Alaska

State of the USA, separated from the lower, continental US states by Canada and bordered to the south by British Columbia, to the east by the Yukon Territory, to the north by the Beaufort Sea on the Arctic Ocean, to the northwest by the Chukchi Sea and Bering Sea, and to the west by the Gulf of Alaska on the North Pacific Ocean; area 1,481,346 sq km/571,951 sq mi; population (2006) 670,100; capital Juneau. Alaska is the largest state in the USA and one of the least populated. Situated on the northwest extremity of North America, it is separated from Russian East Asia by the 80 km-/50 mi-wide Bering Strait. Alaska's Aleutian Island chain extends in a long east–west arc across the North Pacific from the Alaska Peninsula. The name Alaska is derived from the Aleut ‘alaxsxaq’, meaning ‘the mainland’. Historically and commercially the state has been associated with mineral exploitation, and Alaska continues to produce oil, natural gas, coal, copper, iron, gold, and tin. The lumber, fur, and tourist industries are also important; tourists outnumber the resident population each year. Fishing and canning, particularly salmon, are key activities. The port of Anchorage on the Gulf of Alaska is the most populous city; other major ports are Seward; Skagway; Ketchikan, Revillagigedo Island; Kodiak, Kodiak Island; the former Russian fur trading capital of Sitka, Baranof Island; Dutch Harbor, Unalaska Island, Whittier, Wrangell, and Valdez. Nome, the main port on the Bering Sea, is blocked by ice in winter. Notable cities include the landlocked former gold town of Fairbanks, home to the University of Alaska; Kenai on the Kenai Peninsula; Wasilla, north of Anchorage; Bethel on the Bering Sea; and Barrow on the Arctic. American Indian peoples, including Aleut and Inuit, make up about 15% of Alaska's population. Alaska was admitted to the Union on 3 January 1959 as the 49th US state.