Hello Boys and Girls,

The Iditarod offices will be closed tomorrow, Thursday October 18. In Alaska, many businesses don’t close for Columbus Day so that they can celebrate Alaska Day instead. Alaska Day is the anniversary of the formal transfer of the territory and the raising of the U.S. flag at Sitka on October 18, in 1867.

The United States bought the Alaska territory from the Russian government in 1866, for $72,200,000. This is less than 2 cents per acre for about 600,000 square miles of land. William H. Seward was the United States Secretary of State at that time. Not everyone in government or in the public thought this land sale was a good idea, so it became known as “Seward’s Folly” or “Seward’s Icebox”. When gold was discovered in Alaska, people changed their mind realizing that Alaska was very valuable for many reasons.

The name Alaska come from an Aleut word “Alyeska,” meaning “great land.” Alaska is nicknamed “The Last Frontier.”

Juneau became the capital city in 1906 when the government was transferred from Sitka.

The Alaska State flag has a blue field for the sky, the state’s flower, the forget-me-not, the dipper (Great Bear)for strength, and the North Star representing the state’s future and that it is the most northerly state of the Union. The dipper is for the Great Bear, symbolizing strength.

Boys and Girls, what does your state or country’s flag look like? Do you know what symbols are on your flag and why they are there? You should find this out before your teacher asks you about this!

Every state has symbols. Compare your symbols to these:

• State Motto: “North to the Future”
• State Flower: Forget-Me-Not
• State Tree: Sitka Spruce
• State Bird: Willow Ptarmigan (Tar-mi-gan)
• State Fish: King Salmon
• State Gem: Alaska Jade
• State Mineral: Gold
• State Sport: Dog Mushing

More information for you:

· Square miles: 586,412 square miles or about 365,000,000 acres, making it the largest state in the US.

· Shoreline: 33,904 miles

· Highest mountain: Mount Denali (also known as Mt. McKinley, often called The Mountain) 20, 320 feet. It is the highest mountain in North America.

· Largest city: Anchorage

· Second largest city: Fairbanks

· Most northern place in Alaska and the United States: Point Barrow

· Easternmost and westernmost spot in the USA: Alaska!

There is a lot more I could tell you about Alaska, but you should do some research on your own and learn more about Alaska and compare it with where you live. I really like my home state and I hope that you find it interesting too.

Until next time,

Lots of Tail Wags,

Zuma

Vocabulary words:

Folly

Icebox

Symbol

Websites for additional information:

50 States

Official State of Alaska Information for Students