This Day in History: January 3, 1959

Alaska, The Last Frontier,
aka Land of the Midnight Sun

L is for Last Frontier - An Alaska Alphabet Book

Alaska's nickname is The Last Frontier. The state motto of Alaska is North to the Future, which was adopted in 1967 during the Alaska Purchase Centennial. The motto is meant to represent Alaska as a land of promise. Another nickname for Alaska is Land of the Midnight Sun. This nickname refers to Alaska's northern locations where, for a period of time in the summer, the sun never completely dips below the horizon. The sun is visible at midnight!

http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/sc/web/series/701/aerial-america/3399507/alaska

Aerial America: Alaska

It's twice the size of Texas, features 16 of the 20 tallest mountains in the nation and is home to the biggest earthquake of the 20th century. Everything about Alaska is larger, tougher, and more extreme than any other state. This breathtaking two-part journey soars over its one-half million square miles of winter wonderland and shows why countless adventurers have come to the 49th State over the centuries in search of gold, silver, mountain-peak views, dog-sledding glory, and more.

Starting in the 1890s and stretching in some places to the early 1910s, gold rushes in Alaska and the nearby Yukon Territory brought thousands of miners and settlers to Alaska. Alaska was officially incorporated as an organized territory in 1912. Alaska's capital, which had been in Sitka until 1906, was moved north to Juneau. Alaska is in the farthest northwest extremity of the North American continent. It was purchased from Russia on March 30, 1867 for $7.2 million, which equates to approximately 2 cents per acre. Alaska became the 49th state in the USA on January 3, 1959.

Alaska is located in the northwest extremity of the North American continent.

Alaska's size compared with the 48 contiguous states.

Alaska State Flag
This beautiful flag was chosen from a flag-designing contest.
It was designed in 1926 by a 13-year-old Native American boy named Bennie Benson.
Bennie was from the village of Chignik;
he won a 1,000-dollar scholarship and a watch for winning the contest.


Alaska Great Seal

U.S. State Birds en.wikipedia.org

Alaska State Bird: Willow Ptarmigan

http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Alaska/AlaskaStateDogMalamute.html

Alaska State Dog: Alaskan Malamute

The Alaskan Malamute was designated the official state dog of Alaska on April 18th, 2010, thanks to the efforts of students at Polaris K-12 School in Anchorage (guided by teachers Terry Powers, Jamie Rodriguez, and Carol Bartholomew). Dog mushing was recognized as the official state sport of Alaska in 1972.

In the Alaskan Malamute’s 5000 plus years in North America, it's been involved in every important era of Alaska's history.


Alpine forget-me-not; photo by Mike65ie on Flickr (noncommercial use permitted with attribution / share alike). Alaska State Flower: Forget-me-not The Forget-me-not is the state's official flower and bears the same blue and gold as the state flag. Source: en.wikipedia.org

For all State Symbols of Alaska click HERE!

A contemporary version of the state song of Alaska. Lyrics by Marie Drake - Melody by Elinor Dusenbury - Sung by Adele Morgan. Alaska Flag Day (July 9th) was established to pay tribute to our state's flag designer, 13-year old Aleut orphan Benny Benson, and his two-colored flag. It celebrates the first time Alaska's flag was unfurled over the Jesse Lee Home (orphanage) in Seward. Benny was living at the orphanage when he designed the eight stars of gold on a field of blue as part of a state-wide contest for school children. Buildings, roads and schools are named in his honor.