Portal:Alaska

Introduction The flag of Alaska Location of Alaska The seal of Alaska 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 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. 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. With a population of 740,133 in 2024, it is the most populous territory in North America located mostly north of the 60th parallel, with more than quadruple the combined populations of Northern Canada and Greenland. Alaska contains the four largest cities in the United States by area, including the state capital of Juneau. Alaska'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 $162 million in 2024. 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. An abundance of natural resources—including commercial fishing and the extraction of natural gas and oil—has enabled Alaska to have one of the highest per capita incomes in the United States, despite having one of the smallest state economies. U.S. Armed Forces bases and tourism also contribute to the economy; more than half of Alaska is federally-owned land containing national forests, national parks, and wildlife refuges. It is among the most irreligious states and one of the first to legalize recreational marijuana. The Indigenous population of Alaska is proportionally the second highest of any U.S. state, at over 15 percent, after only Hawaii. (Full article...) Recognized content - Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards. Artist's rendition The Rampart Dam or Rampart Canyon Dam was a project proposed in 1954 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dam the Yukon River in Alaska for hydroelectric power. The project was planned for Rampart Canyon (also known as Rampart Gorge) just 31 miles (50 km) southwest of the village of Rampart, Alaska, about 105 miles (169 km) west-northwest of Fairbanks. The resulting dam would have created a lake roughly the size of Lake Erie, making it the largest human-made reservoir in the world. The plan for the dam itself called for a concrete structure 530 feet (162 m) high with a top length of about 4,700 feet (1,430 m). The proposed power facilities would have consistently generated between 3.5 and 5.0 gigawatts of electricity, based on the flow of the river as it differs between winter and summer. Though supported by many politicians and businesses in Alaska, the project was canceled after objections were raised. Native Alaskans in the area protested the threatened loss of nine villages that would be flooded by the dam. Conservation groups abhorred the threatened flooding of the Yukon Flats, a large area of wetlands that provides a critical breeding ground for millions of waterfowl. Fiscal conservatives opposed the dam on the grounds of its large cost and limited benefit to Americans outside Alaska. (Full article...) List of recognized articles 2008 Tanana Valley flood Akutan Zero Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act Amchitka Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System History of Fairbanks, Alaska Klondike Gold Rush Maritime fur trade Mike Gravel Mount Redoubt Military history of the Aleutian Islands Trans-Alaska Pipeline System Yukon Quest List of National Natural Landmarks in Alaska Last voyage of the Karluk List of cities in Alaska Bob Marshall (wilderness activist) List of Yukon Quest competitors Alaska-class cruiser List of governors of Alaska Alaska Airlines Willow ptarmigan Joseph Hazelwood Eskimo (film) Portage Glacier Highway Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Jean Keene Binky (polar bear) Curtis Glencross Mount Cleveland (Alaska) Wyatt Earp Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council USS Alaska (CB-1) Rika's Landing Roadhouse Hope Highway Glacier Bay Basin Alaska marmot Topics Categories Category puzzle Select [►] to view subcategories Alaska Alaska-related lists Alaska Native Culture of Alaska Economy of Alaska Education in Alaska Environment of Alaska Geography of Alaska Government of Alaska Health in Alaska History of Alaska Military in Alaska Organizations based in Alaska People from Alaska Politics of Alaska Alaska society Transportation in Alaska Works about Alaska Images of Alaska Alaska stubs Selected article - Aerial view of downtown in 2020 Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. Fairbanks is the largest city in the interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 census put the population of the city proper at 32,515 and the population of the Fairbanks North Star Borough at 95,655, making it the second most populous metropolitan area in Alaska, after Anchorage. The Metropolitan Statistical Area encompasses all of the Fairbanks North Star Borough and is the northernmost metropolitan statistical area in the United States, located 196 miles (315 kilometers) by road (140 mi or 230 km by air) south of the Arctic Circle. In August 1901, E. T. Barnette founded a trading post on the south bank of the Chena River. A gold discovery near the trading post sparked the Fairbanks Gold Rush, and many miners moved to the area. There was a boom in construction, and in November 1903, the area's residents voted to incorporate Fairbanks as a city. Barnette became the first mayor, and the city flourished during the gold rush. By World War I, the population had plunged, but rose again during the Great Depression as the price of gold increased. During the 1940s and 1950s, the city became a staging area for the construction of military depots during World War II and the Cold War. Fort Wainwright, previously named Ladd Field, was built east of the city beginning in 1938 and is operated by the U.S. Army. After the discovery of the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field in 1968, the city became a supply point for the oil field, as well as for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. With the establishment of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in 1964, the city became borough seat. Tourism is also a factor in Fairbanks's economy. (Full article...) List of selected articles 1925 serum run to Nome Anchorage, Alaska Exxon Valdez oil spill Climate of Alaska Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Juneau, Alaska History of Alaska Nome, Alaska Alaska Purchase Sitka, Alaska Ted Stevens Kodiak bear Arctic Refuge drilling controversy Cordova, Alaska Morse v. Frederick Star Air Service Minnesota Drive Expressway Siberian Yupik Deadliest Catch Augustine Volcano McGee Airways William Moore (steamship captain) Tlingit language Legal education in Alaska Salmon Creek Dam Ruth A. M. Schmidt Sand Point, Alaska Northwest Passage Governorship of Sarah Palin Skagway, Alaska Eielson Air Force Base Cook Inlet Shootout on Juneau Wharf Alaska Railroad Henry Tureman Allen George Alexander Parks Alaska Road Commission Jewel (singer) Ice Road Truckers Alaskan king crab fishing Distant Early Warning Line Juneau Mountain Rescue Inuit Seward Highway Hubbard Glacier Caines Head State Recreation Area Alaska Native religion Kobuk River Inuit languages Fairway Rock Wrangell Bombardment Tanana Athabaskans Volcanic history of the Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province Richard Proenneke Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport Tom Anderson (politician) Yup'ik clothing Red Dog mine Utqiagvik, Alaska St. Lawrence Island Wildlife of Alaska Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Alaska Highway Diomede, Alaska Denali National Park and Preserve COVID-19 pandemic in Alaska LGBT rights in Alaska Alaska marmot Eskimo Selected picture - Near Little Port Walter in Southeast Alaska. Photo credit: Commander John Bortniak General images The following are images from various Alaska-related articles on Wikipedia. Buildings burning after the first Japanese attack on Dutch Harbor, June 3, 1942. (from History of Alaska) Kenai River on the Kenai Peninsula (from Geography of Alaska) Köppen climate types of Alaska (from Geography of Alaska) Nushagak River in Southwest Alaska (from Geography of Alaska) Propaganda poster, World War II, depicting Alaska as a death trap for Japan. (from History of Alaska) 1860 map of Russian America (from History of Alaska) Near Little Port Walter in Southeast Alaska (from Geography of Alaska) The check that paid for Alaska (from History of Alaska) Earthquake damage in Anchorage (from History of Alaska) An Inupiaq woman, Nome, Alaska, c. 1907 (from History of Alaska) Alaska's area compared to the 48 contiguous states (from Geography of Alaska) Matanuska Glacier (from Geography of Alaska) Map of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline (from History of Alaska) Aleksandr Baranov, "Lord of Alaska" (from History of Alaska) Alaska in 1895 (Rand McNally). The boundary of southeastern Alaska shown is that claimed by the United States before the conclusion of the Alaska boundary dispute. (from History of Alaska) Ketchikan, one of the places affected by COVID-19 during the 2020 outbreak in Alaska (from History of Alaska) Miners and prospectors climb the Chilkoot Trail during the Klondike Gold Rush. (from History of Alaska) Alaska has more acreage of public land owned by the federal government than any other state. (from Geography of Alaska) St. Michael's Cathedral in Sitka. The original structure, built in 1848, burned down in a fire on January 2, 1966. The cathedral was rebuilt from plans of the original structure and contains artifacts rescued from the fire. (from History of Alaska) Spanish contact in British Columbia and Alaska (from History of Alaska) Oil pooled on rocks on the shore of Prince William Sound after the oil spill. (from History of Alaska) Mount Sanford in the Wrangell Mountains (from Geography of Alaska) Calving glacier (from Geography of Alaska) Recognized content Featured articles Akutan Zero Alaska-class cruiser Cutthroat trout Inuit clothing Bob Marshall (wilderness activist) Polar bear Rainbow trout Rampart Dam Last voyage of the Karluk Good articles 1973 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election 2008 Tanana Valley flood USS Alaska (CB-1) Alaska marmot Typhoon Ampil (2024) Mount Aniakchak Lake Atna Balto Laura Bergt Binky (polar bear) Frederick Russell Burnham Mount Churchill Mount Cleveland (Alaska) Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System Eskimo (1933 film) Espenberg volcanic field Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Glacier Bay Basin Curtis Glencross Mike Gravel Joseph Hazelwood History of Fairbanks, Alaska History of Inuit clothing Hope Highway Kaktovik numerals Jean Keene Klondike Gold Rush KYUR Maritime fur trade Military history of the Aleutian Islands Mount Okmok Colton Parayko Portage Glacier Highway The Proposal (2009 film) Mount Redoubt Research on Inuit clothing Rika's Landing Roadhouse Salmon Creek Dam Stikine River Jeremy Swayman Kenneth M. Taylor The Alaska Socialist Trans-Alaska Pipeline System White-tailed ptarmigan Willow ptarmigan Featured pictures 1971-CANNIKIN-2 2010-kodiak-bear-1 Alaska Purchase (hi-res) Alaska wild berries Anchorage White Raven Heinrich Berann NPS Panorama of Denali without labels Malaspina-panorama-no-type MtRedoubtedit1 Parque estatal Chugach, Alaska, Estados Unidos, 2017-08-22, DD 94 Russian-American Co - 1 Ruble (7559) Whales Bubble Net Feeding-edit1 Yukon Delta Former featured pictures Grizzly Denali edit Related Portals  Alaska •  Puerto Rico •  Hawaii •   Oklahoma •  Arizona •  California  •  Florida •  Illinois  •  Indiana •  Kansas •  Maryland •  Michigan •  Mississippi •  Nevada •  New Jersey •  New York •  Ohio •  Oregon •  Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) •  Texas •  Utah •  Virginia American football • Baseball •  • North America  Canada •  Russia Related WikiProjects Alaska U.S. States  Alaska Project Divisions People Physical geography History Economy Communities Government Transportation Culture Alaska Natives State facts Nicknames: The Last Frontier, Land of the Midnight Sun, Land of the Noonday Moon, Seward's Folly Capital: Juneau Governor: Michael J. Dunleavy (R) Lieutenant Governor Kevin Meyer (R) Attorney General: Kevin G. Clarkson Senators: Dan Sullivan (R), Lisa Murkowski (R) Representatives: Mary Peltola (D) Total area: 663,268 mi2 Land: 571,936 mi2 Water: 91,332 mi2 Highest elevation: 20,310 ft (Denali) Population 741,894 (2016 est) Admission to the Union: January 3, 1959 (49th) State symbols: Dog: Alaskan Malamute Bird: Willow Ptarmigan Insect: Four-spot Skimmer Dragonfly Colors: None Fish: King Salmon Flower: Alpine Forget-me-not Gem: Jade Sport: Dog Mushing Songs: Alaska's Flag Tasks Open tasks for Wikipedia:WikiProject Alaska. Edit or discuss these tasks. Shortcuts: Recent changes | Categories | History Urgent: An editor in Alaska able/willing to actively work with the Wikipedia Ambassador Program to provide direction/oversight for any articles within the project which are being improved upon under the program. To Rate: Unassessed Alaska articles, Unknown-importance Alaska articles To Nominate at WP:FAC: To Improve to Featured standard: Alaska, Anchorage, Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, Juneau, Alaska, History of Alaska Collaboration: To Expand: Category:Alaska stubs, Alaskeros, Sheldon Jackson, Scouting in Alaska Governor articles: Steve Cowper, Bill Sheffield, Keith Harvey Miller, Waino Edward Hendrickson To Clean up: Diomede Islands To Merge: To Destub: See: Category:Alaska stubs To Deorphan: To Categorize: To Create: Articles on incoming (2019) legislators (and updating outgoing ones), Articles for new 2010 Census CDPs: Badger, Alaska, Chena Ridge, Alaska, Eureka Roadhouse, Alaska, Farmers Loop, Alaska, Goldstream, Alaska, Loring, Alaska, Point Possession, Alaska, South Van Horn, Alaska, Steele Creek, Alaska, Whitestone, Alaska Lists to de-redlink: List of mayors of Anchorage DoneDavid chamberlain (talk) 20:49, 2 February 2014 (UTC) Lists to complete: List of mayors of Fairbanks, Alaska Wanted Pics/Graphics: Wanted New Pics: See Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in Alaska Common mistakes to avoid (and correct): Knik, Alaska, the ghost town, and Knik River, Alaska, the CDP, are not the same place. In fact, they are approximately an hour's drive away from each other. Despite its name of "City and Borough of Yakutat," this entity is a borough, not a consolidated city-borough. See the talk page (or archives of same) of WP:ALASKA, or of the articles in question, for more information. Maintain: add {{WikiProject Alaska}} to the talk pages of Alaska-related articles and add the articles to Wikipedia:WikiProject Alaska/Recent changes (if not done already by a bot) so related changes link works. 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