Portal:Alaska

Introduction

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 also 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. Technically, 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; however, with a population of 740,133 as of 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. The state contains the four largest cities in the United States by area, including the state capital of Juneau. The state'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 $157 million in 2023). 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.

Abundant natural resources have enabled Alaska— with one of the smallest state economies—to have one of the highest per capita incomes, with commercial fishing, and the extraction of natural gas and oil, dominating Alaska's economy. U.S. Armed Forces bases and tourism also contribute to the economy; more than half of the state 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...)

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Cannikin warhead being lowered into test shaft

Amchitka (/æmˈtʃɪtkə/; Aleut: Amchixtax̂;^{[page needed]}) is a volcanic, tectonically unstable and uninhabited island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. It is part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The island, with a land area of roughly 116 square miles (300 km²), is about 42 miles (68 km) long and 1 to 4 miles (1.6 to 6.4 km) wide. The area has a maritime climate, with many storms, and mostly overcast skies.

Amchitka was populated for more than 2,500 years by the Aleut people, but has had no permanent population since 1832. The island has been part of the United States since the Alaska Purchase of 1867. During World War II, it was used as an airfield by US forces in the Aleutian Islands Campaign.

Amchitka was selected by the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) to be the site for underground detonations of nuclear weapons. Three such tests were carried out: Long Shot, an 80-kiloton (330 TJ) blast in 1965; Milrow, a 1-megaton (4.2 PJ) blast in 1969; and Cannikin in 1971 – at 5 Mt (21 PJ), the largest underground test ever conducted by the United States. The tests were highly controversial, with environmental groups fearing that the Cannikin explosion, in particular, would cause severe earthquakes and tsunamis. Amchitka is no longer used for nuclear testing. It is still monitored for the leakage of radioactive materials. (Full article...)

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McGee Airways was an American airline, founded in Anchorage, Alaska, in 1932 by Linious "Mac" McGee. Starting with a single three seat Stinson airplane, the company grew and the fleet of aircraft expanded to seven Stinsons.

Although McGee was an excellent manager, there were two major competitors in Anchorage: Star Air Service and Woodley Airways. There was not enough business to support the three companies, and they were all struggling financially. In 1937 McGee sold the company to Star Air Service.

When Mac McGee sold the company, he began working several mining claims, but was called back to manage Star Air Service on several occasions while they continued to struggle financially. He left the airline business for the last time in 1937 when he arranged to sell Star Air Service to a new group of investors who hoped to make the company a major player in the Alaska airline business. (Full article...)

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Brown bear in Denali National Park

Photo credit: Jean-Pierre Lavoie

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The following are images from various Alaska-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Miners and prospectors climb the Chilkoot Trail during the Klondike Gold Rush. (from History of Alaska)
Image 2Calving glacier (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 3St. 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)
Image 4Aleksandr Baranov, "Lord of Alaska" (from History of Alaska)
Image 5Spanish contact in British Columbia and Alaska (from History of Alaska)
Image 6Nushagak River in Southwest Alaska (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 7Oil pooled on rocks on the shore of Prince William Sound after the oil spill. (from History of Alaska)
Image 8Matanuska glacier (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 9Alaska 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)
Image 10Buildings burning after the first Japanese attack on Dutch Harbor, June 3, 1942. (from History of Alaska)
Image 11Near Little Port Walter in Southeast Alaska (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 12Propaganda poster, World War II, depicting Alaska as a death trap for Japan. (from History of Alaska)
Image 13Alaska has more acreage of public land owned by the federal government than any other state. (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 14Alaska's area compared to the 48 contiguous states (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 15Köppen climate types of Alaska (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 16Map of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline (from History of Alaska)
Image 17Mount Sanford in the Wrangell Mountains (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 18The check that paid for Alaska (from History of Alaska)
Image 19Earthquake damage in Anchorage (from History of Alaska)
Image 20Ketchikan, one of the places affected by COVID-19 during the 2020 outbreak in Alaska (from History of Alaska)
Image 211860 map of Russian America (from History of Alaska)
Image 22Kenai River on the Kenai Peninsula (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 23An Inupiaq woman, Nome, Alaska, c. 1907 (from History of Alaska)

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Recognized content

This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Alaska}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.

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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

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Grizzly Denali edit

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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

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Related WikiProjects


Alaska	U.S. States
Alaska Project Divisions
People Physical geography History Economy	Communities Government Transportation Culture Alaska Natives

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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 (49^th)

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

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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.
To expand: Rie Muñoz, Rosita Worl

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