Alaska - the largest state in the United States

                         Alaska - the largest state in the United States

          Alaska is a state in the United States, situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with the international boundary with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait. Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area, the 4th least populous and the least densely populated of the 50 United States.

           Alaska is the largest state in the United States in land area at 586,412 square miles (1,518,800 km2), over twice the size of Texas, the next largest state. Alaska is larger than all but 18 sovereign countries. Counting territorial waters, Alaska is larger than the combined area of the next three largest states: Texas, California, and Montana. It is also larger than the combined area of the 22 smallest U.S. states.

          The  population of Alaska is 732 290 . Alaska Native population includes Eskimos, Indians, and Aleuts. About half of all Alaska Natives are Eskimos. (Eskimo is used for Alaska Natives) About 15% of Alaska Natives are Aleuts.

           The climate in Southeast Alaska is a mid-latitude oceanic climate  in the southern sections and a subarctic oceanic climate in the northern parts .The climate of Western Alaska is determined in large part by the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. It is a subarctic oceanic climate in the southwest and a continental subarctic climate farther north.   The climate of the interior of Alaska is subarctic. Some of the highest and lowest temperatures in Alaska occur around the area near Fairbanks. The summers may have temperatures reaching into the 90 °F (the low to mid 30 °C), while in the winter, the temperature can fall below −60 °F (−51.1 °C).The climate in the extreme north of Alaska is Arctic  with long, very cold winters and short, cool summers. Even in July, the average low temperature in Barrow is 34 °F (1.1 °C).

         Alaska has more than 5,000 glaciers covering 100,000 square miles. There are more active glaciers and ice fields in Alaska than in the rest of the inhabited world. The largest glacier is the Malaspina at 850 square miles. Five percent of the state, or 29,000 square miles, is covered by glaciers.

        Alaska boasts the northernmost (Point Barrow), the easternmost (Semisopochnoi Island in the Aleutians), and the westernmost (Little Diomede Island) points in the United States. This is possible because Alaska straddles the international dateline.

       Oil is big business in Alaska and a major export. The North Slope, a particularly rich area, is under control of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Set aside by President Harding in 1923, periodic lease sales are held by the BLM. Currently there are over 300 oil and gas leases in the area, now called the National Petroleum Alaska Reserve.

      Alaska adopted the flag for official state use in 1959. The blue field represents the sky, the sea, and mountain lakes, as well as Alaska's wildflowers. Emblazoned on the flag are eight gold stars: seven from the constellation Ursa Major, or the Big Dipper. The eighth being the North Star, representing the northern most state. Alaska's flag was designed in 1926 by a 13-year-old Native American boy, Bennie Benson, from the village of Chignik.