Fun Facts: Alaska

Tweet

North America’s highest point, is Mt. McKinley, in the Alaska Range at the height of 20,320’. The first Russian settlement was Three Saints Bay, near Kodiak in 1784 and from then on Russia controlled Alaska until 1867. In that year, Russia sold Alaska to the U.S. for two cents an acre. Russia needed the money to support their Crimean War expenses. In 1878, salmon canning began in Alaska, and became the world’s largest salmon industry. Gold was also discovered in 1861-1903 and copper was found in 1898, so the population began to grow. Oil was then discovered beneath Prudhoe Bay and on Kenai Peninsula in the 1950s and so oil became Alaska’s major industry. The Alaska Pipeline was finished in 1977. And then in 1989, the world’s largest oil spill happened in Prince William Sound, which severely damaged the ecology of the coast. Recovery continues to this day. Anchorage was leveled in 1964 from an earthquake that actually reshaped the panhandle when the land rose 16’ at Cordova and completely destroyed the harbor. Valdez was devastated by a tsunami and the coastline dropped 32’ at Seward and Kodiak. One final note is that Juneau, is the only state capital that lacks highway access. If you want to go to Juneau, you have to go by airplane or sea-plane. Juneau Icefield’s boast 38 glaciers. Picture by Pixabay