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| The Northern Lights. We're hoping to catch a glimpse of them in the next couple of weeks |
Alaska is such a magnificent piece of real estate, and what a bargain it was at just a little over two cents per acre. The purchase from Russia wasn't real popular at the time the deal was made and was frequently referred to as "Seward's Folly" (William Seward was Andrew Johnson's Secretary of State and the one who negotiated the purchase). It was such a bargain back in 1867 that even in todays prices it would still be less than fifty cents per acre. Oh yeah, and the oil and gas reserves of Alaska are estimated to be worth over $200 billion dollars! No wonder Putin always has such a sour look on his face!
The hotel has a nice section of Alaska Trivia in their directory. Here's a few nuggets (no pun intended) as well as some other tidbits you can use to amaze your friends with your depth of knowledge on Alaska.
- The "Official" State Bird is the Willow Ptarmigan. The "Unofficial" State Bird is the Mosquito.
- The State Sport is Dog Mushing
- The State Fossil is the Wooly Mammoth
- Alaska's population is around 740,000 which works out to one person for every 1.3 square miles
- Anchorage is the largest city with a population of just over 300,000
- The highest temperature recorded in Alaska was 100 at Fort Yukon in 1915
- The lowest recorded temperature was a balmy -80 degrees in Prospect Creek Canyon in 1971
- Fairbanks has the widest temperature spread of any city on earth. Recorded temperatures have ranged from 99 to -66 degrees Fahrenheit
- If the state of Alaska was cut in half Texas would then become the third largest state (land mass)
- The 9.2 Richter Scale earthquake that occurred on Good Friday in 1964 was the largest ever recorded in North America
- Of the twenty tallest mountain peaks in the US, seventeen are in Alaska
- Students from South Naknek ride the nations only flying school bus. The school is on the opposite side of the river in Naknek and there is no connecting bridge. Students are flown across the river at the beginning and end of every school day
- The Trans-Alaska Pipeline is 800 miles in length and can move up to 88,000 barrels of oil per hour
- The Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend is a trust fund that was established for all Alaska residents. There are "rules and restrictions" but annually it pays a subsidy to all full time Alaska residents. The amount varies by years but currently is around $1,500 per year.
- The average hours of daylight in Girdwood in June is nineteen
- The average hours of daylight in Girdwood in December is less than six
- Alyeska recorded a record 283 inches (almost 24 feet) in December, 2006 with over 100 inches falling during the Christmas week (gives new meaning to "White Christmas")
- The Alaska Baseball League is a summer collegiate baseball league. All players must have attended one year of college and have at least one year of eligibility remaining. The league runs from June until early August. It features a game called the "Midnight Sun Classic" that is played at Growden Field in Fairbanks. It is played annually on the longest day of the year. The start time of the game is 10:00 PM which means it finishes after midnight. Lights have never been used for this game!
- Over 300 alumni from the Alaska Baseball League have gone over to play in the major leagues including Barry Bonds, JD Drew, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jason Giambi, Luis Gonzalez, Randy Johnson, Aaron Judge, Tom Sever and Dave Winfield. In his Hall of Fame induction speech Dave Winfield referred to his two years in the Alaska Baseball League as "the best baseball in the country; in the prettiest, most majestic state in the union".
- The North Star Golf Course in Fairbanks is the northern most golf course in the United States.
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| You might find yourself sharing the North Star Golf Course with a moose or two |
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| If a Raven or a Fox steals your ball you are allowed a free drop |
So there you go, a few fun facts about this amazing state! If you ever find yourself on Jeopardy and the category "Alaska Trivia" comes up you should be in pretty good shape.
