Alaska: State Flag, Bird and Facts

About Alaska

No other state covers as much ground. Alaska holds more area than Texas, California and Montana put together, and it counts as the northernmost and westernmost state, plus the easternmost by longitude. Canada lies to the east, and across the Bering Strait sits Russia, so Alaska is closer to Asia than any other part of the country. Juneau is the capital, while Anchorage has the most people.

The flag shows eight gold stars set against dark blue. Seven of them trace the Big Dipper, and the eighth is Polaris, the North Star. Benny Benson of Seward came up with the design, which beat roughly 700 other entries in a 1927 contest. A 2001 survey of flag experts ranked it fifth out of 72 state, provincial and territorial flags. Statehood came in 1959, and the official nickname is The Last Frontier.

Did you know?

• Mount McKinley, also called Denali, tops out at 20,310 feet, the highest point in Alaska.
• By area, the four biggest U.S. cities are all in Alaska, including Juneau.
• Members of Congress once mocked Alaska with nicknames like Icebergia, Walrussia and Seward's Ice Box.