Alaska (U.S. state)

Alaska is the largest and most northerly of the 50 states in the United States of America. It was the penultimate (49th) state to join the union, in 1959. The name “Alaska” is taken from the language of the Aleut Indians. The city of Juneau is the capital of Alaska, although the name of Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, is probably better known. Alaska’s nickname is “The Last Frontier” and the state motto is “North to the Future”.

Bordering only the Canadian provinces of Yukon Territory and British Columbia, Alaska is noncontiguous to the mainland U.S., that is, it is physically separated from the other states. The only other noncontiguous state is Hawaii. Alaskans refer to the contiguous 48 states as "the lower 48."

Even more than the western United States, something of a frontier mentality lives on in Alaska. Particularly outside of the largest municipalities, Anchorage (2006 pop. est. 278,700) and Fairbanks (2006 pop. est. 86,754), it is difficult to forget that one is surrounded by wilderness.

Climate of Alaska

Because Alaska is so large, its climate is diverse, ranging from oceanic (very wet with less temperature difference between the seasons that other areas) to arctic (extremely cold, with summer daytime temperatures at or just above freezing). As a result of the inhospitable climate and terrain of much of the state, Alaska has relatively little agriculture.