54.35%''' ''86,112 | {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''47.3%''' ''84,943''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|42.6% ''76,515''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|26.41% ''41,842
|- |-
| {{Party shading/Constitution}}|]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|30.9% ''60,201''
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''57.90%''' ''71,555
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|26.2% ''50,991''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|35.65% ''44,058
| {{Party shading/Constitution}}|'''38.9%''' ''75,721''{{efn|Wally Hickel would rejoin the Republican party after winning the election as a member of the Alaskan Independence Party.}}
|- |-
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''58.13%''' ''55,349 | {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''41.1%''' ''87,693''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|40.8% ''87,157''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|34.62% ''32,967
|- |-
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''45.28%''' ''37,600 | {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''51.3%''' ''112,879''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|17.9% ''39,331''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|42.65% ''35,411
|- |-
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|]
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|40.7% ''94,216''
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|34.09% ''22,930
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|'''65.91%''' ''44,329 | {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''55.9%''' ''129,279''
|- |-
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|41.0% ''97,238''
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''50.94%''' ''30,953
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''48.3%''' ''114,697''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|49.06% ''29,809
|-
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|37.7% ''96,519''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''59.1%''' ''151,318''
|-
| {{Party shading/Nonpartisan}}|]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|0.0% '''0'''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|45.9% ''128,435''
| {{Party shading/Nonpartisan}}|'''48.1%''' ''134,658''{{efn|], the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, suspended his campaign and became the running mate of ], an independent who left the Republican Party. They won the election with 48.1% or 134,658 votes.}}
|-
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|44.4% ''125,739''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''51.4%''' ''145,631''
|-
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}|24.2% ''63,755''
| {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''50.3%''' ''132,392''
|} |}


Although in its early years of statehood Alaska was a ] state, since the early 1970s it has been characterized as ]-leaning.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://election.nationaljournal.com/states/ak.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061115144037/http://election.nationaljournal.com/states/ak.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 15, 2006 |title=National Journal Alaska State Profile |publisher=Election.nationaljournal.com |access-date=June 2, 2010 }}</ref> Local political communities have often worked on issues related to land use development, fishing, tourism, and individual rights. ], while organized in and around their communities, have been active within the ]. These have been given ownership over large tracts of land, which require stewardship.
In presidential elections, the state's ] votes have been won by the ] nominee in every election since statehood, except for 1964. No state has voted for a Democratic presidential candidate fewer times. Alaska supported ] nominee ] in the landslide year of ], although the ] and ] elections were close. Republican ] defeated Democrat ] in Alaska, 59.49% to 37.83%. McCain's running mate was ], the state's governor and the first Alaskan on a major party ticket. The ], the city of Juneau and midtown and downtown Anchorage have been strongholds of the Democratic party. Matanuska-Susitna Borough and South Anchorage typically have the strongest Republican showing. As of 2004, well over half of all registered voters have chosen "Non-Partisan" or "Undeclared" as their affiliation,<ref></ref> despite recent attempts to close primaries.


Alaska was formerly the only state in which possession of one ounce or less of marijuana in one's home was completely legal under state law, though the federal law remains in force.<ref name=seattle_times>{{cite news|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003118645_webpot10.html |title=Judge rules against Alaska marijuana law |access-date=May 22, 2008 |last=Volz |first=Matt |date=July 11, 2006 |work=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617044034/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003118645_webpot10.html |archive-date=June 17, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Because of its population relative to other U.S. states, Alaska has only one member in the ]. This seat is currently being held by Republican ], who was re-elected to his 19th consecutive term in 2008.


The state has an independence movement favoring a vote on secession from the United States, with the ].<ref name="AIPqa">{{cite web|url=http://www.akip.org/faqs.html|title=Questions And Answers—About Alaskan Independence|year=2006|publisher=Alaskan Independence Party|access-date=January 15, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104011721/http://www.akip.org/faqs.html|archive-date=January 4, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>
On November 19, 2008, long time Republican senator ] was defeated by Democratic Anchorage mayor ]. Stevens had been convicted on seven felony counts of failing to report gifts on Senate financial discloser forms one week prior to the election. The conviction was set aside in April 2009 after evidence of prosecutorial misconduct emerged.


Six ] and four ] have served as governor of Alaska. In addition, Republican governor ] was elected to the office for a second term in 1990 after leaving the Republican party and briefly joining the Alaskan Independence Party ticket just long enough to be reelected. He officially rejoined the Republican party in 1994.
Republican ] held the state's other senatorial position. After being elected governor in 2002, he resigned from the Senate and appointed his daughter, State Representative ] as his successor. In response to a subsequent ballot initiative, the state legislature attempted to amend the law to limit the length of gubernatorial appointments. She won a full six-year term in 2004. In 2006 Frank Murkowski was defeated in the Republican primary by ], who in 2008 became the Republican nominee for ].


Alaska's ] took effect on February 24, 2015, placing Alaska alongside Colorado and Washington, as well as Washington D.C., as the first three U.S. states where recreational marijuana is legal. The new law means people over 21 can consume small amounts of cannabis.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/02/24/388673136/marijuana-is-now-legal-in-alaska-the-third-u-s-state-to-ok-pot |title=Marijuana Is Now Legal in Alaska, The 3rd U.S. State With Legal Pot |access-date=February 25, 2015 |last=Chappel |first=Bill |date=February 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224213811/http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/02/24/388673136/marijuana-is-now-legal-in-alaska-the-third-u-s-state-to-ok-pot |archive-date=February 24, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> The first legal marijuana store opened in Valdez in October 2016.<ref>Andrews, Laurel, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116020638/https://www.adn.com/alaska-marijuana/2016/10/29/anticipation-builds-as-alaskas-first-marijuana-store-set-to-open-to-the-public/ |date=November 16, 2016 }} ''], October 29, 2016''</ref>
==Cities, towns and boroughs==
]
]
]
{{clearleft}}
{{See also|List of cities in Alaska by population|Alaska locations by per capita income}}
Alaska is not divided into ], as most of the other U.S. states, but it is divided into '']''. Many of the more densely populated parts of the state are part of Alaska's sixteen boroughs, which function somewhat similarly to counties in other states. However, unlike county-equivalents in the other 49 states, the boroughs do not cover the entire land area of the state. The area not part of any borough is referred to as the ]. The Unorganized Borough has no government of its own, but the ] in cooperation with the state divided the Unorganized Borough into 11 ]s solely for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation. A '''recording district''' is a mechanism for administration of the ] in Alaska. The state is divided into 34 recording districts which are centrally administered under a ]. All recording districts use the same acceptance criteria, fee schedule, etc., for accepting documents into the public record.


===Voter registration===
The state's most populous city is ], home to 278,700 people in 2006, 225,744 of whom live in the urbanized area. The richest ] is ] ($89,895). Yakutat City, Sitka, Juneau, and Anchorage are the four ].
{| class=wikitable
! colspan = 6 | Party registration as of June 3, 2024<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elections.alaska.gov/doc/info/statsPPA.php|title=Alaska Division of Elections|website=www.elections.alaska.gov|access-date=June 4, 2021|archive-date=June 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630005149/https://www.elections.alaska.gov/doc/info/statsPPA.php|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
! colspan = 2 | Party
! Total voters
! Percentage
|-
| {{party color cell|Independent politician}}
| ]
| align=center | 346,751
| align=center | 58.35%
|-
| {{party color cell|Republican Party (US)}}
| ]
| align=center | 143,401
| align=center | 24.13%
|-
| {{party color cell|Democratic Party (US)}}
| ]
| align=center | 73,598
| align=center | 12.38%
|-
| {{party color cell|Alaskan Independence Party}}
|]
| align=center | 18,768
| align=center | 3.16%
|-
| {{party color cell|Other parties (US)}}
|]
| align=center | 11,758
| align=center | 1.98%
|-
! colspan = 2 | Total
! align=center | 594,276
! align=center | 100.00%
|}


===Taxes===
;Cities of 100,000 or more people
To finance state government operations, Alaska depends primarily on petroleum revenues and federal subsidies. This allows it to have the lowest individual tax burden in the United States.<ref>CNN Money (2005). "How tax friendly is your state?" Retrieved from {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913132712/https://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/taxesbystate2005/index.html |date=September 13, 2017 }}.</ref> It is one of five states with no ], one of seven states with no individual ], and—along with ]—one of two that has neither.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newsday.com/business/12-states-with-either-no-income-or-sales-taxes-include-texas-florida-washington-1.13826242 |title=12 states that have either no income or sales taxes |newspaper=Newsday |access-date=February 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190215050630/https://www.newsday.com/business/12-states-with-either-no-income-or-sales-taxes-include-texas-florida-washington-1.13826242 |archive-date=February 15, 2019 |url-status=live }}|</ref> The Department of Revenue Tax Division<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.Tax.alaska.gov |title=Alaska Department of Revenue |publisher=Tax.state.ak.us |access-date=June 10, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610221601/http://www.tax.alaska.gov/ |archive-date=June 10, 2010 |url-status=dead }}|</ref> reports regularly on the state's revenue sources. The department also issues an annual summary of its operations, including new state laws that directly affect the tax division. In 2014, the ] ranked Alaska as having the fourth most "business friendly" tax policy, behind only ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://taxfoundation.org/blog/how-friendly-your-states-tax-system-tax-foundations-2014-state-business-tax-climate-index |title=How Friendly Is Your State's Tax System? The Tax Foundation's 2014 State Business Tax Climate Index |publisher=The Tax Foundation |access-date=May 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712120414/http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/topic/11.html |archive-date=July 12, 2010 |url-status=live |date=October 9, 2013 }}</ref>
*]


While Alaska has no state sales tax, 89 municipalities collect a local sales tax, from 1.0 to 7.5%, typically 3–5%. Other local taxes levied include raw fish taxes, hotel, motel, and bed-and-breakfast 'bed' taxes, ]es, liquor and tobacco taxes, gaming (pull tabs) taxes, tire taxes and fuel transfer taxes. A part of the revenue collected from certain state taxes and license fees (such as petroleum, aviation motor fuel, telephone cooperative) is shared with municipalities in Alaska.
;Towns of 10,000-100,000 people
*] (a census-designated place adjacent to Fairbanks)
*]
*] (State Capital)
*]
;Towns of 1,000-10,000 people
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;Smaller towns
:Alaska has many smaller towns, especially in the ], the portion of the state that is inaccessible by road.


The fall in oil prices after the ] in the early 2010s has decimated Alaska's state treasury, which has historically received about 85 percent of its revenue from taxes and fees imposed on oil and gas companies.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cohn |first1=Scott |title=Alaska, Shackled with a 'Grave' Budget Crisis, is America's Worst State for Business |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/29/alaska-is-americas-worst-state-for-business-in-2018.html |website=CNBC |date=July 10, 2018 |access-date=August 14, 2020 |archive-date=July 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710145538/https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/29/alaska-is-americas-worst-state-for-business-in-2018.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The state government has had to drastically reduce its budget, and has brought its budget shortfall from over $2&nbsp;billion in 2016 to under $500&nbsp;million by 2018. In 2020, Alaska's state government budget was $4.8&nbsp;billion, while projected government revenues were only $4.5&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Garber |first1=Jonathan |title=Plunging oil prices, coronavirus fuel budget crisis in petroleum-rich Alaska |url=https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/plunging-oil-prices-alaska-budget-crisis |website=Fox Business |date=May 8, 2020 |access-date=August 14, 2020 |archive-date=May 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200510201821/https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/plunging-oil-prices-alaska-budget-crisis |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Education==
The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development administers many ] in Alaska. In addition, the state operates a boarding school, ] in ]; and provides partial funding for other boarding schools including, ] in ], and The Galena Interior Learning Academy in ].<ref></ref>


===Federal politics===
There are more than a dozen ]. Accredited universities in Alaska include the ], ], ], and ].<ref>These are the only three universities in the state ranked by ].</ref> 43% of the population attends or attended college.{{Citation needed|date=April 2007}}
{{Main|Politics of Alaska}}

{{See also|Arctic Policy of the United States}}
Alaska has had a problem with a "]". Many of its young people, including most of the highest academic achievers, leave the state after high school graduation and do not return. The ] has attempted to combat this by offering partial four-year scholarships to the top 10% of Alaska high school graduates, via the Alaska Scholars Program.<ref></ref>{{dead link|date=September 2009}}
]

Alaska regularly supports ] in presidential elections and has done so since statehood. Republicans have won the state's ] votes in all but one election that it has participated in (]). No state has voted for a ] presidential candidate fewer times. Alaska was carried by Democratic nominee ] during his landslide election in ], while the ] and ] elections were close. Since ], Republicans have carried the state by large margins. In ], Republican ] defeated Democrat ] in Alaska, 59.49% to 37.83%. McCain's running mate was ], the state's governor and the first Alaskan on a major party ticket. Obama lost Alaska again in ], but he captured 40% of the state's vote in that election, making him the first Democrat to do so since 1968. In ], ] received 42.77% of the vote for president, marking the high point for a Democratic presidential candidate since Johnson's 1964 victory.
==Public health and public safety==
Alaska residents have long had a problem with alcohol use and abuse.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} Many rural communities in Alaska have outlawed its import.<ref></ref> This problem directly relates to Alaska's high rate of ] (FAS) as well as contributing to the high rate of suicides and teenage pregnancies.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} Suicide rates for rural residents are higher than urban.<ref></ref>

] and other violent crimes are also at high levels in the state; this is in part linked to alcohol abuse.<ref> </ref>

==Culture==
:''See also ]''
{{Expand|section|date=April 2007}}
Some of Alaska's popular annual events are the ] that starts in Anchorage and ends in Nome, World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, the Alaska Hummingbird Festival in ], the ], and the Stikine River Garnet Fest in ]. The ] features the largest springtime concentration of ]s in the world.

The ] celebrates the rich heritage of Alaska's 11 cultural groups. Their purpose is to enhance self-esteem among Native people and to encourage cross-cultural exchanges among all people. The ] promotes and markets Native art from all regions and cultures in the State, both on the internet; at its gallery in Anchorage, 500 West Sixth Avenue, and at the ], 109 Mercer Street in ].<ref> www.alaskanativearts.org </ref>

Alaska Natives – Inuit, Inupiaq or Yupik drummers and dancers – give informal performances in the lobby of the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage on weekday evenings.

===Libraries===
The four main libraries in the state are the ] in Juneau, the ] in Fairbanks, the ] in Anchorage, and the ], also in Anchorage. Alaska is one of three states (the others are ] and ]) that does not have a ].

===Music===
{{Main|Music of Alaska}}
Influences on music in Alaska include the traditional music of Alaska Natives as well as folk music brought by later immigrants from Russia and Europe. Prominent musicians from Alaska include singer ], traditional Aleut flautist ], folk singer-songwriter ], Christian music singer/songwriter ], metal/post hardcore band ] and the groups ] and ].

There are many established music festivals in Alaska, including the ], the ] the ], the ], the Sitka Jazz Festival, and the ]. The most prominent ] in Alaska is the ], though the ] and ] are also notable. The ] is currently the state's only professional opera company, though there are several volunteer and semi-professional organizations in the state as well.

The official ] of Alaska is "]", which was adopted in 1955; it celebrates the ].

===Movies filmed in Alaska===
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2008}}
Alaska's first independent picture all made on place was in the silent years. ], was released in 1924 by the Alaska Moving Picture Corp. It was the only film the company made.


The ], central Juneau, midtown and downtown Anchorage, and the areas surrounding the ] campus and Ester have been strongholds of the Democratic Party. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the majority of Fairbanks (including North Pole and the military base), and South Anchorage typically have the strongest Republican showing.
One of the most prominent movies filmed in Alaska is ]'s ] winning classic '']'' starring Alaska's own ]. In 1932 an expedition set out from ]'s studios in ] to Alaska to film what was then billed as "The Biggest Picture Ever Made." Upon arriving in Alaska, they set up "Camp Hollywood" in Northwest Alaska, where they lived during the duration of the filming. ] spared no expense in making sure they had everything they needed during their stay—he even sent the famous chef from the ] on ] (the site of the first ]) with them to Alaska to cook for them. When ''Eskimo'' premiered at the famed ] in Times Square, New York, the studio received the largest amount of feedback in the history of the studio up to that time. ''Eskimo'' was critically acclaimed and released worldwide; as a result ] ] actor ] became an international movie star. ''Eskimo'' is significant for the following: winning the very first Oscar for ] at the Academy Awards, for forever preserving ] culture on film, and for being the first motion picture to be filmed in an all native language (]).


===Elections===
The psychological thriller '']'', starring ] and ] was shot in Canada, but was set in Alaska. The 2007 horror feature '']'' is set in ] but was filmed in New Zealand. Most films and television shows set in Alaska are not filmed there; for example, '']'', set in the fictional town of Cicely, Alaska, was actually filmed in Roslyn, Washington.
{{See also|Ranked-choice voting in the United States|Nonpartisan blanket primary}}Alaska has a history of primary defeats for incumbent U.S. Senators, including Ernest Gruening, Mike Gravel, and Lisa Murkowski. However, Murkowski won re-election with a write-in campaign. Despite this, Alaska has also seen long-serving members of Congress, such as Ted Stevens, who served as a U.S. Senator for 40 years, and Don Young, who held Alaska's sole U.S. House seat for 49 years (from 1973 to 2022).


In the ] cycle, Alaskan voters approved Ballot Measure 2.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kitchenman|first=Andrew|date=November 17, 2020|title=Alaska will have a new election system: Voters pass Ballot Measure 2|work=]|url=https://www.ktoo.org/2020/11/17/alaska-will-have-a-new-election-system-voters-pass-ballot-measure-2/|access-date=December 23, 2020|archive-date=November 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118052421/https://www.ktoo.org/2020/11/17/alaska-will-have-a-new-election-system-voters-pass-ballot-measure-2/|url-status=live}}</ref> The measure passed by a margin of 1.1%, or about 4,000 votes.<ref name=":0b" /> The measure requires campaigns to disclose the original source and any intermediaries for campaign contributions over $2,000. The measure also establishes ] for statewide elections (like in ] and ]) and ] (like in ]).<ref name=":0b">{{Cite web|title=Alaska Ballot Measure 2, Top-Four Ranked-Choice Voting and Campaign Finance Laws Initiative (2020)|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Alaska_Ballot_Measure_2,_Top-Four_Ranked-Choice_Voting_and_Campaign_Finance_Laws_Initiative_(2020)|access-date=December 23, 2020|website=]|archive-date=November 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113225630/https://ballotpedia.org/Alaska_Ballot_Measure_2,_Top-Four_Ranked-Choice_Voting_and_Campaign_Finance_Laws_Initiative_(2020)|url-status=live}}</ref> Measure 2 makes Alaska the third state with ] for all statewide races, the second state with ], and the only state with both.
The 1983 Disney movie ''Never Cry Wolf'' was at least partially shot in Alaska. The 1991 film "]", starring ], was filmed in and around Haines, Alaska. The 1999 John Sayles film '']'', starring David Strathairn, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Kris Kristofferson, was filmed in Juneau.


The 2022 special election to fill Alaska's only U.S. House seat, left vacant by the death of Don Young, was won by Mary Peltola. She became the first Democrat to win the House seat since 1972 and the first Alaskan Native elected to the United States Congress in history.<gallery mode="packed" widths="80" heights="120" perrow="5" caption="Alaska's current statewide elected officials">
The 2007 film directed by Sean Penn, ] was partially filmed and set in Alaska. The film, which is based on the novel of the same name, follows the adventures of ], who died in a remote abandoned bus in Alaska in 1992.
File:Mike Dunleavy official photo (cropped).jpg|], ]

File:Lisa Murkowski official photo.jpg|], senior ]
==State symbols==
File:Senator Dan Sullivan official.jpg|], junior United States senator
*State Motto: North to the Future
File:Mary Peltola Congressional Member Portrait (2).jpeg|], United States ]
*Nicknames: "The Last Frontier" or "Land of the Midnight Sun" or "Seward's Icebox"
</gallery>
*State bird: ], adopted by the Territorial Legislature in 1955. It is a small (15-17&nbsp;inches) Arctic grouse that lives among willows and on open tundra and muskeg. Plumage is brown in summer, changing to white in winter. The Willow Ptarmigan is common in much of Alaska.
*State fish: ], adopted 1962.
*State flower: wild/native ], adopted by the Territorial Legislature in 1917.<ref></ref> It is a perennial that is found throughout Alaska, from Hyder to the Arctic Coast, and west to the Aleutians.
*State fossil: ], adopted 1986.
*State gem: ], adopted 1968.
*State insect: Four-spot skimmer ], adopted 1995.
*State land mammal: ], adopted 1998.
*State marine mammal: ], adopted 1983.
*State mineral: Gold, adopted 1968.
*State song: "]"
*State sport: ], adopted 1972.
*State tree: ], adopted 1962.
*State soil: ], adopted unknown.

==Notable residents==
{{Refimprovesect|date=September 2009}}
<!---NOTE: These need to be people who are known OUTSIDE of Alaska. So, by definition, the governor of the state would NOT (normally) make the list. They must be more famous than the governor or Senators --->
*], metalcore band from Kenai
*], author<ref></ref>
*], actress
*], designer of the flag of Alaska
*], author and voice actor
*], professional basketball player
*], noted dog musher, four-time Iditarod winner
*], current Lieutenant Governor of Alaska
*], professional basketball player
*], professional ice hockey player
*], cartoonist and creator of the comic strip '']''
*], professional football player for the Green Bay Packers
*], professional ice hockey player
*], professional ice hockey player
*], the first Governor of Alaska
*], professional skateboarder
*], professional ice hockey player
*], former U.S. Senator
*], former U.S. Senator, journalist
*], former Governor of Alaska
*], former two time Governor and Secretary of the Interior under President Richard Nixon
*], singer/songwriter
*], Canadian-born prospector who co-founded the city of Juneau, Alaska
*], former Governor of Alaska
*], professional basketball player
*], noted landscape painter
*], alpine ski racer
*], actor
*], four time Yukon Quest and three time Iditarod winner
*], model and television personality
*], won a gold medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics at Lillehammer, Norway
*], singer
*], the Grandmother of the Conservation Movement
*], former United States Senator from Alaska and former Governor of Alaska
*], 2008 Republican Vice Presidential nominee, former Governor of Alaska
*], former Lieutenant Governor of Alaska, current Governor of Alaska
*], civil rights activist
*], Professional Tenpin Bowler
*], noted dog musher, first woman to win ]
*], professional baseball player
*], noted film producer
*], con artist and gangster
*], professional ice hockey player
*], Actor/Rapper
*], UFC fighter
*], writer, musician, commentator, and satirist
*], professional baseball player


==See also== ==See also==
{{portal|Alaska|Flag of Alaska.svg}} {{Portal|Alaska}}
{{Main|Outline of Alaska}} * ]
* ]
*]
* ]
*]
* ], 4 ships
*]
*]


==Notes==
{{clear}}
{{notelist}}
<!-- Please place links to all topics directly related to the State of Alaska in the ] -->
{{reflist|group=note}}


==References== ==References==
{{reflist}}
{{More footnotes|date=February 2009}}
{{reflist|2}}


==External links== ==External links==
{{sisterlinks|Alaska}} {{Sister project links|voy=Alaska|Alaska}}
*
<!-- Please do not add commercial links to this section&nbsp;— they will be removed, as per the external links policy. Thank you. -->
*
;State Government
* {{Internet Archive short film|id=gov.archives.arc.649115|name=Alaska (1967)}}
*
* {{OSM relation|1116270}}
* - Annotated list of searchable databases produced by Alaska state agencies and compiled by the Government Documents Roundtable of the American Library Association.
* (map)
*
* at Dartmouth College Library
* at Dartmouth College Library
* ]. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.


===U.S. federal government===
;U.S. Government
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*
* *
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111223103214/http://www.usgs.gov/state/state.asp?State=AK |date=December 23, 2011 }}
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*
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*
*
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113081919/https://eisenhower.archives.gov/research/subject_guides/pdf/Alaska_Statehood.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://eisenhower.archives.gov/research/subject_guides/pdf/Alaska_Statehood.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |date=November 13, 2018 }}
*
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721225327/https://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/research/online_documents/alaska_statehood.html |date=July 21, 2017 }}
;Other
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*, project area of the
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*{{dmoz|Regional/North_America/United_States/Alaska}}


===Alaska state government===
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Revision as of 03:03, 27 December 2024

U.S. state This article is about the U.S. state. For other uses, see Alaska (disambiguation). "Alaskan" redirects here. For other uses, see Alaskan (disambiguation).

State in the United States
Alaska Alax̂sxax̂ (Aleut)
Alaaskaq (Inupiaq)
Alaskaq (Central Yupik)
Anáaski (Tlingit)
Alas'kaaq (Alutiiq)
Аляска (Russian)
State
State of Alaska
Flag of AlaskaFlagOfficial seal of AlaskaSeal
Nickname: The Last Frontier
Motto: North to the Future
Anthem: Alaska's Flag
Map of the United States with Alaska highlightedMap of the United States with Alaska highlighted
CountryUnited States
Before statehoodTerritory of Alaska
Admitted to the UnionJanuary 3, 1959; 65 years ago (1959-01-03) (49th)
CapitalJuneau
Largest cityAnchorage
Largest metro and urban areasAnchorage
Government
 • GovernorMike Dunleavy (R)
 • Lieutenant governorNancy Dahlstrom (R)
LegislatureAlaska State Legislature
 • Upper houseState Senate
 • Lower houseHouse of Representatives
JudiciaryAlaska Supreme Court
U.S. senators
U.S. House delegationMary Peltola (D) (list)
Area
 • Total665,384 sq mi (1,723,337 km)
 • Land586,412 square miles sq mi (1,518,800 km)
 • Water91,316 sq mi (236,507 km)  13.77%
 • Rank1st
Dimensions
 • Length1,420 mi (2,285 km)
 • Width2,261 mi (3,639 km)
Elevation1,900 ft (580 m)
Highest elevation20,310 ft (6,190.5 m)
Lowest elevation0 ft (0 m)
Population
 • Total733,391
 • Rank48th
 • Density1.10/sq mi (0.42/km)
  • Rank50th
 • Median household income$77,800
 • Income rank12th
DemonymAlaskan
Language
 • Official languagesAhtna, Alutiiq, Dena'ina, Cup'ig, Deg Xinag, English, Eyak, Gwich'in, Haida, Hän, Holikachuk, Inupiaq, Koyukon, Lower Tanana, Middle Tanana, St. Lawrence Island Yupik, Tanacross, Tlingit, Tsimshian, Unangax̂, Upper Kuskokwim, Upper Tanana, Yup'ik, Wetał
 • Spoken language
Time zones
east of 169°30'UTC−09:00 (AKST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−08:00 (AKDT)
west of 169°30'UTC−10:00 (HST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−09:00 (HDT)
USPS abbreviationAK
ISO 3166 codeUS-AK
Latitude51°20'N to 71°50'N
Longitude130°W to 172°E
Websitealaska.gov
State symbols of Alaska
List of state symbols
Flag of Alaska
Seal of Alaska
Living insignia
BirdWillow ptarmigan
Dog breedAlaskan Malamute
FishKing salmon
FlowerForget-me-not
InsectFour-spot skimmer dragonfly
Mammal
TreeSitka Spruce
Inanimate insignia
FossilWoolly Mammoth
GemstoneJade
MineralGold
SportDog mushing
State route marker
Route marker
State quarter
Alaska quarter dollar coinReleased in 2008
Interactive map showing border of Alaska (click to zoom)

Alaska (/əˈlæskə/ ə-LASS-kə) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the northernmost, westernmost, and easternmost (the Aleutian Islands cross the 180th meridian into the eastern hemisphere) state in the United States. It borders the Canadian territory of Yukon and the province of British Columbia to the east. It shares a western maritime border, in the Bering Strait, with Russia's Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. The Chukchi and Beaufort Seas of the Arctic Ocean lie to the north, and the Pacific Ocean lies to the south. Technically, it is a semi-exclave of the U.S., and is the largest exclave in the world.

Alaska is the largest U.S. state by area, comprising more total area than the following three largest states of Texas, California, and Montana combined, and is the seventh-largest subnational division in the world. It is the third-least populous and most sparsely populated U.S. state, but is, with a population of 736,081 as of 2020, the continent's most populous territory located mostly north of the 60th parallel, with more than quadruple the combined populations of Northern Canada and Greenland. The state contains the four largest cities in the United States by area, including the state capital of Juneau. The state's most populous city is Anchorage, and approximately half of Alaska's residents live within its metropolitan area.

Indigenous people have lived in Alaska for thousands of years, and it is widely believed that the region served as the entry point for the initial settlement of North America by way of the Bering land bridge. The Russian Empire was the first to actively colonize the area beginning in the 18th century, eventually establishing Russian America, which spanned most of the current state and promoted and maintained a native Alaskan Creole population. The expense and logistical difficulty of maintaining this distant possession prompted its sale to the U.S. in 1867 for US$7.2 million (equivalent to $157 million in 2023). The area went through several administrative changes before becoming organized as a territory on May 11, 1912. It was admitted as the 49th state of the U.S. on January 3, 1959.

Abundant natural resources have enabled Alaska— with one of the smallest state economies—to have one of the highest per capita incomes, with commercial fishing, and the extraction of natural gas and oil, dominating Alaska's economy. U.S. Armed Forces bases and tourism also contribute to the economy; more than half of the state is federally-owned land containing national forests, national parks, and wildlife refuges. It is among the most irreligious states, one of the first to legalize recreational marijuana, and is known for its libertarian-leaning political culture, generally supporting the Republican Party in national elections. The Indigenous population of Alaska is proportionally the second highest of any U.S. state, at over 15 percent, after only Hawaii.

Etymology

The name "Alaska" (Russian: Аля́ска, romanized: Aljáska) was introduced during the Russian colonial period when it was used to refer to the Alaska Peninsula. It was derived from an Aleut-language idiom, alaxsxaq, meaning "the mainland" or, more literally, "the object towards which the action of the sea is directed".

History

Main articles: Prehistory of Alaska and History of Alaska

Pre-colonization

Main article: Alaska Natives

Numerous indigenous peoples occupied Alaska for thousands of years before the arrival of European peoples to the area. Linguistic and DNA studies done here have provided evidence for the settlement of North America by way of the Bering land bridge. At the Upward Sun River site in the Tanana Valley in Alaska, remains of a six-week-old infant were found. The baby's DNA showed that she belonged to a population that was genetically separate from other native groups present elsewhere in the New World at the end of the Pleistocene. Ben Potter, the University of Alaska Fairbanks archaeologist who unearthed the remains at the Upward Sun River site in 2013, named this new group Ancient Beringian.

The Tlingit people developed a society with a matrilineal kinship system of property inheritance and descent in what is today Southeast Alaska, along with parts of British Columbia and the Yukon. Also in Southeast were the Haida, now well known for their unique arts. The Tsimshian people came to Alaska from British Columbia in 1887, when President Grover Cleveland, and later the U.S. Congress, granted them permission to settle on Annette Island and found the town of Metlakatla, Alaska. All three of these peoples, as well as other indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, experienced smallpox outbreaks from the late 18th through the mid-19th century, with the most devastating epidemics occurring in the 1830s and 1860s, resulting in high fatalities and social disruption.

Colonization

Main articles: Russian America, Alaskan Creole people, Department of Alaska, District of Alaska, Fairbanks Gold Rush, Kobuk River Stampede, Nome Gold Rush, and Alaska Purchase
The Russian settlement of St. Paul's Harbor (present-day Kodiak town), Kodiak Island, 1814
Miners and prospectors climb the Chilkoot Trail during the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush.

Some researchers believe the first Russian settlement in Alaska was established in the 17th century. According to this hypothesis, in 1648 several koches of Semyon Dezhnyov's expedition came ashore in Alaska by storm and founded this settlement. This hypothesis is based on the testimony of Chukchi geographer Nikolai Daurkin, who had visited Alaska in 1764–1765 and who had reported on a village on the Kheuveren River, populated by "bearded men" who "pray to the icons". Some modern researchers associate Kheuveren with Koyuk River.

The first European vessel to reach Alaska is generally held to be the St. Gabriel under the authority of the surveyor M. S. Gvozdev and assistant navigator I. Fyodorov on August 21, 1732, during an expedition of Siberian Cossack A. F. Shestakov and Russian explorer Dmitry Pavlutsky (1729–1735). Another European contact with Alaska occurred in 1741, when Vitus Bering led an expedition for the Russian Navy aboard the St. Peter. After his crew returned to Russia with sea otter pelts judged to be the finest fur in the world, small associations of fur traders began to sail from the shores of Siberia toward the Aleutian Islands. The first permanent European settlement was founded in 1784.

Between 1774 and 1800, Spain sent several expeditions to Alaska to assert its claim over the Pacific Northwest. In 1789, a Spanish settlement and fort were built in Nootka Sound. These expeditions gave names to places such as Valdez, Bucareli Sound, and Cordova. Later, the Russian-American Company carried out an expanded colonization program during the early-to-mid-19th century. Sitka, renamed New Archangel from 1804 to 1867, on Baranof Island in the Alexander Archipelago in what is now Southeast Alaska, became the capital of Russian America. It remained the capital after the colony was transferred to the United States. The Russians never fully colonized Alaska, and the colony was never very profitable. Evidence of Russian settlement in names and churches survives throughout southeastern Alaska.

In 1867, William H. Seward, the United States Secretary of State under President Andrew Johnson, negotiated the Alaska Purchase (referred to pejoratively as Seward's Folly) with the Russians for $7.2 million. Russia's contemporary ruler Tsar Alexander II, the Emperor of the Russian Empire, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland, also planned the sale; the purchase was made on March 30, 1867. Six months later the commissioners arrived in Sitka and the formal transfer was arranged; the formal flag-raising took place at Fort Sitka on October 18, 1867. In the ceremony, 250 uniformed U.S. soldiers marched to the governor's house at "Castle Hill", where the Russian troops lowered the Russian flag and the U.S. flag was raised. This event is celebrated as Alaska Day, a legal holiday on October 18.

Alaska was loosely governed by the military initially and was administered as a district starting in 1884, with a governor appointed by the United States president. A federal district court was headquartered in Sitka. For most of Alaska's first decade under the United States flag, Sitka was the only community inhabited by American settlers. They organized a "provisional city government", which was Alaska's first municipal government, but not in a legal sense. Legislation allowing Alaskan communities to legally incorporate as cities did not come about until 1900, and home rule for cities was extremely limited or unavailable until statehood took effect in 1959.

U.S. territorial incorporation

Main articles: Organic act § List of organic acts, and Territory of Alaska

Starting in the 1890s and stretching in some places to the early 1910s, gold rushes in Alaska and the nearby Yukon Territory brought thousands of miners and settlers to Alaska. From 1879 to 1920, Alaska produced a cumulative total of over $460,000,000 ($6,691,927,500 inflation-adjusted) of mineral production. Alaska was officially incorporated as an organized territory in 1912. Alaska's capital, which had been in Sitka until 1906, was moved north to Juneau. Construction of the Alaska Governor's Mansion began that same year. European immigrants from Norway and Sweden also settled in southeast Alaska, where they entered the fishing and logging industries.

U.S. troops navigate snow and ice during the Battle of Attu in May 1943.

During World War II, the Aleutian Islands Campaign focused on Attu, Agattu and Kiska, all of which were occupied by the Empire of Japan. During the Japanese occupation, an American civilian and two United States Navy personnel were killed at Attu and Kiska respectively, and nearly a total of 50 Aleut civilians and eight sailors were interned in Japan. About half of the Aleuts died during the period of internment. Unalaska/Dutch Harbor and Adak became significant bases for the United States Army, United States Army Air Forces and United States Navy. The United States Lend-Lease program involved flying American warplanes through Canada to Fairbanks and then Nome; Soviet pilots took possession of these aircraft, ferrying them to fight the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The construction of military bases contributed to the population growth of some Alaskan cities.

Statehood

See also: Alaska Statehood Act, Admission to the Union, and List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union
Bob Bartlett and Ernest Gruening, Alaska's inaugural U.S. Senators, hold the 49 star U.S. Flag after the admission of Alaska as the 49th state.

Statehood for Alaska was an important cause of James Wickersham early in his tenure as a congressional delegate. Decades later, the statehood movement gained its first real momentum following a territorial referendum in 1946. The Alaska Statehood Committee and Alaska's Constitutional Convention would soon follow. Statehood supporters also found themselves fighting major battles against political foes, mostly in the U.S. Congress but also within Alaska. Statehood was approved by the U.S. Congress on July 7, 1958; Alaska was officially proclaimed a state on January 3, 1959.

Good Friday earthquake

Main article: 1964 Alaska earthquake

On March 27, 1964, the massive Good Friday earthquake killed 133 people and destroyed several villages and portions of large coastal communities, mainly by the resultant tsunamis and landslides. It was the fourth-most-powerful earthquake in recorded history, with a moment magnitude of 9.2 (more than a thousand times as powerful as the 1989 San Francisco earthquake). The time of day (5:36 pm), time of year (spring) and location of the epicenter were all cited as factors in potentially sparing thousands of lives, particularly in Anchorage. Alaska suffered a more severe megathrust earthquake on July 11, 1585, estimated at magnitude 9.25, which remains the most powerful earthquake recorded in North American history, and the second most powerful earthquake recorded in world history.

The Good Friday earthquake lasted 4 minutes and 38 seconds. Six hundred miles (970 km) of fault ruptured at once and moved up to 60 ft (18 m), releasing about 500 years of stress buildup. Soil liquefaction, fissures, landslides, and other ground failures caused major structural damage in several communities and much damage to property. Anchorage sustained great destruction or damage to many inadequately earthquake-engineered houses, buildings, and infrastructure (paved streets, sidewalks, water and sewer mains, electrical systems, and other human-made equipment), particularly in the several landslide zones along Knik Arm. Two hundred miles (320 km) southwest, some areas near Kodiak were permanently raised by 30 feet (9 m). Southeast of Anchorage, areas around the head of Turnagain Arm near Girdwood and Portage dropped as much as 8 feet (2.4 m), requiring reconstruction and fill to raise the Seward Highway above the new high tide mark.

In Prince William Sound, Port Valdez suffered a massive underwater landslide, resulting in the deaths of 32 people between the collapse of the Valdez city harbor and docks, and inside the ship that was docked there at the time. Nearby, a 27-foot (8.2 m) tsunami destroyed the village of Chenega, killing 23 of the 68 people who lived there; survivors out-ran the wave, climbing to high ground. Post-quake tsunamis severely affected Whittier, Seward, Kodiak, and other Alaskan communities, as well as people and property in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California. Tsunamis also caused damage in Hawaii and Japan. Evidence of motion directly related to the earthquake was also reported from Florida and Texas.

Alaska had never experienced a major disaster in a highly populated area before and had very limited resources for dealing with the effects of such an event. In Anchorage, at the urging of geologist Lidia Selkregg, the City of Anchorage and the Alaska State Housing Authority appointed a team of 40 scientists, including geologists, soil scientists, and engineers, to assess the damage done by the earthquake to the city. The team, called the Engineering and Geological Evaluation Group, was headed by Ruth A. M. Schmidt, a geology professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage. The team of scientists came into conflict with local developers and downtown business owners who wanted to immediately rebuild; the scientists wanted to identify future dangers to ensure that the rebuilt infrastructure would be safe. The team produced a report on May 8, 1964, just a little more than a month after the earthquake.

The United States military, which has a large active presence in Alaska, also stepped in to assist within moments of the end of the quake. The U.S. Army rapidly re-established communications with the lower 48 states, deployed troops to assist the citizens of Anchorage, and dispatched a convoy to Valdez. On the advice of military and civilian leaders, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared all of Alaska a major disaster area the day after the quake. The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard deployed ships to isolated coastal communities to assist with immediate needs. Bad weather and poor visibility hampered air rescue and observation efforts the day after the quake, but on Sunday the 29th the situation improved and rescue helicopters and observation aircraft were deployed. A military airlift immediately began shipping relief supplies to Alaska, eventually delivering 2,570,000 pounds (1,170,000 kg) of food and other supplies. Broadcast journalist, Genie Chance, assisted in recovery and relief efforts, staying on the KENI air waves over Anchorage for more than 24 continuous hours as the voice of calm from her temporary post within the Anchorage Public Safety Building. She was effectively designated as the public safety officer by the city's police chief. Chance provided breaking news of the catastrophic events that continued to develop following the magnitude 9.2 earthquake, and she served as the voice of the public safety office, coordinating response efforts, connecting available resources to needs around the community, disseminating information about shelters and prepared food rations, passing messages of well-being between loved ones, and helping to reunite families.

In the longer term, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers led the effort to rebuild roads, clear debris, and establish new townsites for communities that had been completely destroyed, at a cost of $110 million. The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center was formed as a direct response to the disaster. Federal disaster relief funds paid for reconstruction as well as financially supporting the devastated infrastructure of Alaska's government, spending hundreds of millions of dollars that helped keep Alaska financially solvent until the discovery of massive oil deposits at Prudhoe Bay. At the order of the U.S. Defense Department, the Alaska National Guard founded the Alaska Division of Emergency Services to respond to any future disasters.

Oil boom

The 1968 discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay and the 1977 completion of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System led to an oil boom. Royalty revenues from oil have funded large state budgets from 1980 onward.

Oil pooled on rocks on the shore of Prince William Sound after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Oil production was not the only economic value of Alaska's land. In the second half of the 20th century, Alaska discovered tourism as an important source of revenue. Tourism became popular after World War II when military personnel stationed in the region returned home praising its natural splendor. The Alcan Highway, built during the war, and the Alaska Marine Highway System, completed in 1963, made the state more accessible than before. Tourism has become increasingly important in Alaska, and today over 1.4 million people visit the state each year.

With tourism more vital to the economy, environmentalism also rose in importance. The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) of 1980 added 53.7 million acres (217,000 km) to the National Wildlife Refuge system, parts of 25 rivers to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers system, 3.3 million acres (13,000 km) to National Forest lands, and 43.6 million acres (176,000 km) to National Park land. Because of the Act, Alaska now contains two-thirds of all American national parklands. Today, more than half of Alaskan land is owned by the Federal Government.

In 1989, the Exxon Valdez hit a reef in the Prince William Sound, spilling more than 11 million gallons (42 megalitres) of crude oil over 1,100 miles (1,800 km) of coastline. Today, the battle between philosophies of development and conservation is seen in the contentious debate over oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the proposed Pebble Mine.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Alaska

Located at the northwest corner of North America, Alaska is the northernmost and westernmost state in the United States, but also has the most easterly longitude in the United States because the Aleutian Islands extend into the Eastern Hemisphere. Alaska is the only non-contiguous U.S. state on continental North America; about 500 miles (800 km) of Canadian territory consisting of British Columbia (in Canada) separates Alaska from Washington. It is technically part of the continental U.S., but is not usually included in the colloquial use of the term; Alaska is not part of the contiguous U.S., often called "the Lower 48". The capital city, Juneau, is situated on the mainland of the North American continent but is not connected by road to the rest of the North American highway system. The largest lake in Alaska is Lake Illiamna.

The state is bordered by Canada's Yukon and British Columbia to the east (making it the only state to border only a Canadian territory); the Gulf of Alaska and the Pacific Ocean to the south and southwest; the Bering Sea, Bering Strait, and Chukchi Sea to the west; and the Arctic Ocean to the north. Alaska's territorial waters touch Russia's territorial waters in the Bering Strait, as the Russian Big Diomede Island and Alaskan Little Diomede Island are only 3 miles (4.8 km) apart. Alaska has a longer coastline than all the other U.S. states combined.

Alaska's size compared with the 48 contiguous states (Albers equal-area conic projection)

At 663,268 square miles (1,717,856 km) in total area, Alaska is by far the largest state in the United States. Alaska is more than twice the size of the second-largest U.S. state (Texas), and it is larger than the next three largest states (Texas, California, and Montana) combined. Alaska is the seventh largest subnational division in the world. If it was an independent nation, it would be the 18th largest country in the world; almost the same size as Iran.

With its myriad of islands, Alaska has nearly 34,000 miles (55,000 km) of tidal shoreline. The Aleutian Islands chain extends west from the southern tip of the Alaska Peninsula. Many active volcanoes are found in the Aleutians and in coastal regions. Unimak Island, for example, is home to Mount Shishaldin, which is an occasionally smoldering volcano that rises to 10,000 feet (3,000 m) above the North Pacific. The chain of volcanoes extends to Mount Spurr, west of Anchorage on the mainland. Geologists have identified Alaska as part of Wrangellia, a large region consisting of multiple states and Canadian provinces in the Pacific Northwest, which is actively undergoing continent building.

One of the world's largest tides occurs in Turnagain Arm, just south of Anchorage, where tidal differences can be more than 35 feet (10.7 m).

Alaska has more than 409,000 natural lakes at least one hectare or bigger. Marshlands and wetland permafrost cover 188,320 square miles (487,700 km) (mostly in northern, western and southwest flatlands). Glacier ice covers about 28,957 square miles (75,000 km) of Alaska. The Bering Glacier is the largest glacier in North America, covering 2,008 square miles (5,200 km) alone.

Regions

There are no officially defined borders demarcating the various regions of Alaska, but there are five/six regions that the state is most commonly broken up into:

South Central

Main article: South Central Alaska

The most populous region of Alaska contains Anchorage, the Matanuska-Susitna Valley and the Kenai Peninsula. Rural, mostly unpopulated areas south of the Alaska Range and west of the Wrangell Mountains also fall within the definition of South Central, as do the Prince William Sound area and the communities of Cordova and Valdez.

Southeast

Main article: Southeast Alaska

Also referred to as the Panhandle or Inside Passage, this is the region of Alaska closest to the contiguous states. As such, this was where most of the initial non-indigenous settlement occurred in the years following the Alaska Purchase. The region is dominated by the Alexander Archipelago as well as the Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest in the United States. It contains the state capital Juneau, the former capital Sitka, and Ketchikan, at one time Alaska's largest city. The Alaska Marine Highway provides a vital surface transportation link throughout the area and country, as only three communities (Haines, Hyder and Skagway) enjoy direct connections to the contiguous North American road system.

Interior

Main article: Alaska Interior
Denali is the highest peak in North America

The Interior is the largest region of Alaska; much of it is uninhabited wilderness. Fairbanks is the only large city in the region. Denali National Park and Preserve is located here. Denali, formerly Mount McKinley, is the highest mountain in North America and is also located here.

North Slope

Main article: Alaska North Slope

The North Slope is mostly tundra peppered with small villages. The area is known for its massive reserves of crude oil and contains both the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska and the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field. The city of Utqiaġvik, formerly known as Barrow, is the northernmost city in the United States and is located here. The Northwest Arctic area, anchored by Kotzebue and also containing the Kobuk River valley, is often considered part of this region. The respective Inupiat of the North Slope and of the Northwest Arctic seldom consider themselves to be one people.

Southwest

Main article: Southwest Alaska

Southwest Alaska is a sparsely inhabited region stretching some 500 miles (800 km) inland from the Bering Sea. Most of the population lives along the coast. Kodiak Island is also located in the Southwest. The massive Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta, one of the largest river deltas in the world, is here. Portions of the Alaska Peninsula are considered part of the Southwest, with the Aleutian Islands often (but not always) being grouped in as well.

Aleutian Islands

Main article: Aleutian Islands
Although entirely east of the International Date Line (the triangular kink in the line was agreed upon the U.S. acquisition of Alaska), the Aleutian Islands cross the 180th meridian, such that they contain both the westernmost (Amatignak) and the easternmost (Semisopochnoi.) points in the United States.

While primarily part of Southwest Alaska when grouped economically, the Aleutian islands are sometimes recognized as an alternate group from the rest of the region due to the geographic separation from the continent. More than 300 small volcanic islands make up this chain, which stretches more than 1,200 miles (1,900 km) into the Pacific Ocean. Some of these islands fall in the Eastern Hemisphere, but the International Date Line was drawn west of 180° to keep the whole state, and thus the entire North American continent, within the same legal day. Two of the islands, Attu and Kiska, were occupied by Japanese forces during World War II.

Land ownership

According to an October 1998 report by the United States Bureau of Land Management, approximately 65% of Alaska is owned and managed by the U.S. federal government as public lands, including a multitude of national forests, national parks, and national wildlife refuges. Of these, the Bureau of Land Management manages 87 million acres (35 million hectares), or 23.8% of the state. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. It is the world's largest wildlife refuge, comprising 16 million acres (6.5 million hectares).

Of the remaining land area, the state of Alaska owns 101 million acres (41 million hectares), its entitlement under the Alaska Statehood Act. A portion of that acreage is occasionally ceded to the organized boroughs presented above, under the statutory provisions pertaining to newly formed boroughs. Smaller portions are set aside for rural subdivisions and other homesteading-related opportunities. These are not very popular due to the often remote and roadless locations. The University of Alaska, as a land grant university, also owns substantial acreage which it manages independently.

Another 44 million acres (18 million hectares) are owned by 12 regional, and scores of local, Native corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) of 1971. Regional Native corporation Doyon, Limited often promotes itself as the largest private landowner in Alaska in advertisements and other communications. Provisions of ANCSA allowing the corporations' land holdings to be sold on the open market starting in 1991 were repealed before they could take effect. Effectively, the corporations hold title (including subsurface title in many cases, a privilege denied to individual Alaskans) but cannot sell the land. Individual Native allotments are sold on the open market.

Various private interests own the remaining land, totaling about one percent of the state. Alaska is, by a large margin, the state with the smallest percentage of private land ownership when Native corporation holdings are excluded.

Alaska Heritage Resources Survey

The Alaska Heritage Resources Survey (AHRS) is a restricted inventory of all reported historic and prehistoric sites within the U.S. state of Alaska; it is maintained by the Office of History and Archaeology. The survey's inventory of cultural resources includes objects, structures, buildings, sites, districts, and travel ways, with a general provision that they are more than fifty years old. As of 31 January 2012, more than 35,000 sites have been reported.

Cities, towns and boroughs

Further information: List of cities in Alaska and List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska See also: List of Alaska locations by per capita income
Anchorage, Alaska's largest city
Fairbanks, Alaska's second-largest city and by a significant margin the largest city in Alaska's interior
Juneau, Alaska's third-largest city and its capital
Bethel, the largest city in the Unorganized Borough and in rural Alaska
Homer, showing (from bottom to top) the edge of downtown, its airport and the Spit
Utqiaġvik (Browerville neighborhood near Eben Hopson Middle School shown), known colloquially for many years by the nickname "Top of the World", is the northernmost city in the United States.
Cordova, built in the early 20th century to support the Kennecott Mines and the Copper River and Northwestern Railway, has been preserved as a fishing community since their closure.
Main Street in Talkeetna

Alaska is not divided into counties, as most of the other U.S. states, but it is divided into boroughs. Delegates to the Alaska Constitutional Convention wanted to avoid the pitfalls of the traditional county system and adopted their own unique model. Many of the more densely populated parts of the state are part of Alaska's 16 boroughs, which function somewhat similarly to counties in other states. Unlike county-equivalents in the other states, the boroughs do not cover the state's entire land area. The area not part of any borough is referred to as the Unorganized Borough.

The Unorganized Borough has no government of its own, but the U.S. Census Bureau in cooperation with the state divided the Unorganized Borough into 11 census areas solely for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation. A recording district is a mechanism for management of the public record in Alaska. The state is divided into 34 recording districts which are centrally administered under a state recorder. All recording districts use the same acceptance criteria, fee schedule, etc., for accepting documents into the public record.

Whereas many U.S. states use a three-tiered system of decentralization—state/county/township—most of Alaska uses only two tiers—state/borough. Owing to the low population density, most of the land is located in the Unorganized Borough. As the name implies, it has no intermediate borough government but is administered directly by the state government. In 2000, 57.71% of Alaska's area has this status, with 13.05% of the population.

Anchorage merged the city government with the Greater Anchorage Area Borough in 1975 to form the Municipality of Anchorage, containing the city proper and the communities of Eagle River, Chugiak, Peters Creek, Girdwood, Bird, and Indian. Fairbanks has a separate borough (the Fairbanks North Star Borough) and municipality (the City of Fairbanks).

The state's most populous city is Anchorage, home to 291,247 people in 2020. The richest location in Alaska by per capita income is Denali ($42,245). Yakutat City, Sitka, Juneau, and Anchorage are the four largest cities in the U.S. by area.

Cities and census-designated places (by population)

As reflected in the 2020 United States census, Alaska has a total of 355 incorporated cities and census-designated places (CDPs). The tally of cities includes four unified municipalities, essentially the equivalent of a consolidated city–county. The majority of these communities are located in the rural expanse of Alaska known as "The Bush" and are unconnected to that contiguous North American road network. The table at the bottom of this section lists the 100 largest cities and census-designated places in Alaska, in population order.

Of Alaska's 2020 U.S. census population figure of 733,391, 16,655 people, or 2.27% of the population, did not live in an incorporated city or census-designated place. Approximately three-quarters of that figure were people who live in urban and suburban neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city limits of Ketchikan, Kodiak, Palmer and Wasilla. CDPs have not been established for these areas by the United States Census Bureau, except that seven CDPs were established for the Ketchikan-area neighborhoods in the 1980 Census (Clover Pass, Herring Cove, Ketchikan East, Mountain Point, Alaska Route 7, Pennock Island and Saxman East), but have not been used since. The remaining population was scattered throughout Alaska, both within organized boroughs and in the Unorganized Borough, in largely remote areas.

No. Community name Type 2020 Pop.
1 Anchorage City 291,247
2 Fairbanks City 32,515
3 Juneau City 32,255
4 Knik-Fairview CDP 19,297
5 Badger CDP 19,031
6 College CDP 11,332
7 North Lakes CDP 9,450
8 Meadow Lakes CDP 9,197
9 Wasilla City 9,054
10 Tanaina CDP 8,817
11 Kalifornsky CDP 8,487
12 Sitka City 8,458
13 Ketchikan City 8,192
14 Kenai City 7,424
15 Steele Creek CDP 6,437
16 Bethel City 6,325
17 Chena Ridge CDP 6,015
18 Sterling CDP 5,918
19 Palmer City 5,888
20 Gateway CDP 5,748
21 Kodiak City 5,581
22 Homer City 5,522
23 South Lakes CDP 5,229
24 Fishhook CDP 5,048
25 Utqiaġvik City 4,927
26 Farmers Loop CDP 4,704
27 Nikiski CDP 4,456
28 Soldotna City 4,342
29 Unalaska City 4,254
30 Mill Bay CDP 4,216
31 Valdez City 3,985
32 Big Lake CDP 3,833
33 Nome City 3,699
34 Butte CDP 3,589
35 Goldstream CDP 3,299
36 Kotzebue City 3,102
37 Petersburg City 3,043
38 Farm Loop CDP 2,747
39 Seward City 2,717
40 Eielson AFB CDP 2,610
41 Cordova City 2,609
42 Ester CDP 2,416
43 Deltana CDP 2,359
44 Dillingham City 2,249
45 Fritz Creek CDP 2,248
46 North Pole City 2,243
47 Willow CDP 2,196
48 Ridgeway CDP 2,136
49 Bear Creek CDP 2,129
50 Wrangell City 2,127
No. Community name Type 2020 Pop.
51 Anchor Point CDP 2,105
52 Houston City 1,975
53 Point MacKenzie CDP 1,852
54 Kodiak Station CDP 1,673
55 Haines CDP 1,657
56 Akutan City 1,589
57 Susitna North CDP 1,564
58 Lazy Mountain CDP 1,506
59 Cohoe CDP 1,471
60 Metlakatla CDP 1,454
61 Hooper Bay City 1,375
62 Diamond Ridge CDP 1,330
63 Prudhoe Bay CDP 1,310
64 Tok CDP 1,243
65 Skagway CDP 1,164
66 Funny River CDP 1,103
67 Salamatof CDP 1,078
68 Talkeetna CDP 1,055
69 Sutton-Alpine CDP 1,038
70 Craig City 1,036
71 Buffalo Soapstone CDP 1,021
72 Salcha CDP 977
73 Healy CDP 966
74 Chevak City 951
75 Hoonah City 931
76 Delta Junction City 918
77 Ninilchik CDP 845
78 Savoonga City 835
79 Point Hope City 830
80 Emmonak City 825
81 Togiak City 817
82 Kwethluk City 812
83 Selawik City 809
84 Knik River CDP 792
85 Quinhagak City 776
86 Unalakleet City 765
87 King Cove City 757
88 Alakanuk City 756
89 Womens Bay CDP 743
90 Klawock City 720
91 Happy Valley CDP 713
92 Kipnuk CDP 704
93 Noorvik City 694
94 Akiachak CDP 677
95 Toksook Bay City 658
96 Yakutat CDP 657
97 Gustavus CDP 655
Kotlik CDP
99 Two Rivers CDP 650
100 Fox River CDP 644

Climate

Main article: Climate of Alaska
Alaska has more acreage of public land owned by the federal government than any other state.

Alaska is the coldest state in the United States. The climate in the south and southeastern Alaska is a mid-latitude oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb), and a subarctic oceanic climate (Köppen Cfc) in the northern parts, with cool summers and relatively mild winters. On an annual basis, the southeast is both the wettest and warmest part of Alaska with milder temperatures in the winter and high precipitation throughout the year. Juneau averages over 50 in (130 cm) of precipitation a year, and Ketchikan averages over 150 in (380 cm). This is also the only region in Alaska in which the average daytime high temperature is above freezing during the winter months.

Köppen climate types of Alaska

The climate of Anchorage and south central Alaska is mild by Alaskan standards due to the region's proximity to the seacoast. While the area gets less rain than southeast Alaska, it gets more snow, and days tend to be clearer. On average, Anchorage receives 16 in (41 cm) of precipitation a year, with around 75 in (190 cm) of snow, although there are areas in the south central which receive far more snow. It is a subarctic climate (Köppen: Dfc) due to its brief, cool summers.

The climate of western Alaska is determined in large part by the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. It is a subarctic oceanic climate in the southwest and a continental subarctic climate farther north. The temperature is somewhat moderate considering how far north the area is. This region has a tremendous amount of variety in precipitation. An area stretching from the northern side of the Seward Peninsula to the Kobuk River valley (i.e., the region around Kotzebue Sound) is technically a desert, with portions receiving less than 10 in (25 cm) of precipitation annually. On the other extreme, some locations between Dillingham and Bethel average around 100 in (250 cm) of precipitation.

The climate of the interior of Alaska is subarctic and is a classic example of a continental subarctic climate, except in a few valleys where the climate approaches humid continental (Köppen: Dfb). Some of the highest and lowest temperatures in Alaska occur around the area near Fairbanks. Summers are warm (albeit generally short) and may have temperatures reaching into the 90s °F (the low-to-mid 30s °C), while in the long and very cold winters, the temperature can fall below −60 °F (−51 °C). Precipitation is sparse in the Interior, often less than 10 in (25 cm) a year, but what precipitation falls in the winter tends to stay the entire winter.

The highest and lowest recorded temperatures in Alaska are both in the Interior. The highest is 100 °F (38 °C) in Fort Yukon (which is just 8 mi or 13 km inside the arctic circle) on June 27, 1915, making Alaska tied with Hawaii as the state with the lowest high temperature in the United States. The lowest official Alaska temperature is −80 °F (−62 °C) in Prospect Creek on January 23, 1971, one degree above the lowest temperature recorded in continental North America (in Snag, Yukon, Canada).

The climate in the extreme north of Alaska, north of the Brooks Range, is Arctic (Köppen: ET) with long, very cold winters and short, cool summers. Even in July, the average low temperature in Utqiaġvik is 34 °F (1 °C). Precipitation is light in this part of Alaska, with many places averaging less than 10 in (25 cm) per year, mostly as snow which stays on the ground almost the entire year.

Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for selected locations in Alaska
Location July (°F) July (°C) January (°F) January (°C)
Anchorage 65/51 18/10 22/11 −5/−11
Juneau 64/50 17/11 32/23 0/−4
Ketchikan 64/51 17/11 38/28 3/−1
Unalaska 57/46 14/8 36/28 2/−2
Fairbanks 72/53 22/11 1/−17 −17/−27
Fort Yukon 73/51 23/10 −11/−27 −23/−33
Nome 58/46 14/8 13/−2 −10/−19
Utqiaġvik 47/34 8/1 −7/−19 −21/−28

Fauna

Main article: Wildlife of Alaska

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Alaska
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
188033,426—
189032,052−4.1%
190063,59298.4%
191064,3561.2%
192055,036−14.5%
193059,2787.7%
194072,52422.3%
1950128,64377.4%
1960226,16775.8%
1970300,38232.8%
1980401,85133.8%
1990550,04336.9%
2000626,93214.0%
2010710,23113.3%
2020733,3913.3%
2024 (est.)740,1330.9%
1930 and 1940 censuses taken in preceding autumn
Sources: 1910–2020

The United States Census Bureau found in the 2020 United States census that the population of Alaska was 733,391 on April 1, 2020, a 3.3% increase since the 2010 United States census. According to the 2010 United States Census, the U.S. state of Alaska had a population of 710,231, a 13.3% increase from 626,932 at the 2000 U.S. census.

In 2020, Alaska ranked as the 48th largest state by population, ahead of only Vermont and Wyoming. Alaska is the least densely populated state, and one of the most sparsely populated areas in the world, at 1.2 inhabitants per square mile (0.46/km), with the next state, Wyoming, at 5.8 inhabitants per square mile (2.2/km). Alaska is by far the largest U.S. state by area, and the tenth wealthiest (per capita income). As of 2018 due to its population size, it is one of 14 U.S. states that still have only one telephone area code.

According to HUD's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, there were an estimated 2,320 homeless people in Alaska.

Race and ethnicity

Alaska racial breakdown of population
Racial composition 1970 1990 2000 2010 2020
White 78.8% 75.5% 69.3% 66.7% 59.4%
Native 16.9% 15.6% 15.6% 14.8% 15.2%
Asian 0.9% 3.6% 4.0% 5.4% 6.0%
Black 3.0% 4.1% 3.5% 3.3% 3.0%
Native Hawaiian and
other Pacific Islander		 – – 0.5% 1.0% 1.7%
Other race 0.4% 1.2% 1.6% 1.6% 2.5%
Multiracial – – 5.5% 7.3% 12.2%
Ethnic origins in Alaska
Map of the largest racial/ethnic group by borough. Red indicates Native American, blue indicates non-Hispanic white, and green indicates Asian. Darker shades indicate a higher proportion of the population.

The 2019 American Community Survey estimated 60.2% of the population was non-Hispanic white, 3.7% black or African American, 15.6% American Indian or Alaska Native, 6.5% Asian, 1.4% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 7.5% two or more races, and 7.3% Hispanic or Latin American of any race. At the survey estimates, 7.8% of the total population was foreign-born from 2015 to 2019. In 2015, 61.3% was non-Hispanic white, 3.4% black or African American, 13.3% American Indian or Alaska Native, 6.2% Asian, 0.9% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 0.3% some other race, and 7.7% multiracial. Hispanics and Latin Americans were 7% of the state population in 2015. From 2015 to 2019, the largest Hispanic and Latin American groups were Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cuban Americans. The largest Asian groups living in the state were Filipinos, Korean Americans, and Japanese and Chinese Americans.

The state was 66.7% white (64.1% non-Hispanic white), 14.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 5.4% Asian, 3.3% black or African American, 1.0% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 1.6% from some other race, and 7.3% from two or more races in 2010. Hispanics or Latin Americans of any race made up 5.5% of the population in 2010. As of 2011, 50.7% of Alaska's population younger than one year of age belonged to minority groups (i.e., did not have two parents of non-Hispanic white ancestry). In 1960, the United States Census Bureau reported Alaska's population as 77.2% white, 3% black, and 18.8% American Indian and Alaska Native.

In 2018, the top countries of origin for Alaska's immigrants were the Philippines, Mexico, Canada, Thailand and South Korea.

Languages

Further information: Alaska Native languages

According to the 2011 American Community Survey, 83.4% of people over the age of five spoke only English at home. About 3.5% spoke Spanish at home, 2.2% spoke another Indo-European language, about 4.3% spoke an Asian language (including Tagalog), and about 5.3% spoke other languages at home. In 2019, the American Community Survey determined 83.7% spoke only English, and 16.3% spoke another language other than English. The most spoken European language after English was Spanish, spoken by approximately 4.0% of the state population. Collectively, Asian and Pacific Islander languages were spoken by 5.6% of Alaskans. Since 2010, a total of 5.2% of Alaskans speak one of the state's 20 indigenous languages, known locally as "native languages".

The Alaska Native Language Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks claims that at least 20 Alaskan native languages exist and there are also some languages with different dialects. Most of Alaska's native languages belong to either the Eskimo–Aleut or Na-Dene language families; some languages are thought to be isolates (e.g. Haida) or have not yet been classified (e.g. Tsimshianic). As of 2014 nearly all of Alaska's native languages were classified as either threatened, shifting, moribund, nearly extinct, or dormant languages.

In October 2014, the governor of Alaska signed a bill declaring the state's 20 indigenous languages to have official status. This bill gave them symbolic recognition as official languages, though they have not been adopted for official use within the government. The 20 languages that were included in the bill are:

  1. Inupiaq
  2. Siberian Yupik
  3. Central Alaskan Yup'ik
  4. Alutiiq
  5. Unangax
  6. Dena'ina
  7. Deg Xinag
  8. Holikachuk
  9. Koyukon
  10. Upper Kuskokwim
  11. Gwich'in
  12. Tanana
  13. Upper Tanana
  14. Tanacross
  15. Hän
  16. Ahtna
  17. Eyak
  18. Tlingit
  19. Haida
  20. Tsimshian

Religion

See also: Alaska Native religion and Shamanism among Alaska Natives
St. Michael's Russian Orthodox Cathedral in downtown Sitka

Religious self-identification in Alaska per the Public Religion Research Institute's 2020 survey

  Unaffiliated (37%)  Protestantism (36%)  Catholicism (14%)  Eastern Orthodox (4%)  Mormonism (2%)  Jehovah's Witness (1%)  Other (6%)

Multiple surveys have ranked Alaska among the most irreligious states.

ChangePoint in south Anchorage (left) and Anchorage Baptist Temple in east Anchorage (right) are Alaska's largest churches in terms of attendance and membership.

According to statistics collected by the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) from 2010, about 34% of Alaska residents were members of religious congregations. Of the religious population, roughly 4% were Mormon, 0.5% Jewish, 0.5% Muslim, 1% Buddhist, 0.2% Baháʼí, and 0.5% Hindu. The largest religious denominations in Alaska as of 2010 was the Catholic Church with 50,866 adherents; non-denominational Evangelicals with 38,070 adherents; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 32,170 adherents; and the Southern Baptist Convention with 19,891 adherents. Alaska has been identified, along with Washington and Oregon in the Pacific Northwest, as being the least religious states in the United States, in terms of church membership.

The Pew Research Center in 2014 determined 62% of the adult population practiced Christianity. Of the Christian denominations, Catholicism was the largest Christian group. When Protestant denominations were combined, Protestantism was the largest Christian tradition, with Evangelicalism being the largest movement within the Protestant group. The unaffiliated population made up the largest non-Christian religious affiliation at 37%. Atheists made up 5% of the population and the largest non-Christian religion was Buddhism. In 2020, the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) determined 57% of adults were Christian. By 2022, Christianity increased to 77% of the population according to the PRRI.

Through the Association of Religion Data Archives in 2020, its Christian population was dominated by non/inter-denominational Protestantism as the single largest Christian cohort, with 73,930 adherents. Roman Catholics were second with 40,280 members; throughout its Christian population, non-denominational Christians had an adherence rate of 100.81 per 1,000 residents, and Catholics 54.92 per 1,000 residents. Per 2014's Pew study, religion was seen as very important to 41% of the population, although 29% considered it somewhat important. In 2014, Pew determined roughly 55% believed in God with absolute certainty, and 24% believed fairly certainly. Reflecting the separate 2020 ARDA study, the 2014 Pew study showed 30% attended religious services once a week, 34% once or twice a month, and 36% seldom/never. In 2018, The Gospel Coalition published an article using Pew data and determined non-churchgoing Christians nationwide did not attend religious services often through the following: practicing the faith in other ways, not finding a house of worship they liked, disliking sermons and feeling unwelcomed, and logistics.

In 1795, the first Russian Orthodox Church was established in Kodiak. Intermarriage with Alaskan Natives helped the Russian immigrants integrate into society. As a result, an increasing number of Russian Orthodox churches gradually became established within Alaska. Alaska also has the largest Quaker population (by percentage) of any state. In 2009, there were 6,000 Jews in Alaska (for whom observance of halakha may pose special problems). Alaskan Hindus often share venues and celebrations with members of other Asian religious communities, including Sikhs and Jains. In 2010, Alaskan Hindus established the Sri Ganesha Temple of Alaska, making it the first Hindu Temple in Alaska and the northernmost Hindu Temple in the world. There are an estimated 2,000–3,000 Hindus in Alaska. The vast majority of Hindus live in Anchorage or Fairbanks.

Estimates for the number of Muslims in Alaska range from 2,000 to 5,000. In 2020, ARDA estimated there were 400 Muslims in the state. The Islamic Community Center of Anchorage began efforts in the late 1990s to construct a mosque in Anchorage. They broke ground on a building in south Anchorage in 2010 and were nearing completion in late 2014. When completed, the mosque was the first in the state and one of the northernmost mosques in the world. There is also a Baháʼí center, and there were 690 adherents in 2020. Additionally, there were 469 adherents of Hinduism and Yoga altogether in 2020, and a small number of Buddhists were present.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Alaska See also: Alaska locations by per capita income and List of Alaska companies
Aerial view of infrastructure at the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field

As of October 2022, Alaska had a total employment of 316,900. The number of employer establishments was 21,077.

The 2018 gross state product was $55 billion, 48th in the U.S. Its per capita personal income for 2018 was $73,000, ranking 7th in the nation. According to a 2013 study by Phoenix Marketing International, Alaska had the fifth-largest number of millionaires per capita in the United States, with a ratio of 6.75 percent. The oil and gas industry dominates the Alaskan economy, with more than 80% of the state's revenues derived from petroleum extraction. Alaska's main export product (excluding oil and natural gas) is seafood, primarily salmon, cod, pollock and crab.

Agriculture represents a very small fraction of the Alaskan economy. Agricultural production is primarily for consumption within the state and includes nursery stock, dairy products, vegetables, and livestock. Manufacturing is limited, with most foodstuffs and general goods imported from elsewhere.

Employment is primarily in government and industries such as natural resource extraction, shipping, and transportation. Military bases are a significant component of the economy in the Fairbanks North Star, Anchorage and Kodiak Island boroughs, as well as Kodiak. Federal subsidies are also an important part of the economy, allowing the state to keep taxes low. Its industrial outputs are crude petroleum, natural gas, coal, gold, precious metals, zinc and other mining, seafood processing, timber and wood products. There is also a growing service and tourism sector. Tourists have contributed to the economy by supporting local lodging.

Energy

See also: Natural gas in Alaska, List of power stations in Alaska, and Energy law § Alaska law
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline transports oil, Alaska's most financially important export, from the North Slope to Valdez. The heat pipes in the column mounts are pertinent, since they disperse heat upwards and prevent melting of permafrost.
Alaska proven oil reserves peaked in 1973 and have declined more than 60% since then.
Alaskan oil production peaked in 1988 and has declined more than 75% since then.

Alaska has vast energy resources, although its oil reserves have been largely depleted. Major oil and gas reserves were found in the Alaska North Slope (ANS) and Cook Inlet basins, but according to the Energy Information Administration, by February 2014 Alaska had fallen to fourth place in the nation in crude oil production after Texas, North Dakota, and California. Prudhoe Bay on Alaska's North Slope is still the second highest-yielding oil field in the United States, typically producing about 400,000 barrels per day (64,000 m/d), although by early 2014 North Dakota's Bakken Formation was producing over 900,000 barrels per day (140,000 m/d). Prudhoe Bay was the largest conventional oil field ever discovered in North America, but was much smaller than Canada's enormous Athabasca oil sands field, which by 2014 was producing about 1,500,000 barrels per day (240,000 m/d) of unconventional oil, and had hundreds of years of producible reserves at that rate.

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline can transport and pump up to 2.1 million barrels (330,000 m) of crude oil per day, more than any other crude oil pipeline in the United States. Additionally, substantial coal deposits are found in Alaska's bituminous, sub-bituminous, and lignite coal basins. The United States Geological Survey estimates that there are 85.4 trillion cubic feet (2,420 km) of undiscovered, technically recoverable gas from natural gas hydrates on the Alaskan North Slope. Alaska also offers some of the highest hydroelectric power potential in the country from its numerous rivers. Large swaths of the Alaskan coastline offer wind and geothermal energy potential as well.

Alaska's economy depends heavily on increasingly expensive diesel fuel for heating, transportation, electric power and light. Although wind and hydroelectric power are abundant and underdeveloped, proposals for statewide energy systems were judged uneconomical (at the time of the report, 2001) due to low (less than 50¢/gal) fuel prices, long distances and low population. The cost of a gallon of gas in urban Alaska is usually thirty to sixty cents higher than the national average; prices in rural areas are generally significantly higher but vary widely depending on transportation costs, seasonal usage peaks, nearby petroleum development infrastructure and many other factors.

Permanent Fund

The Alaska Permanent Fund is a constitutionally authorized appropriation of oil revenues, established by voters in 1976 to manage a surplus in state petroleum revenues from oil, largely in anticipation of the then recently constructed Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. The fund was originally proposed by Governor Keith Miller on the eve of the 1969 Prudhoe Bay lease sale, out of fear that the legislature would spend the entire proceeds of the sale (which amounted to $900 million) at once. It was later championed by Governor Jay Hammond and Kenai state representative Hugh Malone. It has served as an attractive political prospect ever since, diverting revenues which would normally be deposited into the general fund.

The Alaska Constitution was written so as to discourage dedicating state funds for a particular purpose. The Permanent Fund has become the rare exception to this, mostly due to the political climate of distrust existing during the time of its creation. From its initial principal of $734,000, the fund has grown to $50 billion as a result of oil royalties and capital investment programs. Most if not all the principal is invested conservatively outside Alaska. This has led to frequent calls by Alaskan politicians for the Fund to make investments within Alaska, though such a stance has never gained momentum.

Starting in 1982, dividends from the fund's annual growth have been paid out each year to eligible Alaskans, ranging from an initial $1,000 in 1982 (equal to three years' payout, as the distribution of payments was held up in a lawsuit over the distribution scheme) to $3,269 in 2008 (which included a one-time $1,200 "Resource Rebate"). Every year, the state legislature takes out 8% from the earnings, puts 3% back into the principal for inflation proofing, and the remaining 5% is distributed to all qualifying Alaskans. To qualify for the Permanent Fund Dividend, one must have lived in the state for a minimum of 12 months, maintain constant residency subject to allowable absences, and not be subject to court judgments or criminal convictions which fall under various disqualifying classifications or may subject the payment amount to civil garnishment.

The Permanent Fund is often considered to be one of the leading examples of a basic income policy in the world.

Cost of living

The cost of goods in Alaska has long been higher than in the contiguous 48 states. Federal government employees, particularly United States Postal Service (USPS) workers and active-duty military members, receive a Cost of Living Allowance usually set at 25% of base pay because, while the cost of living has gone down, it is still one of the highest in the country.

Rural Alaska suffers from extremely high prices for food and consumer goods compared to the rest of the country, due to the relatively limited transportation infrastructure.

Agriculture and fishing

Halibut, both as a sport fish and commercially, is important to the state's economy.

Due to the northern climate and short growing season, relatively little farming occurs in Alaska. Most farms are in either the Matanuska Valley, about 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Anchorage, or on the Kenai Peninsula, about 60 miles (97 km) southwest of Anchorage. The short 100-day growing season limits the crops that can be grown, but the long sunny summer days make for productive growing seasons. The primary crops are potatoes, carrots, lettuce, and cabbage.

The Tanana Valley is another notable agricultural locus, especially the Delta Junction area, about 100 miles (160 km) southeast of Fairbanks, with a sizable concentration of farms growing agronomic crops; these farms mostly lie north and east of Fort Greely. This area was largely set aside and developed under a state program spearheaded by Hammond during his second term as governor. Delta-area crops consist predominantly of barley and hay. West of Fairbanks lies another concentration of small farms catering to restaurants, the hotel and tourist industry, and community-supported agriculture.

Alaskan agriculture has experienced a surge in growth of market gardeners, small farms and farmers' markets in recent years, with the highest percentage increase (46%) in the nation in growth in farmers' markets in 2011, compared to 17% nationwide. The peony industry has also taken off, as the growing season allows farmers to harvest during a gap in supply elsewhere in the world, thereby filling a niche in the flower market.

Oversized vegetables on display at the Alaska State Fair (left) and the Tanana Valley State Fair (right)

Alaska, with no counties, lacks county fairs. Instead, a small assortment of state and local fairs (with the Alaska State Fair in Palmer the largest), are held mostly in the late summer. The fairs are mostly located in communities with historic or current agricultural activity, and feature local farmers exhibiting produce in addition to more high-profile commercial activities such as carnival rides, concerts and food. "Alaska Grown" is used as an agricultural slogan.

Alaska has an abundance of seafood, with the primary fisheries in the Bering Sea and the North Pacific. Seafood is one of the few food items that is often cheaper within the state than outside it. Many Alaskans take advantage of salmon seasons to harvest portions of their household diet while fishing for subsistence, as well as sport. This includes fish taken by hook, net or wheel.

Hunting for subsistence, primarily caribou, moose, and Dall sheep is still common in the state, particularly in remote Bush communities. An example of a traditional native food is Akutaq, the Eskimo ice cream, which can consist of reindeer fat, seal oil, dried fish meat and local berries.

Alaska's reindeer herding is concentrated on Seward Peninsula, where wild caribou can be prevented from mingling and migrating with the domesticated reindeer.

Most food in Alaska is transported into the state from "Outside" (the other 49 U.S. states), and shipping costs make food in the cities relatively expensive. In rural areas, subsistence hunting and gathering is an essential activity because imported food is prohibitively expensive. Although most small towns and villages in Alaska lie along the coastline, the cost of importing food to remote villages can be high because of the terrain and difficult road conditions, which change dramatically due to varying climate and precipitation changes. Transport costs can reach 50¢ per pound ($1.10/kg) or higher in some remote areas during times of inclement weather or rough terrain conditions, if these locations can be reached at all. The cost of delivering a gallon (3.8 L) of milk is about $3.50 in many villages where per capita income can be $20,000 or less. Fuel cost per gallon is routinely twenty to thirty cents higher than the contiguous United States average, with only Hawaii having higher prices.

Culture

This article may need to be cleaned up. It has been merged from Sports in Alaska.
See also: List of artists and writers from Alaska
A dog team in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, arguably the most popular winter event in Alaska
Mask Display at Iñupiat Heritage Center in Utqiaġvik

Some of Alaska's popular annual events are the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race from Anchorage to Nome, World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, the Blueberry Festival and Alaska Hummingbird Festival in Ketchikan, the Sitka Whale Fest, and the Stikine River Garnet Fest in Wrangell. The Stikine River attracts the largest springtime concentration of American bald eagles in the world.

The Alaska Native Heritage Center celebrates the rich heritage of Alaska's 11 cultural groups. Their purpose is to encourage cross-cultural exchanges among all people and enhance self-esteem among Native people. The Alaska Native Arts Foundation promotes and markets Native art from all regions and cultures in the State, using the internet.

Music

Main article: Music of Alaska

Influences on music in Alaska include the traditional music of Alaska Natives as well as folk music brought by later immigrants from Russia and Europe. Prominent musicians from Alaska include singer Jewel, traditional Aleut flautist Mary Youngblood, folk singer-songwriter Libby Roderick, Christian music singer-songwriter Lincoln Brewster, metal/post hardcore band 36 Crazyfists and the groups Pamyua and Portugal. The Man.

There are many established music festivals in Alaska, including the Alaska Folk Festival, the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, the Anchorage Folk Festival, the Athabascan Old-Time Fiddling Festival, the Sitka Jazz Festival, the Sitka Summer Music Festival, and the Anchorage Chamber Music Festival. The most prominent orchestra in Alaska is the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, though the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra and Juneau Symphony are also notable. The Anchorage Opera is currently the state's only professional opera company, though there are several volunteer and semi-professional organizations in the state as well.

The official state song of Alaska is "Alaska's Flag", which was adopted in 1955; it celebrates the flag of Alaska.

Film and television

See also: List of films set in Alaska

The 1983 Disney movie Never Cry Wolf was at least partially shot in Alaska. The 1991 film White Fang, based on Jack London's 1906 novel and starring Ethan Hawke, was filmed in and around Haines. Steven Seagal's 1994 On Deadly Ground, starring Michael Caine, was filmed in part at the Worthington Glacier near Valdez.

Many reality television shows are filmed in Alaska. In 2011, the Anchorage Daily News found ten set in the state.

Sports

See also: Alaska Sports Hall of Fame

The following is a list of sporting venues, events, and teams based in Alaska.

Anchorage

Venues
An Aces game at "The Sully"
Teams
Events

Fairbanks

Venues
Teams
Events

Elsewhere

Teams
Events
Dog mushing

Public health and safety

See also: Dentistry in rural Alaska

The Alaska State Troopers are Alaska's statewide police force. They have a long and storied history, but were not an official organization until 1941. Before the force was officially organized, law enforcement in Alaska was handled by various federal agencies. Larger towns usually have their own local police and some villages rely on "Public Safety Officers" who have police training but do not carry firearms. In much of the state, the troopers serve as the only police force available. In addition to enforcing traffic and criminal law, wildlife Troopers enforce hunting and fishing regulations. Due to the varied terrain and wide scope of the Troopers' duties, they employ a wide variety of land, air, and water patrol vehicles.

Many rural communities in Alaska are considered "dry", having outlawed the importation of alcoholic beverages. Suicide rates for rural residents are higher than urban.

Domestic abuse and other violent crimes are also at high levels in the state; this is in part linked to alcohol abuse. Alaska has the highest rate of sexual assault in the nation, especially in rural areas. The average age of sexually assaulted victims is 16 years old. In four out of five cases, the suspects were relatives, friends or acquaintances.

Health insurance

As of 2022, CVS Health and Premera account for 47% and 46% of private health insurance, respectively. Premera and Moda Health offer insurance on the federally-run Affordable Care Exchange.

Hospitals

Main article: List of hospitals in Alaska

Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage is the largest hospital in the state as of 2021; Anchorage also hosts Alaska Regional Hospital and Alaska Native Medical Center.

Alaska's other major cities such as Fairbanks and Juneau also have local hospitals. In Southeast Alaska, Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, runs healthcare facilities across 27 communities as of 2022, including hospitals in Sitka and Wrangell; although it originally served Native Americans only, it has expanded access and combined with other local facilities over time.

Education

The Kachemak Bay Campus of the University of Alaska Anchorage, located in downtown Homer

The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development administers many school districts in Alaska. In addition, the state operates a boarding school, Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka, and provides partial funding for other boarding schools, including Nenana Student Living Center in Nenana and The Galena Interior Learning Academy in Galena.

There are more than a dozen colleges and universities in Alaska. Accredited universities in Alaska include the University of Alaska Anchorage, University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Alaska Southeast, and Alaska Pacific University. Alaska is the only state that has no collegiate athletic programs that are members of NCAA Division I, although both Alaska-Fairbanks and Alaska-Anchorage maintain single sport membership in Division I for men's ice hockey.

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development operates AVTEC, Alaska's Institute of Technology. Campuses in Seward and Anchorage offer one-week to 11-month training programs in areas as diverse as Information Technology, Welding, Nursing, and Mechanics.

Alaska has had a problem with a "brain drain". Many of its young people, including most of the highest academic achievers, leave the state after high school graduation and do not return. As of 2013, Alaska did not have a law school or medical school. The University of Alaska has attempted to combat this by offering partial four-year scholarships to the top 10% of Alaska high school graduates, via the Alaska Scholars Program.

Beginning in 1998, schools in rural Alaska must have at least 10 students to retain funding from the state, and campuses not meeting the number close. This was due to the loss in oil revenues that previously propped up smaller rural schools. In 2015, there was a proposal to raise that minimum to 25, but legislators in the state largely did not agree.

Republican Don Young held Alaska's sole U.S. House seat for 49 years, from 1973 to 2022.

Transportation

Main article: Transportation in Alaska

Road

See also: List of Alaska Routes

Alaska has few road connections compared to the rest of the U.S. The state's road system, covering a relatively small area of the state, linking the central population centers and the Alaska Highway, the principal route out of the state through Canada. The state capital, Juneau, is not accessible by road, with access only being through ferry or flight; this has spurred debate over decades about moving the capital to a city on the road system, or building a road connection from Haines. The western part of Alaska has no road system connecting the communities with the rest of Alaska.

The Interstate Highways in Alaska consists of a total of 1,082 miles (1,741 km). One unique feature of the Alaska Highway system is the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, an active Alaska Railroad tunnel recently upgraded to provide a paved roadway link with the isolated community of Whittier on Prince William Sound to the Seward Highway about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Anchorage at Portage. At 2.5 miles (4.0 km), the tunnel was the longest road tunnel in North America until 2007. The tunnel is the longest combination road and rail tunnel in North America.

Southwest Alaska is largely coastal, sparsely populated, and unconnected to the road system. Access to most communities in Southwest Alaska is primarily by air taxi, although larger towns like Kodiak, Bethel, King Salmon, Dillingham, and Dutch Harbor are accessible by scheduled air service. Additionally, some coastal communities can be reached via the Alaska Marine Highway ferry.

Rail

Built around 1915, the Alaska Railroad (ARR) played a key role in the development of Alaska through the 20th century. It links shipping lanes on the North Pacific with Interior Alaska with tracks that run from Seward by way of South Central Alaska, passing through Anchorage, Eklutna, Wasilla, Talkeetna, Denali, and Fairbanks, with spurs to Whittier, Palmer and North Pole. The cities, towns, villages, and region served by ARR tracks are known statewide as "The Railbelt". In recent years, the ever-improving paved highway system began to eclipse the railroad's importance in Alaska's economy.

The railroad played a vital role in Alaska's development, moving freight into Alaska while transporting natural resources southward, such as coal from the Usibelli coal mine near Healy to Seward and gravel from the Matanuska Valley to Anchorage. It is well known for its summertime tour passenger service.

The Alaska Railroad was one of the last railroads in North America to use cabooses in regular service and still uses them on some gravel trains. It continues to offer one of the last flag stop routes in the country. A stretch of about 60 miles (100 km) of track along an area north of Talkeetna remains inaccessible by road; the railroad provides the only transportation to rural homes and cabins in the area. Until construction of the Parks Highway in the 1970s, the railroad provided the only land access to most of the region along its entire route.

In northern Southeast Alaska, the White Pass and Yukon Route also partly runs through the state from Skagway northwards into Canada (British Columbia and Yukon Territory), crossing the border at White Pass Summit. This line is now mainly used by tourists, often arriving by cruise liner at Skagway. It was featured in the 1983 BBC television series Great Little Railways.

These two railroads are connected neither to each other nor any other railroad. The nearest link to the North American railway network is the northwest terminus of the Canadian National Railway at Prince Rupert, British Columbia, several hundred miles to the southeast. In 2000, the U.S. Congress authorized $6 million to study the feasibility of a rail link between Alaska, Canada, and the lower 48. As of 2021, the Alaska-Alberta Railway Development Corporation had been placed into receivership.

Some private companies provides car float service between Whittier and Seattle.

Sea

Many cities, towns and villages in the state do not have road or highway access; the only modes of access involve travel by air, river, or the sea.

The MV Tustumena (named after Tustumena Glacier) is one of the state's many ferries, providing service between the Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak Island and the Aleutian Chain.

Alaska's well-developed state-owned ferry system (known as the Alaska Marine Highway) serves the cities of southeast, the Gulf Coast and the Alaska Peninsula. The ferries transport vehicles as well as passengers. The system also operates a ferry service from Bellingham, Washington and Prince Rupert, British Columbia, in Canada through the Inside Passage to Skagway. The Inter-Island Ferry Authority also serves as an important marine link for many communities in the Prince of Wales Island region of Southeast and works in concert with the Alaska Marine Highway.

In recent years, cruise lines have created a summertime tourism market, mainly connecting the Pacific Northwest to Southeast Alaska and, to a lesser degree, towns along Alaska's gulf coast. The population of Ketchikan for example fluctuates dramatically on many days—up to four large cruise ships can dock there at the same time.

Air

Cities not served by road, sea, or river can be reached only by air, foot, dogsled, or snowmachine, accounting for Alaska's extremely well developed bush air services—an Alaskan novelty. Anchorage, and to a lesser extent Fairbanks, is served by many major airlines. Because of limited highway access, air travel remains the most efficient form of transportation in and out of the state. Anchorage recently completed extensive remodeling and construction at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport to help accommodate the upsurge in tourism (in 2012–2013, Alaska received almost two million visitors).

Making regular flights to most villages and towns within the state commercially viable is difficult, so they are heavily subsidized by the federal government through the Essential Air Service program. Alaska Airlines is the only major airline offering in-state travel with jet service (sometimes in combination cargo and passenger Boeing 737-400s) from Anchorage and Fairbanks to regional hubs like Bethel, Nome, Kotzebue, Dillingham, Kodiak, and other larger communities as well as to major Southeast and Alaska Peninsula communities.

A Bombardier Dash 8, operated by Era Alaska, on approach to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport

The bulk of remaining commercial flight offerings come from small regional commuter airlines such as Ravn Alaska, PenAir, and Frontier Flying Service. The smallest towns and villages must rely on scheduled or chartered bush flying services using general aviation aircraft such as the Cessna Caravan, the most popular aircraft in use in the state. Much of this service can be attributed to the Alaska bypass mail program which subsidizes bulk mail delivery to Alaskan rural communities. The program requires 70% of that subsidy to go to carriers who offer passenger service to the communities.

Many communities have small air taxi services. These operations originated from the demand for customized transport to remote areas. Perhaps the most quintessentially Alaskan plane is the bush seaplane. The world's busiest seaplane base is Lake Hood, located next to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, where flights bound for remote villages without an airstrip carry passengers, cargo, and many items from stores and warehouse clubs.

In 2006, Alaska had the highest number of pilots per capita of any U.S. state. In Alaska there are 8,795 active pilot certificates as of 2020.

Snow

Another Alaskan transportation method is the dogsled. In modern times (that is, any time after the mid-late 1920s), dog mushing is more of a sport than a true means of transportation. Various races are held around the state, but the best known is the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, a 1,150-mile (1,850 km) trail from Anchorage to Nome (although the distance varies from year to year, the official distance is set at 1,049 miles or 1,688 km). The race commemorates the famous 1925 serum run to Nome in which mushers and dogs like Togo and Balto took much-needed medicine to the diphtheria-stricken community of Nome when all other means of transportation had failed. Mushers from all over the world come to Anchorage each March to compete for cash, prizes, and prestige. The "Serum Run" is another sled dog race that more accurately follows the route of the famous 1925 relay, leaving from the community of Nenana (southwest of Fairbanks) to Nome.

In areas not served by road or rail, primary transportation in summer is by all-terrain vehicle and in winter by snowmobile or "snow machine", as it is commonly referred to in Alaska.

Communication

Alaska's internet and other data transport systems are provided largely through the two major telecommunications companies: GCI and Alaska Communications. GCI owns and operates what it calls the Alaska United Fiber Optic system and, as of late 2011, Alaska Communications advertised that it has "two fiber optic paths to the lower 48 and two more across Alaska. In January 2011, it was reported that a $1 billion project to connect Asia and rural Alaska was being planned, aided in part by $350 million in stimulus from the federal government.

Law and government

State government

Main article: Government of Alaska
The center of state government in Juneau. The large buildings in the background are, from left to right: the Court Plaza Building (known colloquially as the "Spam Can"), the State Office Building (behind), the Alaska Office Building, the John H. Dimond State Courthouse, and the Alaska State Capitol. Many of the smaller buildings in the foreground are also occupied by state government agencies.

Like all other U.S. states, Alaska is governed as a republic, with three branches of government: an executive branch consisting of the governor of Alaska and their appointees which head executive departments; a legislative branch consisting of the Alaska House of Representatives and Alaska Senate; and a judicial branch consisting of the Alaska Supreme Court and lower courts.

The state of Alaska employs approximately 16,000 people statewide.

The Alaska State Legislature consists of a 40-member House of Representatives and a 20-member Senate. Senators serve four-year terms and House members two. The governor of Alaska serves four-year terms. The lieutenant governor runs separately from the governor in the primaries, but during the general election, the nominee for governor and nominee for lieutenant governor run together on the same ticket.

Alaska's court system has four levels: the Alaska Supreme Court, the Alaska Court of Appeals, the superior courts and the district courts. The superior and district courts are trial courts. Superior courts are courts of general jurisdiction, while district courts hear only certain types of cases, including misdemeanor criminal cases and civil cases valued up to $100,000.

The Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals are appellate courts. The Court of Appeals is required to hear appeals from certain lower-court decisions, including those regarding criminal prosecutions, juvenile delinquency, and habeas corpus. The Supreme Court hears civil appeals and may in its discretion hear criminal appeals.

State politics

Main article: Politics of Alaska Further information: Political party strength in Alaska and Alaska political corruption probe
Gubernatorial election results
Year Democratic Republican Others
1958 59.6% 29,189 39.4% 19,299
1962 52.3% 29,627 47.7% 27,054
1966 48.4% 32,065 50.0% 33,145
1970 52.4% 42,309 46.1% 37,264
1974 47.4% 45,553 47.7% 45,840
1978 20.2% 25,656 39.1% 49,580
1982 46.1% 89,918 37.1% 72,291
1986 47.3% 84,943 42.6% 76,515
1990 30.9% 60,201 26.2% 50,991 38.9% 75,721
1994 41.1% 87,693 40.8% 87,157
1998 51.3% 112,879 17.9% 39,331
2002 40.7% 94,216 55.9% 129,279
2006 41.0% 97,238 48.3% 114,697
2010 37.7% 96,519 59.1% 151,318
2014 0.0% 0 45.9% 128,435 48.1% 134,658
2018 44.4% 125,739 51.4% 145,631
2022 24.2% 63,755 50.3% 132,392

Although in its early years of statehood Alaska was a Democratic state, since the early 1970s it has been characterized as Republican-leaning. Local political communities have often worked on issues related to land use development, fishing, tourism, and individual rights. Alaska Natives, while organized in and around their communities, have been active within the Native corporations. These have been given ownership over large tracts of land, which require stewardship.

Alaska was formerly the only state in which possession of one ounce or less of marijuana in one's home was completely legal under state law, though the federal law remains in force.

The state has an independence movement favoring a vote on secession from the United States, with the Alaskan Independence Party.

Six Republicans and four Democrats have served as governor of Alaska. In addition, Republican governor Wally Hickel was elected to the office for a second term in 1990 after leaving the Republican party and briefly joining the Alaskan Independence Party ticket just long enough to be reelected. He officially rejoined the Republican party in 1994.

Alaska's voter initiative making marijuana legal took effect on February 24, 2015, placing Alaska alongside Colorado and Washington, as well as Washington D.C., as the first three U.S. states where recreational marijuana is legal. The new law means people over 21 can consume small amounts of cannabis. The first legal marijuana store opened in Valdez in October 2016.

Voter registration

Party registration as of June 3, 2024
Party Total voters Percentage
Unaffiliated 346,751 58.35%
Republican 143,401 24.13%
Democratic 73,598 12.38%
Alaskan Independence 18,768 3.16%
Minor parties 11,758 1.98%
Total 594,276 100.00%

Taxes

To finance state government operations, Alaska depends primarily on petroleum revenues and federal subsidies. This allows it to have the lowest individual tax burden in the United States. It is one of five states with no sales tax, one of seven states with no individual income tax, and—along with New Hampshire—one of two that has neither. The Department of Revenue Tax Division reports regularly on the state's revenue sources. The department also issues an annual summary of its operations, including new state laws that directly affect the tax division. In 2014, the Tax Foundation ranked Alaska as having the fourth most "business friendly" tax policy, behind only Wyoming, South Dakota, and Nevada.

While Alaska has no state sales tax, 89 municipalities collect a local sales tax, from 1.0 to 7.5%, typically 3–5%. Other local taxes levied include raw fish taxes, hotel, motel, and bed-and-breakfast 'bed' taxes, severance taxes, liquor and tobacco taxes, gaming (pull tabs) taxes, tire taxes and fuel transfer taxes. A part of the revenue collected from certain state taxes and license fees (such as petroleum, aviation motor fuel, telephone cooperative) is shared with municipalities in Alaska.

The fall in oil prices after the fracking boom in the early 2010s has decimated Alaska's state treasury, which has historically received about 85 percent of its revenue from taxes and fees imposed on oil and gas companies. The state government has had to drastically reduce its budget, and has brought its budget shortfall from over $2 billion in 2016 to under $500 million by 2018. In 2020, Alaska's state government budget was $4.8 billion, while projected government revenues were only $4.5 billion.

Federal politics

Main article: Politics of Alaska See also: Arctic Policy of the United States
A line graph showing the presidential vote by party from 1960 to 2020 in Alaska

Alaska regularly supports Republicans in presidential elections and has done so since statehood. Republicans have won the state's electoral college votes in all but one election that it has participated in (1964). No state has voted for a Democratic presidential candidate fewer times. Alaska was carried by Democratic nominee Lyndon B. Johnson during his landslide election in 1964, while the 1960 and 1968 elections were close. Since 1972, Republicans have carried the state by large margins. In 2008, Republican John McCain defeated Democrat Barack Obama in Alaska, 59.49% to 37.83%. McCain's running mate was Sarah Palin, the state's governor and the first Alaskan on a major party ticket. Obama lost Alaska again in 2012, but he captured 40% of the state's vote in that election, making him the first Democrat to do so since 1968. In 2020, Joe Biden received 42.77% of the vote for president, marking the high point for a Democratic presidential candidate since Johnson's 1964 victory.

The Alaska Bush, central Juneau, midtown and downtown Anchorage, and the areas surrounding the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus and Ester have been strongholds of the Democratic Party. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the majority of Fairbanks (including North Pole and the military base), and South Anchorage typically have the strongest Republican showing.

Elections

See also: Ranked-choice voting in the United States and Nonpartisan blanket primary

Alaska has a history of primary defeats for incumbent U.S. Senators, including Ernest Gruening, Mike Gravel, and Lisa Murkowski. However, Murkowski won re-election with a write-in campaign. Despite this, Alaska has also seen long-serving members of Congress, such as Ted Stevens, who served as a U.S. Senator for 40 years, and Don Young, who held Alaska's sole U.S. House seat for 49 years (from 1973 to 2022).

In the 2020 election cycle, Alaskan voters approved Ballot Measure 2. The measure passed by a margin of 1.1%, or about 4,000 votes. The measure requires campaigns to disclose the original source and any intermediaries for campaign contributions over $2,000. The measure also establishes non-partisan blanket primaries for statewide elections (like in Washington state and California) and ranked-choice voting (like in Maine). Measure 2 makes Alaska the third state with jungle primaries for all statewide races, the second state with ranked choice voting, and the only state with both.

The 2022 special election to fill Alaska's only U.S. House seat, left vacant by the death of Don Young, was won by Mary Peltola. She became the first Democrat to win the House seat since 1972 and the first Alaskan Native elected to the United States Congress in history.

See also

Notes

  1. These three Aleutian outer islands are about 460 miles (740 km) away from mainland USSR, 920 miles (1,480 km) from mainland Alaska, 950 miles (1,530 km) from Japan.
  2. Wally Hickel would rejoin the Republican party after winning the election as a member of the Alaskan Independence Party.
  3. Byron Mallott, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, suspended his campaign and became the running mate of Bill Walker, an independent who left the Republican Party. They won the election with 48.1% or 134,658 votes.

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Preceded byArizona List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union
Admitted on January 3, 1959 (49th) 		Succeeded byHawaii
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64°N 152°W / 64°N 152°W / 64; -152 (State of Alaska)

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