Alaska Fun Facts
Information About Alaska, Alaska Geography,
and Alaska Schools

The capital of Alaska is Juneau and its largest city is Anchorage. Alaska’s abbreviation is AK. Its unofficial nickname is “The Last Frontier.” Alaska’s state song is “ Alaska’s Flag.” Alaska residents are known as “Alaskans.”

Alaska received its statehood January 3, 1959, and was ranked 48th in population within the United States.

Alaska’s state symbols are the willow ptarmigan as the state bird and the Sitka Spruce as the state tree. The Forget-me-not is Alaska’s state flower. The Alaskan Malamute is the state dog.

Alaska is not bordered by any of the states; it is surrounded by water. The Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, the Beaufort Sea, the Bering Sea, and the Gulf of Alaska are the bordering bodies of water of Alaska. The only land bordering Alaska is Canada.

Alaska is especially known for its oil (petroleum) industry.

There were 106,869 K12 students in the Alaska public schools in 1996. Out of those students 10,670 were first grade students. There were also 7,418 k12 public school teachers in the Alaska public schools system. There were a total of 497 Alaska public schools in 1996. (Source: IES National Center for Education Statistics)