Portal:Alaska References

Introduction

Alaska ( /əˈlæskə/ ^ⓘ ə-LASS-kə) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. It is in the Western United States region. To the east, it borders Canada (the Yukon territory and the province of British Columbia). It shares a western maritime border, in the Bering Strait, with Russia's Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. The Chukchi and Beaufort Seas of the Arctic Ocean lie to the north and the Pacific Ocean lies to the south. Technically a semi-exclave of the U.S., it is the largest exclave in the world.

Alaska is the largest U.S. state by area, comprising more total area than the next three largest states of Texas, California and Montana combined, and is the seventh-largest subnational division in the world. It is the third-least populous and most sparsely populated U.S. state, but is, with a population of 736,081 as of 2020, the continent's most populous territory located mostly north of the 60th parallel, with more than quadruple the combined populations of Northern Canada and Greenland. The state contains the second-largest and largest cities in the United States by area: the state capital of Juneau, and its former capital, Sitka, respectively. The state's most populous city is Anchorage and approximately half of Alaska's residents live within its metropolitan area.

Indigenous people have lived in Alaska for thousands of years, and it is widely believed that the region served as the entry point for the initial settlement of North America by way of the Bering land bridge. The Russian Empire was the first to actively colonize the area beginning in the 18th century, eventually establishing Russian America, which spanned most of the current state, and promoted and maintained a native Alaskan Creole population. The expense and logistical difficulty of maintaining this distant possession prompted its sale to the U.S. in 1867 for US$7.2 million (equivalent to $157 million in 2023). The area went through several administrative changes before becoming organized as a territory on May 11, 1912. It was admitted as the 49th state of the U.S. on January 3, 1959.

Abundant natural resources have enabled Alaska—with one of the smallest state economies—to have one of the highest per capita incomes, with commercial fishing, and the extraction of natural gas and oil, dominating Alaska's economy. U.S. Armed Forces bases and tourism also contribute to the economy; more than half the state is federally-owned land containing national forests, national parks, and wildlife refuges. It is among the most irreligious states, one of the first to legalize recreational marijuana, and is known for its libertarian-leaning political culture, generally supporting the Republican Party in national elections. The Indigenous population of Alaska is proportionally the second highest of any U.S. state, at over 15 percent, after only Hawaii. ( Full article...)

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Robert Marshall (January 2, 1901 – November 11, 1939) was an American forester, writer and wilderness activist who is best remembered as the person who spearheaded the 1935 founding of the Wilderness Society in the United States. Marshall developed a love for the outdoors as a young child. He was an avid hiker and climber who visited the Adirondack Mountains frequently during his youth, ultimately becoming one of the first Adirondack Forty-Sixers. He also traveled to the Brooks Range of the far northern Alaskan wilderness. He wrote numerous articles and books about his travels, including the bestselling 1933 book Arctic Village.

A scientist with a PhD in plant physiology, Marshall became independently wealthy after the death of his father in 1929. He had started his outdoor career in 1925 as forester with the U.S. Forest Service. He used his financial independence for expeditions to Alaska and other wilderness areas. Later he held two significant public appointed posts: chief of forestry in the Bureau of Indian Affairs, from 1933 to 1937, and head of recreation management in the Forest Service, from 1937 to 1939, both during the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. During this period, he directed the promulgation of regulations to preserve large areas of roadless land that were under federal management. Many years after his death, some of those areas were permanently protected from development, exploitation, and mechanization with the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964.

Defining wilderness as a social as well as an environmental ideal, Marshall promoted organization of a national group dedicated to the preservation of primeval land. In 1935, he was one of the principal founders of The Wilderness Society and personally provided most of the Society's funding in its first years. He also supported socialism and civil liberties throughout his life. ( Full article...)

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The Minnesota Drive Expressway is a 7.560-mile-long (12.167 km) south–north expressway located in the city of Anchorage, Alaska, United States. The expressway includes a small portion of O'Malley Road, which is also built to expressway standards. The highway travels from the southern region of Anchorage northward to North Star neighborhood area, and bisects the community of Spenard. The first section of the highway was constructed around 1950, and the entire highway was upgraded to expressway standards by the year of 1985. The entire length of the expressway is listed on the National Highway System, a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility. ( Full article...)

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Brown bear in Denali National Park

Photo credit: Jean-Pierre Lavoie

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The following are images from various Alaska-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Earthquake damage in Anchorage (from History of Alaska)
Image 2Alaska in 1895 ( Rand McNally). The boundary of southeastern Alaska shown is that claimed by the United States before the conclusion of the Alaska boundary dispute. (from History of Alaska)
Image 3Near Little Port Walter in Southeast Alaska (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 4Map of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline (from History of Alaska)
Image 5 Calving glacier (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 61860 map of Russian America (from History of Alaska)
Image 7Buildings burning after the first Japanese attack on Dutch Harbor, June 3, 1942. (from History of Alaska)
Image 8 Propaganda poster, World War II, depicting Alaska as a death trap for Japan. (from History of Alaska)
Image 9Spanish contact in British Columbia and Alaska (from History of Alaska)
Image 10Alaska's area compared to the 48 contiguous states (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 11Ketchikan, one of the places affected by COVID-19 during the 2020 outbreak in Alaska (from History of Alaska)
Image 12Matanuska glacier (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 13 Mount Sanford in the Wrangell Mountains (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 14 St. Michael's Cathedral in Sitka. The original structure, built in 1848, burned down in a fire on January 2, 1966. The cathedral was rebuilt from plans of the original structure and contains artifacts rescued from the fire. (from History of Alaska)
Image 15The check that paid for Alaska (from History of Alaska)
Image 16An Inupiaq woman, Nome, Alaska, c. 1907 (from History of Alaska)
Image 17Oil pooled on rocks on the shore of Prince William Sound after the oil spill. (from History of Alaska)
Image 18 Nushagak River in Southwest Alaska (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 19Alaska has more acreage of public land owned by the federal government than any other state. (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 20 Köppen climate types of Alaska (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 21 Kenai River on the Kenai Peninsula (from Geography of Alaska)
Image 22Miners and prospectors climb the Chilkoot Trail during the Klondike Gold Rush. (from History of Alaska)
Image 23Aleksandr Baranov, "Lord of Alaska" (from History of Alaska)

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This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot ( talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{ WikiProject Alaska}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.

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Parque estatal Chugach, Alaska, Estados Unidos, 2017-08-22, DD 94
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Alaska	U.S. States
Alaska Project Divisions
People Physical geography History Economy	Communities Government Transportation Culture Alaska Natives

State facts

Nicknames: The Last Frontier, Land of the Midnight Sun, Land of the Noonday Moon, Seward's Folly
Capital: Juneau
Governor: Michael J. Dunleavy (R)
Lieutenant Governor Kevin Meyer (R)
Attorney General: Kevin G. Clarkson

Senators: Dan Sullivan (R), Lisa Murkowski (R)
Representatives: Mary Peltola (D)

Total area: 663,268 mi²
- Land: 571,936 mi²
- Water: 91,332 mi²
Highest elevation: 20,310 ft ( Denali)

Population 741,894 (2016 est)
Admission to the Union: January 3, 1959 (49^th)

State symbols:

Dog: Alaskan Malamute
Bird: Willow Ptarmigan
Insect: Four-spot Skimmer Dragonfly
Colors: None
Fish: King Salmon
Flower: Alpine Forget-me-not
Gem: Jade
Sport: Dog Mushing
Songs: Alaska's Flag

Tasks

Open tasks for Wikipedia:WikiProject Alaska.
Edit or discuss these tasks.

Shortcuts: Recent changes | Categories | History

Urgent: An editor in Alaska able/willing to actively work with the Wikipedia Ambassador Program to provide direction/oversight for any articles within the project which are being improved upon under the program.
To Rate: Unassessed Alaska articles, Unknown-importance Alaska articles
To Nominate at WP:FAC:
To Improve to Featured standard: Alaska, Anchorage, Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, Juneau, Alaska, History of Alaska
Collaboration:
To Expand: Category:Alaska stubs, Alaskeros, Sheldon Jackson, Scouting in Alaska
- Governor articles: Steve Cowper, Bill Sheffield, Keith Harvey Miller, Waino Edward Hendrickson
To Clean up: Diomede Islands
To Merge:
To Destub: See: Category:Alaska stubs
To Deorphan:
To Categorize:
To Create: Articles on incoming (2019) legislators (and updating outgoing ones), Articles for new 2010 Census CDPs: Badger, Alaska, Chena Ridge, Alaska, Eureka Roadhouse, Alaska, Farmers Loop, Alaska, Goldstream, Alaska, Loring, Alaska, Point Possession, Alaska, South Van Horn, Alaska, Steele Creek, Alaska, Whitestone, Alaska
Lists to de-redlink: List of mayors of Anchorage Done David chamberlain ( talk) 20:49, 2 February 2014 (UTC)
Lists to complete: List of mayors of Fairbanks, Alaska
Wanted Pics/Graphics:
Wanted New Pics: See Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in Alaska
Common mistakes to avoid (and correct):
- Knik, Alaska, the ghost town, and Knik River, Alaska, the CDP, are not the same place. In fact, they are approximately an hour's drive away from each other.
- Despite its name of "City and Borough of Yakutat," this entity is a borough, not a consolidated city-borough.

See the talk page (or archives of same) of WP:ALASKA, or of the articles in question, for more information.

Maintain: add {{WikiProject Alaska}} to the talk pages of Alaska-related articles and add the articles to Wikipedia:WikiProject Alaska/Recent changes (if not done already by a bot) so related changes link works.
To expand: Rie Muñoz, Rosita Worl