Admitted to Statehood: January 3, 1959
Capital: Juneau
Nicknames: Land of the Midnight Sun, Great land and The Last Frontier
Motto: "North to the Future"
Bird: Willow Ptarmigan
Fish: King Salmon
Flower: forget me not
Gem: Jade
Tree: Sitka Spruce
Song: "Alaska's Flag"
Origin of Name: Russian
The U.S. bought Alaska from Russia in October 1867 for 7.2 million dollars, or two cents per acre.
Many Americans thought this was a waste of money and called Alaska "Seward's Folly," after Secretary of State William H. Seward who championed the purchase.
Each year Alaska has approximately 5,000 earthquakes, including 1,000 that measure above 3.5 on the Richter scale. Of the ten strongest earthquakes ever recorded in the world, three have occurred in Alaska.
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