About Alaska

The name Alaska comes from the Aleut word "Alyeska," meaning "the great land" or "the mainland," used by the indigenous Unangan people to distinguish the Alaskan mainland from the surrounding islands. Russian explorers and fur traders adopted the name in the 18th century when they established a presence in the region, and it passed into English when the United States purchased the territory from Russia in 1867. Secretary of State William Seward, who negotiated the purchase, was mocked at the time with the nickname "Seward's Folly," but Alaska proved to be anything but.

Alaska is not just the largest state, it is so much larger than everything else that it exists in a category of its own. At 663,268 square miles, it is bigger than the next three largest states combined. If it were a country, it would rank as the 18th largest in the world, just behind Iran.

Yet fewer people live in Alaska than in the city of Memphis, Tennessee. Most of the state has no roads, no power lines, and no running water. Hundreds of communities are accessible only by small plane or boat. In winter, some parts of Alaska see temperatures of −60°F and darkness for months at a time. In summer, the sun doesn't set for weeks.

Alaska's story is one of extraordinary natural wealth, in fish, fur, gold, and oil, and the complicated history of who got to benefit from it. The Indigenous peoples who have lived here for thousands of years, the Russian colonizers, the American government, the oil companies, and the Alaskans who built a modern state in one of the harshest environments on Earth have all shaped it into something genuinely unlike anywhere else in America.