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Portal:Alaska

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Introduction

The flag of Alaska
Location of Alaska
The seal of Alaska

Alaska (/əˈlæskə/ ə-LASS-kə) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is considered to be the northernmost, westernmost, and easternmost (the Aleutian Islands cross the 180th meridian into the eastern hemisphere) state in the United States. It borders the Canadian territory of Yukon and the province of British Columbia to the east. 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, it is a semi-exclave of the U.S., and is the largest exclave in the world.

Alaska is the largest U.S. state by area, comprising more total area than the following 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. With a population of 740,133 in 2024, it is the most populous territory in North America located mostly north of the 60th parallel, with more than quadruple the combined populations of Northern Canada and Greenland. Alaska contains the four largest cities in the United States by area, including the state capital of Juneau. Alaska's most populous city is Anchorage. 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 $162 million in 2024. 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 of Alaska is federally-owned land containing national forests, national parks, and wildlife refuges. It is among the most irreligious states and one of the first to legalize recreational marijuana. 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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Earp at about age 39

Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was a lawman in the American West, involved in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which he and other lawmen killed three outlaws. While Wyatt is usually depicted as the key figure in the shootout, his brother Virgil was Deputy U.S. Marshal, Tombstone City Marshal, and had decided to enforce a city ordinance prohibiting carrying weapons and disarm the Cowboys. Wyatt was an assistant marshal to his brother.

In 1874, Earp arrived in the boomtown of Wichita, Kansas, where his reputed wife opened a brothel. Wyatt was arrested more than once for his presence in a brothel, where he may have been a pimp. He was appointed to the Wichita police force and developed a good reputation as a lawman, but was "not rehired as a police officer" after a physical altercation with a political opponent of his boss. Earp left Wichita, following his brother James to Dodge City, Kansas, where his brother's wife Bessie and Earp's common-law wife Sally operated a brothel. He became an assistant city marshal. In 1878, he went to Texas to track down an outlaw, Dave Rudabaugh, and met John "Doc" Holliday, whom Earp credited with saving his life.

Earp moved between boom towns. He left Dodge in 1879 and moved with brothers James and Virgil to Tombstone where a silver boom was underway. The Earps held law enforcement positions that put them in conflict with an outlaw group known as the "Cowboys", who threatened to kill the Earps on several occasions. The conflict escalated, culminating in the shootout at the O.K. Corral in 1881, where the Earps and Doc Holliday killed three Cowboys. During the next five months, Virgil was ambushed and maimed, and Morgan murdered. Wyatt, Warren Earp, Doc Holliday, and others formed a federal posse that killed three more Cowboys whom they thought responsible. Wyatt was never wounded in any of the gunfights, unlike brothers Virgil and Morgan or Doc Holliday, which added to his mystique after his death. (Full article...)

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An F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 18th Aggressor Squadron flies over Eielson AFB during 2009. The base's largest hangar, known as the "Thunderdome," is visible in the bottom left of the image.

Eielson Air Force Base (IATA: EIL, ICAO: PAEI, FAA LID: EIL) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located approximately 26 miles (42 km) southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, and just southeast of Moose Creek, Alaska. It was established in 1943 as Mile 26 Satellite Field and redesignated Eielson Air Force Base on 13 January 1948. It has been a Superfund site since 1989. Eielson AFB was named in honor of polar pilot Carl Ben Eielson.

Its host unit is the 354th Fighter Wing (354 FW) assigned to the Eleventh Air Force of the Pacific Air Forces. The 354 FW's primary mission is to support RED FLAG-Alaska, a series of Pacific Air Forces commander–directed field training exercises for U.S. Forces, joint offensive counter-air, interdiction, close-air support, and large force employment training in a simulated combat environment. These exercises are conducted on the Joint Pacific Alaskan Range Complex (JPARC) with air operations flown out of Eielson and its sister installation, Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson (the former Elmendorf Air Force Base).

Eielson projects to have 54 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II combat aircraft assigned to the installation, of which the first two aircraft arrived on 21 April 2020. The last of the aircraft arrived in April 2022. The planes come with an estimated 3,500 personnel, to include airmen and their families as well as civilian personnel. The F-35 program increases the number of military personnel at Eielson by approximately 50%, which is a significant change for a base once on the brink of closure. (Full article...)

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Blanket toss during Nalukataq in Barrow, Alaska

Photo credit: Floyd Davidson

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

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State facts

  • 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 (49th)

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