History & Geography
The state of Alaska was admitted into the union on January 3, 1959,
making it the 49th state and the largest geographic land mass in the
country. The population is approximately 700,000, with a growing number
of Americans who wish to call themselves Alaskans.
The capital city of Juneau attracts a large segments of tourism from the
cruise ships and is home to about 31,000 Alaska residents. Located on
the Gasteneau Channel, this beautify city offers glacier views in and
out of its ports and plenty to see and do in the downtown region. And
though the municipality is somewhat small, there is no shortage on
culture when it comes to the visual and performing arts. The Juneau
Lyric Opera and the Juneau Symphony perform regularly or you may take in
annual events such as the Alaska Folk Festival or the Juneau Jazz and
Classics music festivals. In addition, there are dozens of art
galleries, some of which lay on the walking trail of the famed December
Gallery Walk commencing the first week on the month.
The largest city in Alaska is Anchorage, located up north at an elevation of 102 feet. Anchorage has approximately 300,000 residents and is home to a diverse wildlife population to include moose, Dall sheep, beavers and wolves. Some notable sights to take in include the Alaska Native Heritage Museum, the Oscar Anderson House Museum, and the science discovery center at the Imaginarium.
Although most of the townships in Alaska are small, many of them are included in a well-rounded Alaska tour and have much to offer to the tourism trade. Some of the larger towns with a population of 10,000 to 100,000 include Sarah Palin's home town of Wasila, Fairbanks, and Juneau. Notable towns with less than 10,000 include Ketchikan , the Russian community of Sitka, Kodiak, Valdez, Nome, Hooper Bay, North Pole and more, all playing a vital role in a scenic Alaskan tour.