Alaska is the 49 th. and largest state in the United States of America. Separated from the rest of the country by Canada, Alaska lies on the Arctic Circle.
Regions of Alaska
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Southeastern Alaska -- Panhandle & Inland Passage
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Southcentral Alaska -- Anchorage & Kenai Peninsula
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Southwestern Alaska -- Alaskan Peninsula & Aleutian & other islands
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Central Alaska -- Fairbanks
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Arctic Alaska -- Barrow, Nome, Kotzebue
Cities of Alaska
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Anchorage -- Alaska's largest city.
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Barrow -- Northernmost city in the United States
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Deadhorse -- State's oil centre, the production facilities are off limits to visitors
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Dutch Harbor-Unalaska -- Largest community in the Aleutian Islands
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Fairbanks -- Alaska's second largest city
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Homer -- Halibut Fishing Capital of the World, Kachemak Bay State Park, Katmai National Park
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Juneau -- State capital and third largest city.
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Ketchikan -- Alaska's southernmost city and the first Alaska port for northbound cruise-ship travellers.
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Kodiak -- The Island Town
Other tourist destinations in Alaska
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Denali National Park and Preserve - Whether climbing or admiring, the crowning jewel of North America’s highest peak is the awe inspiring 20,320 foot Mount McKinley
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Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve - Traveling through this vast wilderness you will discover craggy ridges, glacier carved valleys and fragile flowers
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Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve - marine wilderness of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve includes tidewater glaciers, snow-capped mountain ranges, ocean coastlines, deep fjords, and freshwater rivers and lakes
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Katmai National Park and Preserve - famous for volcanoes, brown bears, pristine waterways with abundant fish, remote wilderness, and a rugged coastline
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Kenai Fjords National Park - a land where the ice age still lingers
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Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve - Chugach, Wrangell, and Saint Elias mountain ranges converge here in what is often referred to as the "mountain kingdom of North America".
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Yukon - Charley Rivers National Preserve - along the Canadian border in central Alaska
In 1867, the territory of Alaska was purchased from the Russians for $7.2 million (or about 2 cents an acre). For many years people referred to the acquisition as "Seward's Folly", named for Secretary of State William H. Seward (1801-1872) who made the deal. They viewed Alaska as a frozen wasteland, not realizing it would turn out to be one of the United States' richest resources for gold and oil. It took until 1959 for the territory to become a State of the Union.
Text from Wikitravel Alaska where additional general information can be found. Please share your knowledge by editing the pages of Wikitravel.
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