Immense, wild, and remote. Out of all the states, Alaska is the one that poses the greatest challenge logistically when planning a trip, but at the same time, it is possible to have some of the most memorable experiences as you travel through the Alaskan wilderness. In this Alaska Travel Guide, you will find all our articles for visiting this beautiful state and for planning your best itinerary.
Contents
Alaska (USA): State Profile
- Area: 663,267 Mi2
- Population: 736,000 inhabitants
- Languages spoken: Mostly English, plus Alaskan Native languages, Tagalog, and Spanish
- Time zone: Alaska falls into 2 time zones: UTC-09 and UTC-10. In the summer, due to daylight savings time, they become UTC-08 and UTC-9
- Date of annexation to the United States: January 3, 1959
Name Etymology, Motto, and Nickname
Alaska means Mainland, or more literally, Object to which the action of the sea is directed. The name is derived from the Aleutian language. This name was used from the Russian colonial period and initially referred only to the Alaskan Peninsula, where indeed the sea is the dominant element. Also nicknamed The Last Frontier, Land of the Midnight Sun, or Seward’s Icebox, Alaska is undoubtedly still mostly unexplored and is one of the most mysterious places in the world. Despite being the first inhabited place on the American continent, its citizens look more to the future than to the past. In fact, the state’s motto is North to the future.
Alaska takes pride in its wildlife, and it is no coincidence that all the state’s symbols are related to nature. It is often remembered for the bears, but the ferocious plantigrades are not the only animals that symbolize it. Actually, the moose has been the mammal representing the great northern state since 1998. However, other animals have been adopted as official symbols for much longer: the king salmon and ptarmigan have been the state fish and bird, respectively, since 1962 and 1955. By contrast, in 1983, Alaska adopted the Arctic whale (better known as the Greenland whale) as the state’s marine mammal, and in 1995, it even adopted a state insect: the four-spotted dragonfly. The oldest symbol of the state of Alaska, the forget-me-not, which has been the state flower since 1917. Why? Its colors, blue and gold, are the same ones as those of the Alaskan flag.
Geography
One only has to take a quick glance at the map to realize that Alaska is a state that covers a territory as vast as it is isolated in the far north of the American continent. These two characteristics combined make it one of the most fascinating, yet at the same time most difficult states to visit in America.
Area and regions of Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the U.S. Texas, which ranks second, is less than half the size. Out of the 49 continental states, Alaska is the only one that does not border any of the others. In fact, Alaska borders the Canadian states of Yukon and British Columbia, and the rest of the state is surrounded by sea. The size of the state, its rugged coastline, and its countless islands mean that Alaska’s coastline is longer than that of all the other U.S. states combined. Compared to other states, Alaska’s land regions are not well defined, but they are divided into six main areas.
- Southeast: Known more commonly as the Inside Passage, this is the region that stretches following the coast toward Washington state, albeit separated by a stretch of Canadian coastline. The capital city of Juneau and many of the major cities are located here, but most of the area of the coastal strip and the archipelago are made up by the Tongass National Forest.
- South Central: This is the central part of the southern coast. It includes Prince William Sound, the Kenai Peninsula, and the entire Matanuska-Susitna Valley. One of the cities in this region is Anchorage, the state’s most populous city.
- Southwest: It encompasses the entire coastal area around the Yukon Delta to the first part of the Alaska Peninsula. The Kodiak Archipelago is also part of this region. It is the least inhabited area of the southern coast.
- Aleutian Islands: They include both the archipelago as well as the second part of the Alaska Peninsula. The Aleutians represent the easternmost offshoot of the American continent, as some of them flow into the Eastern Hemisphere, resulting geographically much closer to the Asian continent.
- Interior: This region occupies the largest area of Alaska, but is largely uninhabited. The main city is Fairbanks, and it is challenging to get around. However, the Alaskan interior offers many natural attractions, the main one being Denali National Park.
- North Slope: This area refers to the northern foothills, where few people, mostly Inupiat, live. Utqiagvik (formerly known as Barrow) is the northernmost city in the United States. Today it is an important area for oil extraction, but there are also attractions such as the Kobuk Valley or the adventurous Dalton Highway.
Geography
The Alaskan territory is largely still wild and unspoiled, partly because of the impervious climate that makes living conditions difficult. Glaciers and volcanoes, tundra, and swamps certainly do not facilitate development. The state is traversed by two mountain ranges, which split the state from east to west and separate the southern and northern coasts, respectively, from the vast inland area. To the south, we find the Alaska Range, which stretches almost all the way along the state’s west coast from Canada. Parallel to it, but north of the Arctic Circle, there is the Brooks Range.
The Alaska Range teems with record-breaking peaks, most notably Mount McKinley, the highest in North America at 20,310 ft. From these peaks, perennial ice moves downstream, and this way, water from countless glaciers reaches the sea. Some glaciers are mammoth, such as those in Wrangell St. Elias National Park or the famous Columbia Glacier. During the winter, even where the ice is not perennial, much of the state is covered by a blanket of snow, and even in summer, conditions are not optimal. In the north, permafrost does not allow much vegetation other than tundra vegetation to grow. In the south-central part of the country, on the other hand, lowland areas are dominated by water. There are more than 3 million lakes in Alaska, and the vast swampy areas are an ideal environment for moose and mosquitoes, but not for humans.
Capital and Major Cities in Alaska
Due to the above-mentioned conditions, most cities are located along the southern coast. The southeast region has the most cities, starting with the capital city of Juneau. Here we also find other prominent cities, such as Sitka, Ketchikan, and Skagway. The state’s largest city, however, is Anchorage, and it is located in the most fertile and mildest part of the country. For this reason, the majority of the Alaskan population lives here. Not far away are also Valdez and Cordova in the Prince William Sound, and Homer, Seward, and Kenai in the Kenai Peninsula.
More inland, the only city is Fairbanks, while all other inhabited areas are small towns. In total, Alaska has less than 740,000 inhabitants, and taking into account its size, it is the least densely populated state in the U.S. and among the least populated places in the world. Since a large proportion of Alaskans live in Anchorage (about 300,000) and other major cities, vast areas are completely uninhabited for hundreds and sometimes thousands of square miles. As a result, private land ownership in Alaska is much lower than in the rest of the U.S.: 65 percent of Alaskan territory is owned by the government.
Climate
Because of the geography of the Alaskan territory, combined with its latitude, Alaska has a decidedly complex climate. Winter is long and harsh in most of the state, and in some areas, summer is only a dream. Even where the summer months are well-defined and the climate is agreeable, the warm season is much shorter than in any other U.S. state. It is obvious that the mountainous areas, the inland area, and the coast each have their own distinct climate. In the article on the best time to visit Alaska, we explained in detail the weather characteristics of the various regions.
Fauna
One of the reasons many tourists travel to Alaska is to see the wild animals that live here undisturbed in huge protected areas. Large mammals such as bears and moose are among the main attractions and it is possible to spot them easily. Bear-watching is very common, and there are countless tours for safely spotting bears in the different national parks. Depending on the area, it is possible to come across many other species, including beavers and otters, caribou and Dahl’s sheep, seals and sea lions. Whales are also a highlight of Alaskan wildlife. Humpback and gray whales, orcas, and Greenland whales are among the most common large marine mammals in these parts, but it is also possible to spot sperm whales, blue whales or other breeds of cetaceans.
Again, boat tours to meet the giants of the sea up close are many and vary depending on the port of departure. The coast and islands, particularly the Aleutians, are a bird-watcher’s paradise, but the mountains of the interior are also home to many birds. Millions of birds of all kinds nest on cliffs or islands, in marshes, or on mountain peaks. There are few places in the world that top Alaska for the diversity of birds, making it an ideal place for taking pictures. Fish, particularly salmon, but also halibut and stingrays make the Alaskan waters popular among fishermen from around the world, who come here for trade or sport fishing. In the Alaska wildlife article, you will find more detailed information about the many animals that inhabit these lands and where to see them.
Getting around Alaska
As mentioned above, the climate and geography of Alaska make it one of the hardest places to build cities and infrastructure. The infrastructure is very limited and connects only a fraction of the cities and towns. The same goes for the railroad: a single line about 466 miles long runs from north to south between Fairbanks and Seward. Towns located in the Inside Passage, as well as ports facing the southern coast, are connected by the Alaska Marine Highway System ferries. Consequently, maritime transportation is integral in the state of Alaska.
For all areas that cannot be reached by these means, one must use airplanes. Small propeller-driven airplanes and seaplanes can take you to most Alaskan towns, as well as many inaccessible areas in the parks. Dog sleds are also not to be underestimated. During the winter months, when snowstorms prevent aircraft from soaring through the air, some places can be reached exclusively by this means. To understand the best ways to get around Alaska depending on the region, you can check out our guide on how to plan a trip to Alaska.
Brief History
The territories that currently make up the state of Alaska were the first to be inhabited on the American continent. Numerous ethnic groups developed in these remote northern lands from the migration across the Bering Strait, once connected by a land bridge, thousands of years ago. The Tlingit people are one of the main ones and they live in southeast Alaska and part of Canada. The Haida and Tsimshian peoples are also present in the southeast. South-central Alaska is inhabited by the Alutiiq and Sugpiaq, while western Alaska is inhabited by the Yup’ik.
In the Aleutian Islands, on the other hand, we find the Aleuts, who have remained among the most developed in autonomy to this day. The northern regions, on the other hand, are home to the Gwich’in (or Athabaskan Alaskans) and the Inupiat people. All these Alaskan Natives peoples, who for centuries lived undisturbed living (depending on the population) on hunting, fishing, or caribou farming, saw their way of life change with the arrival of Russian settlers. It appears that the first Russian settlement dates back to the mid-1600s, but surely the earliest recorded evidence is that of 1732, when the expedition of the Siberian Cossack Shestakov and the Belarusian explorer Pavlutsky reached the Alaskan coast with the geographer Gvozdev on board and documented what they saw.
Vitus Bering, the Danish cartographer who gives his name to the stretch of sea separating Alaska from Russia, arrived here in 1741 while serving in the Russian navy. It was his expedition, which returned home with a ship laden with valuable otter furs, that spurred Russian traders to sail from the Russian Far East to the Aleutian Islands and establish the first European settlement in 1784. At the end of the 18th century, the Spanish arrived, to which we owe the names of some places, such as Cordova and Valdez, but the main colonizers during that century were the Russians, who established Sitka as their capital and whose legacy can be traced to the presence of the Christian Orthodox religion still today.
On March 30, 1867, Alaska was sold by Russia to the United States for $7.2 million. However, it was not until October 18, 1867, that the U.S. flag was formally raised on the peak of Fort Sitka. Indeed, it took some time for the Americans to really begin to settle in the newly acquired state. For the first decade, Sitka was the only town inhabited by American settlers, and it was not until the 1890s that the territory became famous thanks to the Gold Rush. In 1912 Alaska was officially incorporated as an organized territory and the capital became Juneau. Years later, on January 3, 1959, Alaska was declared a state.
Economy
The Alaskan economy is based primarily on natural resources. From ancient times, fauna and flora have been essential to the subsistence of Alaska Natives, and even today, timber from the boundless forests and fish, particularly salmon, are an important part of the economy. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, gold was the country’s main resource, along with other minerals, especially copper. The discovery of oil in 1968 in Prudhoe Bay turned investors’ sights on black gold. Once the Trans-Alaska Pipeline was completed in 1977, the oil boom era began, bringing a significant increase in wealth to Alaska.
Tourism
Tourism has recently begun to develop, but Alaska is becoming an increasingly popular destination. Because of this, tourist services, which are still very scarce in some areas, are growing exponentially, especially in the cruise-ridden coastal locations, but also in the more inland areas. To learn why this state is worth visiting, I recommend you read through our Top 10 things to see in Alaska and our Top 5 experiences to enjoy in Alaska.
Our Articles about Alaska
Below, you will find all our articles dedicated to visiting the state, from things to see, to how to plan the itinerary, where to stay, when to go, and much more…
Tips for organizing the trip
How Much Does it Cost to Go to Alaska? Tips for saving money
When is the Best Time to Go to Alaska? Climate and Temperature Guide
Wondering How to Plan a Trip to Alaska? Here’s Your Complete Trip Planner
Alaska Wildlife: Where to See Bears, Whales and Other Animals
What to Do in Alaska? 5 Activities to Make Your Trip One of a Kind!
Top 10 Places to See in Alaska: the Best Attractions of the State
Recommended Routes and Itineraries
Dalton Highway, Alaska: Rpad trip along the Arctic Circle
Road trip in Alaska: 3 Recommended Itineraries to Explore on Your Own
Inside Passage Itinerary: how to visit the famous natural channel in Alaska
Discover Prince William Sound: things to do, best cruises and tours
Best Places to Visit on the Kenai Peninsula: Homer, Seward, and Other Attractions
Visit Kodiak Island: Discover the Home of the Famous Bear
Visiting the Aleutian Islands and the other attractions of the Alaska Peninsula
Major Cities of Alaska
Things to do in Anchorage: Best Tips for Visiting Alaska’s largest city
Visit Fairbanks Alaska: the City of the Aurora Borealis
Things to Do in Juneau: Discover the capital of Alaska
What to do in Sitka: visiting the historic Russian city in Alaska
Skagway, Alaska: the Best Attractions and Places to Visit
Best Things to Do in Ketchikan: Attractions and Tours of the Misty Fjords
Parks in Alaska
How to Visit Denali National Park? Tips and Best Things to Do
Things to Do in Kenai Fjords National Park, Home of the Most Beautiful Fjords in Alaska
Wrangell St. Elias National Park: Visit America’s Largest Park
Visit Kobuk Valley National Park, a Sea of Dunes in Northern Alaska
How to Visit Katmai National Park, Land of Bears and Volcanoes
