49th State of the United States

Did you know that Alaska was named as the 49th state of the United States in 1959?  That it was purchased for a mere $7.2 million dollars?  That equals to about $.02 an acre.
Alaska has roughly 586,412 square miles - including water and land. If you were to place Alaska into the contiguous United States, Alaska would cover from North to South and spread from Florida to California.  Check out this picture:

This is pretty impressive.

The United States has roughly 312 million people.  Of those 312 million, only a small fraction live in the state of Alaska.  How small of a fraction, you ask?  If I have done my math correctly, less than 1%.  Alaska has roughly 710,000 residents.  Interesting how the largest state is so close to being the state with the fewest people.  (The other 3 states that have less people are North Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming {2010 census}).

Alaska is broken up into five (5) different Regions.

1. Inside Passage - the capital, Juneau, is located in this region and although it is the capital it is not the largest city.
2. South Central - the largest city of the state is in this region, Anchorage.  With close to 300,000 residents, this city is busting out with a lot of different things to do.  Please note: This is the area in which I will be flying into to catch a bus to go the remaining way to the village for the  mission trip.
3. South West - this region is probably most popular to all because of the show, "Deadliest Catch."  This region houses the Alaskan Peninsula and Aleutian Islands as well as famous Dutch Harbor you see on the show.  Probably a great place to do some whale watching.
4. Interior - The second largest city, Fairbanks, is located in this region, which is approximately 167,644 square miles in size.  There are approximately 100,000 residents in this region with only 32,000 of them living in Fairbanks.  That means, close to 70,000 residents are dispersed throughout this region living in small towns or villages.  Please note: This is the region I will be going to on my mission trip.
5. Far North - last but not least, inside of the Arctic Circle is where you will find most all of this region.  If you have followed any of the news  regarding the Russian vessel trying to deliver oil to Nome, then you will be familiar with the Far North.  If you are looking to be cold, chilled, frozen, or any other adjective that describes below 0 temperature, this is a great place to go.  The landscape and beauty of this region is I am sure, breathtaking and stunning.

This is just a brief synopsis of the state.  Cultural aspects will come soon.  So... Stay Tuned!

Disclaimer:
I hope that this brief information is helpful to those who are unfamiliar with some of the statistics of the state.  I am not a scholar, however I know a lot due to the research I continually do.  I have added several of the websites I have gathered some of this information and hope that in no way have slandered, falsified, or duplicated without consent any information.  Anyone who has produced this material before I deserves the recognition for the statistics at hand.  I am just trying to educate my viewers regarding a place I love, a people I love and a home I hope to know soon.

Sites:
http://www.netstate.com/states/intro/ak_intro.htm
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/rankings.html
http://2010.census.gov/news/releases/operations/cb11-cn83.html