Alaska
In 2013, archaeologist Ben Potter unearthed the remains of a six-week-old infant at the Upward Sun River site in the Tanana Valley. DNA analysis revealed this child belonged to a population known as Ancient Beringian, genetically distinct from other Native groups present elsewhere in the New World during the end of the Pleistocene epoch. This discovery provided concrete evidence for the settlement of North America via the Bering land bridge, confirming that Indigenous peoples had occupied Alaska for thousands of years before European contact arrived.
The Tlingit people developed a complex society with a matrilineal kinship system governing property inheritance and descent across what is now Southeast Alaska, parts of British Columbia, and the Yukon. The Haida, also located in Southeast, became renowned for their unique artistic traditions. In 1887, President Grover Cleveland granted permission for the Tsimshian people to settle on Annette Island, where they founded the town of Metlakatla after migrating from British Columbia.
Smallpox outbreaks ravaged these communities from the late 18th through the mid-19th century. The most devastating epidemics struck in the 1830s and 1860s, causing high fatalities and profound social disruption among all three major Pacific Northwest Coast cultures.
Some researchers believe the first Russian settlement in Alaska was established in the 17th century when several koches of Semyon Dezhnyov's expedition came ashore by storm. Chukchi geographer Nikolai Daurkin visited the region between 1764 and 1765, reporting on a village populated by bearded men who prayed to icons along the Kheuveren River. Modern scholars associate this river with the Koyuk River, though the hypothesis remains debated.
The first European vessel to reach Alaska is generally held to be the St. Gabriel under surveyor M.S. Gvozdev and navigator I. Fyodorov on the 21st of August 1732. In 1741, Vitus Bering led an expedition for the Russian Navy aboard the St. Peter, returning with sea otter pelts judged to be the finest fur in the world. This discovery sparked small associations of fur traders sailing from Siberia toward the Aleutian Islands.
The first permanent European settlement was founded in 1784. Between 1774 and 1800, Spain sent expeditions to assert claims over the Pacific Northwest, establishing a fort in Nootka Sound in 1789. These Spanish efforts gave names to places like Valdez, Bucareli Sound, and Cordova. The Russian-American Company later carried out an expanded colonization program during the early-to-mid-19th century, making Sitka, renamed New Archangel from 1804 to 1867, the capital of Russian America.
Starting in the 1890s and stretching into the early 1910s, gold rushes brought thousands of miners and settlers to Alaska and the nearby Yukon Territory. From 1879 to 1920, Alaska produced a cumulative total of over $460 million in mineral production. In 1912, Alaska was incorporated as an organized territory, moving its capital north from Sitka to Juneau that same year.
Construction of the Alaska Governor's Mansion began in 1912 when the capital moved to Juneau. European immigrants from Norway and Sweden settled in southeast Alaska, entering the fishing and logging industries. Legislation allowing Alaskan communities to legally incorporate as cities arrived in 1900, though home rule remained extremely limited until statehood took effect in 1959.
For most of Alaska's first decade under the United States flag, Sitka was the only community inhabited by American settlers. They organized a provisional city government, which served as Alaska's first municipal government but lacked legal status. A federal district court was headquartered in Sitka during this period of military governance before the transition to territorial status.
During World War II, the Aleutian Islands Campaign focused on Attu, Agattu, and Kiska, all occupied by the Empire of Japan. An American civilian and two U.S. Navy personnel were killed at Attu and Kiska respectively during the fighting. Almost 50 Aleut civilians and eight sailors were interned in Japan, with about half dying during the period of captivity.
Unalaska/Dutch Harbor and Adak became significant bases for the U.S. Army, Air Forces, and Navy. The construction of these military bases contributed to population growth in some Alaskan cities. The U.S. Lend-Lease program involved flying American warplanes through Canada to Fairbanks and then Nome, where Soviet pilots took possession to ferry them against the German invasion of the Soviet Union.
The Battle of Attu occurred in May 1943, marking one of the few times enemy soil was fought upon within the United States. U.S. troops navigated snow and ice during these operations, facing harsh conditions that tested their endurance alongside combat readiness.
Statehood for Alaska gained momentum following a territorial referendum in 1946, leading to the formation of the Alaska Statehood Committee and Constitutional Convention. James Wickersham championed statehood early in his tenure as congressional delegate, but political battles continued within Congress until approval on the 7th of July 1958. Alaska was officially proclaimed a state on the 3rd of January 1959, becoming the 49th state of the union.
On the 27th of March 1964, the Good Friday earthquake killed 133 people and destroyed villages and portions of large coastal communities. This event ranked as the fourth-most-powerful earthquake in recorded history with a moment magnitude of 9.2. The quake lasted four minutes and 38 seconds, rupturing fault lines and releasing stress buildup accumulated over 500 years.
Soil liquefaction, fissures, landslides, and ground failures caused major structural damage across several communities. Anchorage sustained great destruction to inadequately engineered houses and infrastructure along Knik Arm landslide zones. In Prince William Sound, Port Valdez suffered an underwater landslide killing 32 people between harbor collapse and shipboard deaths.
The 1968 discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay and the 1977 completion of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System triggered an economic transformation. Royalty revenues from oil have funded large state budgets since 1980, creating financial independence for the region. The pipeline can transport up to 2 million barrels of crude oil per day, more than any other U.S. pipeline.
In 1989, the Exxon Valdez hit a reef in Prince William Sound, spilling over 11 million gallons of crude oil along hundreds of miles of coastline. This disaster highlighted tensions between development philosophies and conservation efforts that continue today regarding Arctic National Wildlife Refuge drilling and proposed mining projects like Pebble Mine.
Tourism became popular after World War II when military personnel returned home praising Alaska's natural splendor. The Alcan Highway built during the war and the Alaska Marine Highway System completed in 1963 made the state more accessible. Today more than 1.4 million people visit annually, contributing significantly to the economy alongside resource extraction industries.
Alaska is the largest U.S. state by area, covering more total space than Texas, California, and Montana combined. It contains four of the five largest cities in the United States by area, including Juneau as the state capital. Anchorage remains the most populous city with approximately half the state's residents living within its metropolitan area.
The climate varies dramatically across regions. Southeastern Alaska experiences a mid-latitude oceanic climate with cool summers and mild winters averaging over 100 inches of precipitation annually. Fairbanks sees subarctic conditions where temperatures can fall below minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit in winter yet reach into the 90s during short summers.
Utqiajvik, formerly known as Barrow, stands as the northernmost city in the United States located on the North Slope tundra. Even in July, average low temperatures there remain around 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Glacier ice covers about 28 percent of Alaska, with the Bering Glacier being the largest in North America at 1,760 square miles.
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Common questions
When was the six-week-old infant discovered at the Upward Sun River site in Alaska?
Archaeologist Ben Potter unearthed the remains of a six-week-old infant at the Upward Sun River site in 2013. DNA analysis revealed this child belonged to a population known as Ancient Beringian, genetically distinct from other Native groups present elsewhere in the New World during the end of the Pleistocene epoch.
Who founded the town of Metlakatla on Annette Island in Alaska?
President Grover Cleveland granted permission for the Tsimshian people to settle on Annette Island in 1887. The Tsimshian people migrated from British Columbia and founded the town of Metlakatla after receiving this authorization.
What date did the first European vessel reach Alaska according to historical records?
The first European vessel to reach Alaska is generally held to be the St. Gabriel under surveyor M.S. Gvozdev and navigator I. Fyodorov on the 21st of August 1732. This event marks the earliest confirmed European contact with the region documented by historians.
When was Alaska officially proclaimed a state of the union?
Alaska was officially proclaimed a state on the 3rd of January 1959, becoming the 49th state of the union. Political battles continued within Congress until approval on the 7th of July 1958 following a territorial referendum in 1946.
How many people died during the Good Friday earthquake that struck Alaska in 1964?
On the 27th of March 1964, the Good Friday earthquake killed 133 people and destroyed villages and portions of large coastal communities. This event ranked as the fourth-most-powerful earthquake in recorded history with a moment magnitude of 9.2.