The flag of Alaska
JOINED UNION: January 3, 1959
STATE BIRD: Willow Ptarmigan
STATE FLOWER: Forget-me-not
MEANING OF STATE NAME: Based on Eskimo word “Alakshak” meaning “great lands” or “peninsula”
1992 POPULATION: 586,872
RANK FOR POPULATION: 48
LAND AREA: 570,373 square miles
RANK IN SIZE IN UNION: 1
ECONOMY: Oil, gas, tourism, commercial fishing, lumber
HISTORY: Native Eskimo and Aleut tribes inhabited the area before it was discovered by Vitus Bering, a Dane exploring for the Russians, in 1741. America bought Alaska from Russia in 1867. Gold was discovered in 1896 and the following Gold Rush drew many people — mostly men — to the area. Discoveries of oil and natural gas in 1968 led to a gold rush of another sort — one to plumb these natural resources. The Trans-Alaska pipeline was built and completed in 1977 at a cost of $7.7 billion. The wealth of income from the sale of oil led Alaska to give money back to all its tax-paying residents. An oil spill by an Exxon tanker in Prince William Sound in 1989 damaged pristine coastline and led to battles between environmentalists and the oil industry. The beautiful scenery, many national parks, and wildlife are Alaska’s main natural resources and tourist attractions.