Earthquakes: The strongest earthquake in North America happened in Alaska 40 years ago. Alaska has approximately 5000 earthquakes every year. Of the 10 strongest in the world, 3 happened in Alaska.
Rivers: The Yukon River is 2,000 miles long and is the 3rd longest river in the United States. There are more than 3,000 rivers in Alaska and over 3 million lakes.
Glaciers: Alaska has 100,000 glaciers, ice fields that began in the ice age, thousands of years ago.
Volcanoes: There are 70 active volcanoes in Alaska.
Transportation: Flying is the best way to get around in Alaska because most of Alaska does not have roads. In the winter people use snowmobiles and dog sleds. Another name for dog sledding is called "Dog Mushing" and there are races every year. The longest race is called the Iditarod and is 1,049 miles long.
Daylight: The farther you travel toward the north pole, the longer the days are in the summer and the shorter they are in the winter. In the summer, Alaska is light nearly all the time. In Barrow, Alaska, the sun does not go down for 84 days! In Alaska this is called the "Midnight Sun." But in the winter it is always dark. In Barrow, Alaska, there is 64 days with no daylight.
Land: Alaska is 488 times bigger than Prince Edward Island.
Population: 550,000 and 350,000 of these people live in Anchorage (about 2.5 hours from Talkeetna).
Capital City: Juneau, with a population of 30,684.
Hot Springs: Hotsprings are naturally occuring pools of warm water that people swim in. They are everywhere in Alaska.
Glaciers: Formed from ice age, thousands of years ago, Alaska has 75,000 square kilometers of glacial ice.
Northern Lights: Also called "Aurora Borealis" these are tall green curtains of lights, red tipped at their bottoms, stretching across the sky. They ripple and sway, fold and unfold, then suddenly disappear and come back in a new shape.
Bears: Alaska is bear territory! Polar bears (1,400 pounds), Black Bears (400 pounds), Brown Bears 1,100 pounds).
State Nick Name: "The Last Frontier"
State Motto: North to the Future
Houses: Most people do not live in igloos, but a lot of people live without water and electricity.
Gem: Alaska's state gem is jade. In the town of Seward, there is an entire mountain of jade.
Of the 20 highest mountains in the United States, 17 are in Alaska. Mt. McKinley is the highest mountin in North America and is 20,320 feet high.
Flag of Alaska. The blue field is for the sky and the forget-me-not, the state flower. The North Star is for the future of the state of Alaska. The dipper is for the Great Bear, symbolizing strength
This is Talkeetna! It is at the end of a dead-end road and is the closest town to Mt. McKinley. There are 775 people living in Talkeetna. Did you see the movie "Snow Dogs?" It was filmed in Talkeetna, but they called it "Tolketna" in the movie.
