Portal:Alaska

Introduction

Alaska (/əˈlæskə/ ^ⓘ ə-LASS-kə) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. It is in the Western United States region. The only other non-contiguous U.S. state is 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 a semi-exclave of the U.S., it is the largest exclave in the world.

Alaska is the largest U.S. state by area, comprising more total area than the next three largest states of Texas, California, and Montana combined, and is the sixth-largest subnational division in the world. It is the third-least populous and most sparsely populated U.S. state, but is, with a population of 736,081 as of 2020, the continent's most populous territory 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, one of the first to legalize recreational marijuana, and is known for its libertarian-leaning political culture, generally supporting the Republican Party in national elections. 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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Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the fifth-largest airline in North America when measured by scheduled passengers carried. Alaska, together with its regional partners Horizon Air and SkyWest Airlines operates a route network primarily focused on connecting cities along the West Coast of the United States to over 100 destinations in the contiguous United States, Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Mexico.

The airline operates out of five hubs. Its primary hub is Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. Alaska Airlines is a member of Oneworld, the third-largest airline alliance in the world. As of 2020, the airline employs over 16,000 people and has been ranked by J. D. Power and Associates as having the highest customer satisfaction of the traditional airlines for twelve consecutive years. In December 2023, Alaska Airlines announced plans to buy Hawaiian Airlines in a $1.9 billion deal. (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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Cruise ship tourists observing Margerie Glacier in Glacier Bay.

Photo credit: User:Nvvchar

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

Image 1Mount Sanford in the Wrangell Mountains (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 2Kenai River on the Kenai Peninsula (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 3Alaska 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 4Alaska's area compared to the 48 contiguous states (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 5Alaska has more acreage of public land owned by the federal government than any other state. (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 6Earthquake damage in Anchorage (from History of Alaska)
Image 7Matanuska glacier (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 8St. 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 9Spanish contact in British Columbia and Alaska (from History of Alaska)
Image 10The check that paid for Alaska (from History of Alaska)
Image 11Ketchikan, one of the places affected by COVID-19 during the 2020 outbreak in Alaska (from History of Alaska)
Image 12Near Little Port Walter in Southeast Alaska (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 13Propaganda poster, World War II, depicting Alaska as a death trap for Japan. (from History of Alaska)
Image 14Buildings burning after the first Japanese attack on Dutch Harbor, June 3, 1942. (from History of Alaska)
Image 15An Inupiaq woman, Nome, Alaska, c. 1907 (from History of Alaska)
Image 16Map of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline (from History of Alaska)
Image 17Oil pooled on rocks on the shore of Prince William Sound after the oil spill. (from History of Alaska)
Image 18Köppen climate types of Alaska (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 19Aleksandr Baranov, "Lord of Alaska" (from History of Alaska)
Image 20Calving glacier (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 21Miners and prospectors climb the Chilkoot Trail during the Klondike Gold Rush. (from History of Alaska)
Image 221860 map of Russian America (from History of Alaska)
Image 23Nushagak River in Southwest Alaska (from Geography 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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Alaska Purchase (hi-res)
Alaska wild berries
Heinrich Berann NPS Panorama of Denali without labels
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Parque estatal Chugach, Alaska, Estados Unidos, 2017-08-22, DD 94
Russian-American Co - 1 Ruble (7559)
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Yukon Delta

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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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