Alaska’s name is based on the Eskimo word Alakshak meaning great lands or peninsula.

Alaska is as big as England, France, Italy and Spain combined.Alaska is 586,400 square miles.

Alaska has the lowest population density in the entire United States. The total population of the state is just under 700,000.

More than half the world’s active glaciers are in Alaska.The interior of Alaska has over 50,000 glaciers, 3,000 rivers and three million lakes.

Alaska contains 17 of the 20 highest peaks in The United States.

The capital of Alaska is Juneau, the only capital city in the United States that is accessible by boat or plane only.

The lowest temperature ever recorded in Alaska was -80F (-62C).

Alaska is divided into three regions: the Pacific Mountain, the Interior, and the Arctic.
Dog mushing is the official state sport. The Alaska Legislature adopted it in 1972.