50 Years of 50 States: Alaska

Nickname: Land of the Midnight Sun
Date Ratified: January 3, 1959 (49th)
Capital: Juneau

Map of Alaska (courtesy of Wikipedia)

• Sarah Palin, is the first Alaskan on a major party’s presidential ticket.
• Alaska is also home to Libby Riddles, the first woman to win the Iditarod.
• Alaska is the only state not to officially be a part of the interstate highway system.
• Alaska holds the distinction of being the only state to have been occupied by a foreign power while being owned by the U.S. The 3 outer Aleutian Islands were occupied by the Japanese during World War II.
• Alaska is twice the size of Texas, and when superimposed on a map of the contiguous United States, it extends from coast to coast.
• At 6600 miles, Alaska’s coastline is longer than the other 49 states combined, and is over 4 times longer than the 2nd longest coastline (Florida).
• The 1964 Good Friday Earthquake was the 2nd largest earthquake in recorded history and 100 times more powerful than the 1989 San Francisco earthquake.
• The northernmost city in the U.S. is Barrow, Alaska.
• The state flag of Alaska consists of eight stars forming the Big Dipper and the North Star, on a blue background. The flag was designed by a 13-year old in 1927 as part of a design contest. The following quote was submitted along with the flag design:

The blue field is for the Alaska sky and the forget-me-not, an Alaskan flower. The North Star is for the future state of Alaska, the most northerly in the union. The Dipper is for the Great Bear—symbolizing strength.

Flag of Alaska

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