Quick Facts About Alaska

 Quick Facts About Alaska

From the Bering Land Bridge to the oil pipeline, Alaska has a storied past. Although Alaska's statehood is relatively brief, the state's history is long and colorful. Dinosaurs once roamed the Great Land, followed by bison and woolly mammoths. The first people moved across the Bering Land Bridge into northwestern Alaska more than 20,000 years ago and the first Europeans arrived about 260 years ago.

Alaska and Yukon Facts


Alaska State Capital
Juneau
Alaska State Flag
Alaska adopted the flag for official state use in 1959. The blue field represents the sky, the sea, and mountain lakes, as well as Alaska's wildflowers. Emblazoned on the flag are eight gold stars: seven from the constellation Ursa Major, or the Big Dipper. The eighth being the North Star, representing the northern most state. Alaska's flag was designed in 1926 by a 13-year-old Native American boy.
Alaska State Motto
North to the Future.
Alaska State Size
586,000 square miles, largest state in the union; one-fifth the size of the Lower 48 put together.
Alaska State Population
731,449 (2012 Census.)
Alaska's Largest City
Anchorage, population 298,610 (2012 Census).
Yukon Territory Capital
Whitehorse
Yukon Population
33,897; two-thirds live in Whitehorse.
Yukon Territory Size
186,660 square miles.
Yukon Record Temperatures
-62 F/94 F (in Whitehorse.)
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