Facts and more facts.....
FACTOIDS: • Alaska is 586,000 square miles and in the Aleut language, Alaska means “The Great Land”. • Alaska is one-sixth the size of the Lower 48 (the other states of the USA), and with 30,000 miles of coast- line, it has more coastline than the rest of the states combined. • Alaska has 54 million acres dedicated to 17 national parks, which is 13% of the state’s landmass! • There is 29,000 square miles of ICE in Alaska! That is 5% of Alaska! • Alaska celebrates its 50th birthday of being a State in 2009! • Cheechako – describes a new-comer, generally someone who hasn’t spent a winter in Alaska. • Sourdough – Any Alaska or Yukon old-timer. • James Cook first explored Cook Inlet in 1778. He also reached Hawaii that same year. • The Musk Ox has survived since the ice age. It is able to survive the harsh arctic winter temperatures by growing a thick layer of QIVIUT (pronounced Ki-vee-ute) over their entire body. This fine under wool is shed in the spring when it is no longer needed. They have the warmest fur of any animal (8 times warmer than sheep’s wool!) The Musk Ox farm at Palmer is the only place in the world to gather this wool and send it away to be made into something useful (scarves, hats etc). This fibre is one of the warmest and rarest on earth and feels extremely light. • The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Centre is a non – profit organisation dedicated to preserving Alaska’s wildlife through conservation, education and quality animal care (www.awcc.org). The centre takes in orphaned and injured animals year round. Animals that cannot be released back into the wild are given a permanent home there. • Seward is known as the land which has been carved by glaciers and polished by the sea. It has tidewater glaciers that thunder into the sea. • The city of Seward was named for President Lincoln’s Secretary of State, William Henry Seward, the man who engineered the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. • In 1867 the USA paid 7.2 million dollars to Russia for the purchase of Alaska. This was equal to 2 cents per acre (roughly 1 penny per acre). • The Harding Ice field is the largest within the USA boundaries. It spans a massive area of 70 miles long and 30 miles wide. • The Kenai Fjords National Park consists of 600,000 acres! • In Alaska law, motorcyclist must wear a helmet only until they are 18, however any age passenger must always wear a helmet. • Anchorage is home to half of the State of Alaska’s population. • Almost 30,000 Alaskan natives live in the Anchorage area. The largest native village in the State (Eklutna) is found here. • At least 1000 moose live within the Anchorage City Limits! • The 730,000 acre Tetlin Wildlife Refuge produces up to 100,000 ducklings a year. There are also over 186 different bird species here. • In some parts of Alaska there are some days which are considered just TOO COLD for school. Usually the cut off point is around 50-55 degrees F -below zero – BUT – not in TOK, where school goes on no matter what the temperature! (-80 degrees F?!) • A working sled dog needs up to 10,000 calories a day during the Iditarod sled dog race to Nome. Dogs in Alaska traditionally ate dried and frozen salmon during the winter.
Saturday, 29 August 2009 06:42:44 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)      Comments [1]  Alaska