Alaska: Lonely Planet Travel Video
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Alaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait. Approximately half of Alaska’s 683,478 residents reside within the Anchorage metropolitan area. As of 2009, Alaska remains the least densely populated state of the U.S.
The U.S. Senate approved the purchase of Alaska from the Russian Empire on March 30, 1867, for $7.2 million at two cents per acre, about five cents per hectare. The land went through several administrative changes before becoming an organized territory on May 11, 1912 and the 49th state of the U.S. on January 3, 1959. The name “Alaska” was already introduced in the Russian colonial time, when it was used only for the peninsula and is derived from the Aleut alaxsxaq, meaning “the mainland” or more literally, “the object towards which the action of the sea is directed.” It is also known as Alyeska, the “great land,” an Aleut word derived from the same root.
The United States Census Bureau, as of July 1, 2008, estimated Alaska’s population at 686,293, which represents an increase of 59,361, or 9.5%, since the last census in 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 60,994 people (that is 86,062 births minus 25,068 deaths) and a decrease due to net migration of 5,469 people out of the state.
Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 4,418 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 9,887 people. In 2000 Alaska ranked the 48th state by population, ahead of Vermont and Wyoming (and Washington D.C.). Alaska is the least densely populated state, and one of the most sparsely populated areas in the world, at 1.0 person per square mile (0.42/km²), with the next state, Wyoming, at 5.1 per square mile (1.97/km²). It is the largest U.S. state by area, and the 6th wealthiest (per capita income).
Race and ancestry
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, White Americans made up 69.3% of Alaska’s population. Blacks or African Americans made up 3.5% of Alaska’s population. In addition, American Indians and Alaska Natives were the largest minority group; they made up 15.6% of Alaska’s population. Asian Americans made up 4.0% of Alaska’s population. Pacific Islander Americans made up 0.5% of Alaska’s population. Individuals from some other race made up 1.6% of Alaska’s population while individuals from two or more races made up 5.4% of the state’s population. In addition, Hispanics and Latinos made up 4.1% of Alaska’s population.
In terms of ancestry, German Americans were the largest single ethnic group in Alaska; they made up 16.6% of Alaska’s population and they were the only ethnic group in the state to number over 100,000 members. Irish Americans made up 10.8% of Alaska’s population while English Americans made up 9.6% of the state’s population. Norwegian Americans made up 4.2% of Alaska’s population and French Americans made up 3.2% of the state’s population.
As of the 2005-2007 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, White Americans made up 68.5% of Alaska’s population. Blacks or African Americans made up 3.8% of Alaska’s population. American Indians and Alaska Natives made up 13.4% of Alaska’s population; still remaining the largest minority group. Asian Americans made up 4.6% of Alaska’s population. Pacific Islander Americans remained at 0.5% of the state’s population. Individuals from some other race made up 1.9% of Alaska’s population while individuals from two or more races made up 7.2% of the state’s population. Hispanics or Latinos made up 5.5% of Alaska’s population.
In terms of ancestry, German Americans remained the largest single ethnic group in Alaska; they made up 19.3% of Alaska’s population and were still the only ethnic group in the state with over 100,000 members. Irish Americans made up 12.5% of Alaska’s population while English Americans made up 10.8% of the state’s population. Norwegian Americans remained at 4.2% of Alaska’s population and French Americans made up 3.6% of the state’s population.
According to the 2005-2007 American Community Survey, 84.7% of people over the age of five speak only English at home. About 3.5% speak Spanish at home. About 2.2% speak an Indo-European language other than English or Spanish at home and about 4.3% speak an Asian language at home. And about 5.3% speak other languages at home.
A total of 5.2% of Alaskans speak one of the state’s 22 indigenous languages, known locally as “native languages”. These languages belong to two major language families: Eskimo-Aleut and Na-Dene. As the homeland of these two major language families of North America, Alaska has been described as the crossroads of the continent, providing evidence for the recent settlement of North America via the Bering land bridge.
Alaska has been identified, along with Pacific Northwest states Washington and Oregon, as being the least religious in the U.S. According to statistics collected by the Association of Religion Data Archives, only about 39% of Alaska residents were members of religious congregations. Evangelical Protestants had 78,070 members, Roman Catholics had 54,359, and mainline Protestants had 37,156.
After Catholics and Eastern Orthodox, the largest single denominations are The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons/LDS) with 29,460, Southern Baptists with 22,959, and Orthodox with 20,000. The large Eastern Orthodox (with 49 parishes and up to 50,000 followers) population is a result of early Russian colonization and missionary work among Alaska Natives. In 1795, the First Russian Orthodox Church was established in Kodiak.
Intermarriage with Alaskan Natives helped the Russian immigrants integrate into society. As a result, more and more Russian Orthodox churches gradually became established within Alaska. Alaska also has the largest Quaker population (by percentage) of any state. In 2003 there were 3,000 Jews in Alaska (for whom observance of the mitzvah may pose special problems). Estimates for the number of Alaskan Muslims range from 2,000 to 5,000. Alaskan Hindus often share venues and celebrations with members of other religious communities including Sikhs and Jains.
Alaska has few road connections compared to the rest of the U.S. The state’s road system covers a relatively small area of the state, linking the central population centers and the Alaska Highway, the principal route out of the state through Canada. The state capital, Juneau, is not accessible by road, only a car ferry, which has spurred several debates over the decades about moving the capital to a city on the road system, or building a road connection from Haines. The western part of Alaska has no road system connecting the communities with the rest of Alaska.
One unique feature of the Alaska Highway system is the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, an active Alaska Railroad tunnel recently upgraded to provide a paved roadway link with the isolated community of Whittier on Prince William Sound to the Seward Highway about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Anchorage. At 2.5 miles (4.0 km) the tunnel was the longest road tunnel in North America until 2007. The tunnel is the longest combination road and rail tunnel in North America.
Built around 1915, the Alaska Railroad (ARR) played a key role in the development of Alaska through the 20th century. It links north Pacific shipping through providing critical infrastructure with tracks that run from Seward to Interior Alaska via South Central Alaska, passing through Anchorage, Eklutna, Wasilla, Talkeetna, Denali, and Fairbanks, with spurs to Whittier, Palmer and North Pole. The cities, towns, villages, and region served by ARR tracks are known statewide as “The Railbelt”. In recent years, the ever-improving paved highway system began to eclipse the railroad’s importance in Alaska’s economy.
The railroad, though famed for its summertime tour passenger service, played a vital role in Alaska’s development, moving freight into Alaska while transporting natural resources southward (i.e., coal from the Usibelli coal mine near Healy to Seward and gravel from the Matanuska Valley to Anchorage.)
The Alaska Railroad was one of the last railroads in North America to use cabooses in regular service and still uses them on some gravel trains. It continues to offer one of the last flag stop routes in the country. A stretch of about 60 miles (100 km) of track along an area north of Talkeetna remains inaccessible by road; the railroad provides the only transportation to rural homes and cabins in the area; until construction of the Parks Highway in the 1970s, the railroad provided the only land access to most of the region along its entire route.
In northern Southeast Alaska, the White Pass and Yukon Railroad also partly runs through the State from Skagway northwards into Canada (British Columbia and Yukon Territory), crossing the border at White Pass Summit. This line is now mainly used by tourists, often arriving by cruise liner at Skagway. It featured in the 1983 BBC television series Great Little Railways.
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